The National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC) successfully hosted the “Taiwan Photon Source 2018 Open House Science Event” - a special film screening of the fine animated movie “Aka’s adventure: the secret of light” on Saturday August 18, 2018. Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基), the winner of the Best Animation Program Golden Bell Award Li-Wei Chiu (邱立偉) and nearly 600 attendees gathered for this special event.
NSRRC is dedicated, not only to the pursuit of cutting edge research, but also to making science more accessible to the general public. This animated film is a first attempt by the NSRRC to reveal the achievements of frontier science using entertainment media. They have demonstrated how the distance between science and the general public can be shortened and brought to a whole new level. The seeds of scientific knowledge can easily be planted in the minds of youngsters.
This animated movie “Aka’s adventure: the secret of light” is one of the brightest spots of University-Industry Collaboration Projects for Products of Popular Science, MOST (科技部科普產品製播推廣產學合作計畫). The highly anticipated film, combining entertainment with scientific education, has been especially made for youngsters under the age of 13. It is the culmination of a three-year effort by the NSRRC and the Golden Bell Award Best Animation Program Winner Studio2 Animation Lab. The majestic synchrotron radiation facility “Taiwan Photon Source” is the inspiration for the whole story and all the fine movie scenes.
Audiences got hooked by the main character “Aka” and enjoyed the fascinating story of this interesting character who sets out on a journey to find out who he is. Aka’s journey integrates knowledge of the science of light, medical technology applications and evolutionary biology into an astonishing adventure. This film successfully sows the seed of popular scientific knowledge in a young audience.
The film runs for 66 minutes and opens a window of opportunity for the audience to get close to the advanced NSRRC synchrotron radiation facility, the “Taiwan Photon Source” The protagonist, Aka, looks for light as an antidote and the plot is interwoven with greed, familial affection and the conflict between virtue and vice. The adventure finally ends with the key to a cure of the disease – “synchrotron radiation light source”.
After the episode ended, NSRRC held a Q&A with the Golden Bell Award winner Li-Wei Chiu (邱立偉), and then all attendees hung out for a tour of “Taiwan Photon Source” facility, the inspiration for Aka’ s adventure. This was a golden opportunity for youngsters to visit a world-class synchrotron radiation research center and personally experience the cutting-edge R&D technology and the truly amazing scientific instruments.