What does it take to leave Earth, survive deep space, and build a home on another planet? Materials science has the answers.
On China Aerospace Day (April 24), Peking University's School of Materials Science and Engineering presents the Interstellar Materials Culture Festival — an immersive, sci-fi-inspired event that turns complex materials research into an interactive space journey.
When & Where:
10:00 AM, Friday, April 24 | Centennial Memorial Hall Square
The Journey (five zones, one story):
Visitors become "interstellar pioneers" and move through five themed zones in sequence:
・Departure – How materials help rockets survive extreme heat, vibration, and structural stress to break through the atmosphere.
・Voyage – Facing deep-space conditions: extreme cold, radiation, vacuum. How materials keep navigation and life support running.
・Settlement – Building safe, long-term homes on the Moon or Mars.
・Development – Finding, extracting, and using extraterrestrial resources to move from "supply dependent" to "self-sufficient."
・Leap – Future technologies for interstellar travel and human civilization beyond Earth.
Each zone combines science panels, physical exhibits, and hands-on activities — academic rigor meets genuine fun.
Bonus Lecture (same day, afternoon):
A Game-Changing New Material for Aero-Engines: An Overview of Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs)
Speaker: Prof. Jiao Jian, Researcher, AECC Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials
Time: 2:30 PM | Venue: Lecture Hall 201, Philosophy Building
The Big Picture:
This festival is about showing, not just telling. It gently but clearly reveals what happens in materials labs — breakthroughs that quietly pave the way for China's aerospace dreams and deep-space exploration.
Come join:
Hosted by PKU's School of Materials Science and Engineering. Co-hosted by Wanhua Chemical Group and the School of Advanced Materials, PKU Shenzhen Graduate School.
No engineering degree required. Just bring your curiosity — and look up.
