EDUCATION
Overview
Our project carried out diverse science popularization activities around the theme of “Sustainable Utilization of Yellow Slurry Water,” targeting children, the general public, and overseas audiences.
Offline, at the Beijing Science Center, we organized interactive lectures for children. Through picture books and games, we systematically introduced content related to yellow slurry water.
Online, we disseminated knowledge about yellow slurry water to the public via Xiaohongshu and official WeChat accounts.
For overseas promotion, we posted posters and animated videos on Instagram and YouTube, linking the topic to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We also produced supporting stickers and brochures, using everyday visual elements and comic-style illustrations to enhance public awareness, promoting the transformation of yellow slurry water from an “industrial by-product” to a “resource.”
Figure 1: Education mind map
Activity for children
Our team planned a science education at the Beijing Science Center. The event focused on the sustainable use of yellow slurry and its production process. The goal was to educate the public about yellow slurry, a major byproduct of the soy food industry. While the annual production of yellow slurry is enormous, much of it is directly discharged, causing serious environmental pollution and wasting nutrients. Our audience, primarily children, wanted to learn more about yellow slurry and the purpose and significance of its recycling. We first explained its uses, for example, how it can be used as a fermentation feedstock for lactic acid bacteria and yeast, producing uniquely flavored fermented beverages like fermented drinks and vinegar, and imparting a distinctive aroma and taste. Yellow slurry can also be used as a baking enhancer. Adding it to bread and pastries increases the product's moisture content, improves its texture, extends its shelf life, and enhances its nutritional value. Finally, yellow slurry also has a role in agriculture. Diluted yellow slurry can be used as an organic fertilizer for irrigating crops and improving soil structure. Our focus in this educational event was to educate children about the recycling and environmental significance of yellow slurry water. Untreated yellow slurry water can cause water pollution and increase the environmental burden. Yellow slurry water can be treated through physical, chemical, and biological treatment technologies, such as membrane separation, anaerobic fermentation, and aerobic treatment. These technologies not only reduce its environmental impact but also enable resource reuse, in line with the concept of sustainable development. With in-depth research and technological advancements, the potential value of yellow slurry water can be continuously developed. During our educational event, 30 children were willing to engage with our topic and share their insights, including their understanding of yellow slurry water and questions they have about it.
Beijing Science Center
Picture book
We created a picture book covering the production of yellow slurry water, including refining, boiling, slurry dispensing, and pressing, as well as its recycling methods, such as small peptide fermented beverages, comprehensive functional ingredient extraction, organic fertilizer raw materials, and wastewater treatment facilities. Finally, we explained to the children the negative impacts of improper yellow slurry water treatment, including water pollution (breeding harmful algae), interference with crop metabolism, impact on crop growth, and increased wastewater treatment burdens. We used the picture book to help everyone understand more about yellow slurry water.
Game
To better promote our presentation topic, we designed a small game called "waste sorting." This game allowed us to introduce the topic to the children and highlight the recyclability of objects. It also allowed them to better understand the origin of yellow slurry and the significance and purpose of recycling it. We also created cards with the names of various recyclable and non-recyclable items. Children were asked to identify which items on the cards were recyclable. If they could answer at least three, they could choose a prize. This not only promoted our project's sustainable development adventure but also significantly boosted the children's enthusiasm.
Figure 2: education activities in Beijing Science Center
Reflection
At the Beijing Science Center event, we used picture books and interactive games to popularize knowledge about yellow slurry water among children. The overall results were good, and we achieved our expected educational goals. However, to further enhance the project’s promotional impact, we can add demonstration sessions in future activities and consider collecting user feedback to understand the children’s learning outcomes.
Activity for general public
Xiaohongshu
The reason why we chose Xiaohongshu as one of our promotional channels is that Xiaohongshu has a wide audience. This enables our scientific popularization activities to receive more attention, and also makes our promotion more efficient and feasible. Based on the preliminary questionnaire survey, our current scientific popularization content mainly focuses on introducing liming water, including what liming water is, its advantages, and why it is worthy of attention. Among them, we introduced that liming water is a by-product produced during the production of tofu and soy milk. Secondly, we popularized the advantages of liming water, including rich nutrition, environmental value, biological utilization potential, economic potential, etc. Finally, we expounded the sustainability of liming water's development with the goal of "carbon neutrality". As a result, our scientific popularization attracted many people to pay attention to the topic of liming water, confirming the feasibility of our scientific popularization.
Figure 3: Xiaohongshu
Official Account
We also chose a official account as one of our promotional channels, using a sticker and our team name as our logo. Our title was "Addressing the Dangers of Yellow Slurry Water: How to Use It." We divided this topic into six sections. After processing, yellow slurry water can be used as a tofu coagulant, milk powder additive, beverage additive, food additive, bioenergy source, liquid fertilizer, and more. We created our own public account to help more people understand yellow slurry water, its future trends, and its sustainable development and recycling.
Figure 4: Official Account
Activity for overseas
This is a poster we posted on Instagram about yellow slurry water. In the poster, we highlighted that yellow slurry water doesn't impact the environment, but can be more effectively recycled and developed. For example, after transformation, it can be used as animal feed (pigs, chickens); after processing, it can be used to make protein-rich functional beverages; yellow slurry water can also be turned into inexpensive mixtures, including fertilizers; and finally, yellow slurry water can be fermented to produce ethanol, lactic acid, prebiotics, and more. While promoting yellow slurry water, we also released some related information about the SDGs, emphasizing their holistic nature, universality, and inclusiveness. The SDGs are not simply "environmental protection goals" or "poverty alleviation programs," but rather a global framework for action that balances economic growth and social equity.
Figure 5: Instagram
Figure 6: Example of a note posted on Instagram
YouTube
To help the public more intuitively understand the project's background, we designed and launched an educational campaign for the YouTube platform. The team produced and released an animated science video, using vivid images and concise explanations to explain the production process of yellow slurry water and its place in the soybean processing industry. This animated presentation not only lowered the barrier to entry for understanding the underlying expertise but also increased audience interest and acceptance.
Figure 7: YouTube
Education Materials
Sticker
The topic of this project is "Production of Sialyllactose from Soybean Yellow Paste Water". Sialyllactose can be added to milk powder to enhance its nutritional value, so we chose the milk bottle as an important element of the sticker. Since sialyllactose is still in its infancy in the Chinese market and the public has limited knowledge about HMOs, we are committed to addressing this local issue to make Chinese milk powder healthier. Therefore, we incorporated some distinctive elements such as pandas, soybeans, and bamboo to highlight the local characteristics while staying closely related to the topic.
Figure 8: sticker
Brochure
At the same time, we have designed a brochure with comic elements named "The Secret of Yellow Soybean Milk Water". To better popularize knowledge, we have divided the information about yellow soybean milk water into three parts, including how it is produced, the pollution caused by improper treatment, and the current methods of recycling. Under each of these three major headings, we have further divided them into four subheadings. For the production of yellow soybean milk water, we have divided it into four steps: grinding, boiling, coagulation, and pressing. Regarding the harm caused by improper treatment of yellow soybean milk water, it includes interfering with the physiological metabolism of crops, breeding harmful algae, affecting the growth of crops, and increasing the burden of sewage treatment. Finally, we have popularized knowledge based on the recycling methods of yellow soybean milk water.
Summary
Our project carried out science popularization activities through multiple channels and formats, comprehensively raising public awareness and attention toward yellow slurry water.
At the Beijing Science Center, children gained an intuitive understanding of the source, hazards, and recycling methods of yellow slurry water through picture books and the “waste sorting” game. Xiaohongshu and the official WeChat account helped the public understand the multiple values and future trends of yellow slurry water. Instagram and YouTube spread its resource potential and connection to the SDGs overseas.
Educational materials (stickers and brochures) reinforced thematic memory through creative design. Overall, the activities not only disseminated knowledge but also increased public participation, laying a social awareness foundation for the sustainable utilization of yellow slurry water and accumulating experience for subsequent technology promotion and project implementation.