In today's society, antioxidant and anti-aging have become a hot topic of national concern, but the public's scientific understanding of this field is seriously insufficient. As one of the core mechanisms of human aging, the importance of oxidative damage is self-evident, but ordinary consumers are often misled by commercial propaganda and cannot make rational consumption decisions. Based on this situation, it is particularly important to carry out systematic antioxidant and anti-aging science education.

Objectives:

Our activities aim to enhance public understanding of antioxidant and anti-aging technologies, particularly the SOD-CAT dual enzyme system, and to promote responsible consumer decision-making.

Target Audience:

The general public, including young adults (18–30), working professionals, and children, with priority given to groups most likely to use anti-aging products.

Current Awareness & Challenges

Our survey (from IHP) results show over 70% of respondents have used antioxidant products, but active recommendations are rare. Consumers are often misled by marketing slogans like “SOD = efficient anti-aging” and struggle to judge real efficacy.

In order to make science education more vivid and interesting, we specially designed an adorable cartoon cat image, inspired by the key ingredient in our products - catalase. Inspired by the English abbreviation of CAT enzyme, which is exactly the same as "cat", deepening the audience's impression of this important antioxidant.

Figure 1

Every detail of this kitten tells a story of antioxidant science: the blue ball floating above its head represents troublesome free radicals; The cool sunglasses it wears are like protective shields, symbolizing the role of antioxidants in protecting the skin; Blue teardrops hanging from the corners of our eyes remind us of the problems caused by oxidative damage; The most special thing is its spiral tail, which comes from the double helix structure of DNA, hinting at the advanced biotechnology we use.
This design is both lively and cute, but also implies deep meaning, so that children can like it at a glance, and adults can understand the scientific principles behind it. We decided to use the image as a guide icon for the "Antioxidant Little Guardian" character and experimental tutorial in popular science animation

We have specially designed a high-tech roll-up with visual elements of DNA double helix and green leaf fusion to visually demonstrate the core value of SOD-CAT complex enzyme technology, and equipped with an eye-catching QR code to guide interaction.

Based on the results of the previous questionnaire survey, Xiaohongshu and Douyin platforms have become the main channels for target audiences to obtain relevant popular science content, so our team has officially opened an official new media account to systematically carry out popular science communication work in the form of short videos. At present, two phases of core content production and release have been completed:
"Tongji Biology Boss Teaches You to Use a Pipette Gun"
Demonstrate in detail the standard operating practices for tertiary biological laboratories
Focus on the key points of precision control of trace liquid pipetting
"Antioxidant Research Daily"
Record the experimental process and phased findings
Present the daily work scenes of scientific researchers

Figure 2

In order to enhance the public's scientific understanding of antioxidant and anti-aging, we will hold a science education activity for preschool children and their guardians in Xuhui District, Shanghai. This activity will transform the complex oxidative aging reaction into a vivid experience suitable for children's understanding through fun interactive games, allowing children to learn biochemistry knowledge through play.

Focus

The whole process design follows the cognitive law of "concrete→ abstract→ application":

Start with the skin, an organ that can be seen and touched, to establish a sense of closeness.
Transition to microscopic principles through apple oxidation, a living phenomenon.

Finally, use role-playing to internalize knowledge into experience.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Activity process and instructional design description

We first introduced the concept of skin with the vivid metaphor of "human armor", and helped children understand the protective function of the skin as the body's largest organ through interactive Q&A and physical touch. This design aims to establish a foundational understanding that the skin is like a magical armor that is always worn on the body, protecting us from external harm at all times, thus naturally leading to the importance of protecting the skin.

Figure 5

Figure: skin protection

Immediately afterwards, we played a video of the apple oxidation experiment. As children watch the process of the cut apple gradually turning yellow and brown in the air, this intuitive phenomenon demonstrates successfully allowing them to understand the everydayness of oxidation reactions.

Figure 6

Figure: video performance

After the children have established an intuitive understanding of the oxidation phenomenon, we introduce professional concepts step by step. The properties of free radicals are vividly demonstrated through cartoon animation – they are like mischievous thieves, always trying to "steal" electrons from healthy cells. SOD enzymes are likened to "policemen" who specialize in catching free radical "thieves" and converting them into relatively mild hydrogen peroxide. CAT enzymes play the role of "cleaners", responsible for completely breaking down hydrogen peroxide treated by police into harmless water and oxygen. This golden combination of "cop and cleaner" metaphor successfully translates complex biochemical reactions into familiar life scenes for children, making professional concepts relatable and understandable.
After the theoretical explanation, we distributed colorful twister sticks to each child and encouraged them to use their imagination to make three character models representing "Free Radical Thief", "SOD Police" and "CAT Cleaner". In this session, children can freely design character characteristics. After completing the production, the children will need to demonstrate the complete "destruct-capture-clean" process with their own creations.

Figure 7 The children are doing handicrafts

Figure 8 The children spoke up enthusiastically

We also specially designed a face mapping game.

Prepare teaching aids:

Whiteboard face

Three types of stickers:

▪️ Red dots (free radicals)

▪️ Blue dot (SOD enzyme)

▪️ Yellow dots (CAT enzymes)

The rules of the game are: the first step requires the child to observe and calculate the number of "free radicals" on the human face, the second step needs to paste "SOD" in a 1:1 ratio, and the third step is to match each SOD with 1 "CAT".

Figure 9 The children are playing a face mapping game

Conclusion

In this popular science education activity, we have made many valuable discoveries. Surprisingly, some children already have a certain scientific cognitive foundation, such as a little girl who can accurately describe the concept of electron atoms, and another child who actively uses the technical term "antioxidant" before watching an oxidation experiment video. The interactive game session has achieved remarkable results, and the children not only actively exchange creative ideas with their guardians, but also are willing to ask volunteers for help. Especially in the character creation process, the scientific discussion between parents and children is particularly lively, and this intergenerational exchange greatly improves the learning effect.
However, we also found that when understanding the quantitative relationship between free radicals and SOD enzymes and CAT enzymes, children were relatively slow to accept them. In the sticker game session, most children need repeated guidance from volunteers and guardians to master the 1:1:1 correspondence, which reflects the difficulty of understanding abstract stoichiometric concepts for preschoolers. Nevertheless, through gamified teaching, more than 70% of the participants were able to accurately write professional terms such as "free radicals", "SOD enzymes", and "CAT enzymes", proving that this form of edutainment is indeed effective in spreading complex biological concepts.

Figure 10 feedbacks

Based on the successful experience of this event, we plan to continue to promote science popularization education, focusing on a series of science popularization activities for the community. Specifically, it includes: setting up a permanent "antioxidant knowledge corner" in the community center to focus on displaying the excellent works created by children in the activities; At the same time, the special activities of "Little Science Popularizers" will be held regularly to build a practical platform for participating children, so that they can vividly explain the antioxidant knowledge they have learned to community residents, and realize the role change from "learner" to "communicator". This series of initiatives aims to consolidate learning outcomes, expand the influence of science popularization, and truly integrate antioxidant knowledge into community life.