Tang Prize Exhibition Showcases Items Gifted by Nobel Prize Laureates James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo

Since its opening at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on September 7, the 2018 Glory of the Tang Prize exhibition has attracted tens of thousands of visitors to participate in the activities there. For the very first time, the exhibit integrates the innovative ideas generated by the Tang Prize laureates to develop several interactive games and multimedia materials to make the exhibit itself an interesting science classroom. Accompanied by their teachers and parents, many teenagers have therefore learned more about gene editing, sustainable development & the reduction of energy consumption, Confucianism, and the rule of law.

The Tang Prize exhibit areas, one per prize category, provide interactive games that allow visitors to better understand the details of the laureates’ major accomplishments.

• Saving Energy area: An Eco Station with a house was set up that allows visitor to compare the energy use of two types of windows—regular windows and smart windows. By interacting with the Eco Station, visitors will be able to learn about smart windows first hand, and experience them beyond abstract concepts.

• Gene Editing area: Using the gene editing concept developed by the 2016 Tang Prize laureates in the Biopharmaceutical Science, we offer a game allowing visitors to edit the gene that expresses the taste of bitterness in bitter gourd, so they can experience how the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing works.

• Virtue in Harmony: Ancient Chinese used percussions together with the pentatonic scale, gong (宮), shāng (商), jué (角), zhǐ (徵), and yǔ (羽), corresponding to do, re, mi, sol, la, to reflect the importance Confucianism attaches to music and harmony.

• Legal Classroom: A story about two animals’ quarrels will give you some food for thought… How do we promote the practice in the rule of law on campus? The story encourages the public to see things from different perspectives without prejudice and get a better understanding about the principles of fairness and justice.

In addition to the interactive games, the exhibit also showcases items donated by the Tang Prize laureates that signify their life and work. These include a harmonica gifted by Dr. James P. Allison (laureate of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine), and a number of complimentary copies of books authored by Prof. Tasuku Honjo (co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine). The books were gifted to the Tang Prize Foundation when Prof. Honjo visited Taiwan to receive his Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science in 2014. Other valuable items include a United Nations Environment Programme trophy given to Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan (laureate of the 2018 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development), the slab and radiographic images that Dr. Hunter (laureate of the 2018 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science) used to discover tyrosine kinases and that the oncogene Src is a tyrosine kinase, a Time magazine cover story featuring how Dr. Brian J. Druker (laureate of the 2018 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science) successfully developed Gleevec, and The Poetry of Du Fu, a six-volume book translated and edited by Prof. Stephen Owen (laureate of the 2018 Tang Prize in Sinology).

To interact with more people, the exhibit will be moved to the National Science & Technology Museum in Taiwan’s southern city of Kaohsiung and will run from November 2 to January 27. We warmly welcome you to the exhibit and offers gifts when you check in at the event site and click the “Like” button on our Facebook.

-----------Information about the exhibit--------------

Taipei: Central Hall, National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall; Sept. 7-Oct. 28, 2018.

Kaohsiung: National Science & Technology Museum; Nov. 2, 2018-Jan. 27, 2019.