Science popularization serves as a crucial foundation for achieving national self-reliance and strength in high-level science and technology，accelerating the formation of new productive forces，and supporting the modernization of China to realize the great cause of building a strong nation and national rejuvenation. The core essence of Xi Jinping’s important discourses on science popularization encompasses four key aspects：placing science popularization on an equally important footing as scientific and technological innovation；strengthening national science popularization capacity and implementing comprehensive actions to enhance public scientific literacy；and promoting the improvement of public scientific literacy to continuously contribute to achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and advancing Chinese modernization；intensifying modern civilization education and science popularization efforts for youth. The methodology embedded in Xi Jinping’s important discourses on science popularization includes upholding the people-centered approach，maintaining self-confidence and self-reliance，adhering to integrity and innovation，adopting a problem-oriented mindset，embracing a systemic perspective，and fostering a global vision. The contemporary value of Xi Jinping’s discourses on science popularization is reflected in its expansion and deepening of the Marxist view on science and technology，enriching the spiritual connotation of science popularization，and providing new perspectives for international science popularization exchange and cooperation. Moreover，it provides robust support for promoting the coordinated development of scientific innovation and popularization，strengthening national science popularization capacity，enhancing public scientific literacy，and focusing on youth science education.

This study extracted China’s science popularization policies by systems theory，identified four primary influencing factors：macroeconomic and social elements，education，nationwide science popularization，and individual citizen attributes. By isolating these key factors，it explored the efficacy of nationwide science popularization and the primary initiatives of the China Association for Science and Technology（CAST），driving innovation in research on the determinants of scientific literacy. The analysis reveals that education and science popularization were the two major contributors to citizens’scientific literacy in China，accounting for cumulative contributions of 66.1% and 21.5% to the total scientific literacy level respectively. Education played a dominant role in shaping scientific literacy. Meanwhile，the contributions of education and science popularization to the growth of citizens’scientific literacy from 2020 to 2023 were 40.5% and 40.8% respectively，highlighting the significant role of science popularization in driving incremental improvements. Science popularization media made the largest contribution to the overall scientific literacy level，accounting for 53.7% of the total contribution from nationwide science popularization efforts，and 44.6% of the contribution to the incremental growth in scientific literacy. Examining key demographic groups，the mechanisms for enhancing scientific literacy could be categorized into three types：media-driven，media and activity- driven，media and facility-driven. Through a systematic analysis of the primary factors influencing scientific literacy，this study furthered the understanding of its developmental patterns，providing a theoretical foundation for formulating more effective science popularization strategies and advancing the high-quality development of civic scientific literacy.

In the context of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and accelerating the construction of a strong agricultural nation，enhancing farmers’scientific literacy is of significant strategic importance. Based on data from 5 192 farmers sampled in the 14th National Civic Scientific Literacy Sampling Survey，and comparing the results with 2023 data，this study aims to deeply analyze the development status and characteristics of scientific literacy among Chinese farmers. It also evaluates the implementation effectiveness of the“Farmers’Scientific Literacy Improvement Action，”providing decision-making references and empirical evidence for the continuous and effective improvement of farmers’scientific literacy and the bridging of the urban-rural gap. Findings show that in 2024，8.09% of farmers possessed scientific literacy，narrowing the gap with the national average for the first time. The development of farmers’scientific literacy exhibits a trend towards more balanced regional development，with the eastern region showing relatively higher levels，and the central and western regions experiencing accelerated improvement. While initiatives to improve farmers’scientific literacy have been effective，the significant gap between the scientific literacy of young farmers and the national youth average still requires close attention. Based on the above research results，the following recommendations are proposed: First，continue to deepen the “Farmers’Scientific Literacy Improvement Action，”expanding its coverage and enhancing its effectiveness. Second，implement precise strategies targeting relatively weak groups such as farmers with lower educational attainment and young farmers，addressing shortcomings in scientific literacy. Third，enrich the channels for farmers to access scientific and technological information，optimize science popularization content and dissemination methods，and enhance their attractiveness and effectiveness. Fourth，guide and incentivize farmers to apply scientific knowledge in practice，promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements，and truly transform scientific literacy into a powerful driving force for promoting rural revitalization.

The modernization of science and technology（S&T）governance heavily relies on the scientific literacy of leading cadres and civil servants. Based on data from the 14th National Civic Scientific Literacy Sampling Survey，this study focuses on leading cadres and civil servants，revealing their characteristics in scientific literacy levels，structural disparities，and AI-related cognition. The findings indicate that while this group maintains a leading position in overall scientific literacy，demonstrating a notable“leading goose effect”，significant structural imbalances persist across gender，urban-rural，region，age，and educational attainment. S&T training plays a positive role in improving their scientific literacy and enhancing AI-related awareness and attitudes，yet its overall effectiveness in fostering scientific literacy remains limited. Moreover，while scientific literacy strengthens their cognitive judgment on frontier technologies such as AI，the translation of such literacy into practical competence remains insufficient. Accordingly，this study proposes reinforcing the“leading goose effect”to leverage the exemplary role of the“critical minority”；implementing targeted policies to narrow intra-group disparities in scientific literacy；and deepening the S&T training system by establishing a“learning-application-evaluation”closed loop to promote the transformation of scientific literacy into practical capabilities.

With the widespread application of artificial intelligence（AI），public understanding and attitudes toward AI have become key indicators of its social acceptance. Drawing on data from the 14th National Civic Scientific Literacy Sampling Survey，this study analyzes group differences in AI cognition and attitudes among Chinese citizens across four major social structural dimensions：educational attainment，occupational type，age cohort，and urban-rural background. The findings show that while Chinese citizens generally hold positive attitudes and exhibit a solid foundation of trust in AI，there are significant disparities among different groups in terms of cognitive level，usage frequency，confidence in AI development，and concerns about job displacement. Individuals with higher education levels and greater exposure to digital technologies tend to demonstrate more favorable cognition and attitudes toward AI. Younger cohorts display active cognition and open attitudes，whereas older adults are characterized by lagging cognition but optimistic expectations. Urban and rural residents also differ significantly in terms of baseline knowledge and anxiety about occupational risks. The study recommends promoting AI literacy among key populations，expanding vocational retraining programs，and improving risk governance mechanisms to ensure inclusive and equitable AI adoption through targeted public education.

The Internet platform media has gradually become the main way for citizens to access scientific and technological information in the digital era. Opportunities and challenges coexist for improving citizens’scientific literacy. Grasping the characteristic differences of citizens’access to scientific and technological information is of great significance for improving the efficiency of science popularization，bridging the digital divide，and improving citizens’scientific quality. Based on the data of the 14th National Civic Scientific Literacy Sampling Survey，this paper analyzes the channels of citizens’access to scientific and technological information and the development of scientific literacy，describes the current situation of Chinese citizens’access to scientific and technological information，and discusses the differences in channels and preference reasons for citizens from different groups to obtain technological information in the context of the digital age. The study found that the proportion of citizens’access to scientific and technological information through the Internet has leapt；social platforms and short video platforms have become the main sources for Internet users to obtain scientific and technological information；citizens interested in scientific and technological information prefer to multiple channels；the internal drive is the first motivation for citizens to obtain scientific and technological information，while the practical demand is the main motivation for citizens to obtain scientific and technological information；the channels for different groups of citizens to obtain scientific and technological information have their own characteristics；different groups with different levels of scientific quality have different access to scientific and technological information. Based on this，this article proposes to improve policy formulation and strengthen the guidance of science popularization content in short videos and social media platforms，strengthen content adaptation and promote precise science popularization supply for various groups，and suggest bridging the digital divide and promoting coordinated development of urban and rural information dissemination infrastructure.

Scientific literacy is an important part of national literacy，and improving scientific literacy is of great significance to the development of citizens themselves and the country. Science popularization places are one of the important ways for citizens to obtain scientific knowledge and improve scientific literacy. Based on the data of the 14th National Civic Scientific Literacy Sampling Survey in 2024，it is found that citizens are willing to visit various science popularization places；Citizens have gained after visiting; Visiting science popularization places is related to the citizens’scientific literacy，and their visiting behavior，motivation and gains all have a positive effect on scientific literacy. However，there are still some problems to be solved in various science popularization places，such as the number of science and technology places can not meet the needs of public visits，the opening opportunities of science innovation places need to be increased，the threshold for visiting museum places is high while the visit gain is low，and the forms of science popularization activities in cultural places need to be enriched. Based on this，this study puts forward suggestions to optimize the layout and construction of science and technology places，build and share science popularization places jointly，and stimulate social forces to do science popularization.

The national science popularization system and the construction of national science popularization capacity are of great significance for continuously improving the scientific literacy of the entire population，achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self- improvement，meeting the people’s ever-growing demand for scientific life，and comprehensively building a strong country in science and technology. This article explores the conceptual connotations of the national science popularization system and national science popularization capacity from the meta-concepts of“system”and“capability”. That is，the national science popularization system and national science popularization capacity are a concentrated reflection of a country’s entire set of systematic arrangements and comprehensive strength regarding science popularization. From the perspective of“structure-function”，this article systematically examines the diverse logical relationships between the two. The national science popularization system is the front-end structural construction，while the national science popularization capacity is the post-functional embodiment. The two are composed of a closely coordinated and functionally embedded complementary relationship. Based on this institutionalized logical approach，a set of efficiency improvement paths is proposed，including policies on science popularization，subjects of science popularization，diverse safeguard mechanisms for science popularization investment，management mechanisms combining supervision and incentives，and international science popularization exchange mechanisms.

Promoting the popularization of scientific and technological resources in national key laboratories is an important part of the construction of the development pattern of science popularization. Combining the real advantages of laboratory popularization of science and technology resources and the current social demand for safety and emergency response，with public service theory as the theoretical support，this paper constructs a“1+3”framework for analyzing the supply of public services for science popularization，and compares the cases of public services for science popularization in eight national key laboratories. It also compares the cases of eight national key laboratories’safety science popularization public services，and finally puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to reform the laboratory’s scientific research evaluation system，strengthen the development of the laboratory’s science popularization resources，centralize the network information resources for science popularization，and make full use of the new media platform to optimize the laboratory’s science popularization public services. The study will provide a useful reference for laboratories to concentrate on the themes of science popularization and construct a resource landscape for the provision of safety science popularization public services.

This study focuses on Generation Z users’experiences and behavioral preferences with museum mobile guides. Based on the pragmatic and hedonic dimensions of the positive user experience model，20 one-on-one in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with Gen Z participants. NVivo 14.0 software was used for coding and analysis. The research identifies four core experiential needs: ease of information access，personalization of tour paths，immersive multi- sensory engagement，and narrative-based knowledge construction. Accordingly，an optimized mobile guide strategy framework was developed，structured around three phases：information presentation，information transmission，and information feedback. The findings provide both theoretical support and practical guidance for the integrated development of cultural communication and science popularization in museums under digital empowerment，offering a valuable reference for enhancing the effectiveness of experiential mobile guide systems in science popularization.