Science popularization and scientific and technological innovation are the two wings for realizing innovative development. Given the country’s high attention to both in the context of national innovative development and the continuous advancement of innovation practices，the synergistic development of these two wings has gradually become a widely concerned topic. Policy guidance is an important guarantee for promoting the synergy between science popularization and scientific and technological innovation and serving innovative development. From the perspective of two-way empowerment，science popularization is the basic work for realizing innovative development，and it plays a promoting role in advancing scientific and technological innovation in aspects such as cultivating innovative culture and scientific thinking，and facilitating the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. As a strategic support for improving social productivity，scientific and technological innovation drives the advancement of science popularization to higher levels and broader domains through innovative concepts，achievements，and technologies，playing an indispensable role.

Under the revised Law of the People’s Republic of China on Popularization of Science and Technology，science popularization activities are defined as the actions that fulfill the functions of science popularization. Promoting such activities is one of the major revisions，with the guiding policy concept concentrated in the newly added chapter,“Science Popularization Activities”. On the macro-level，the strategy centers on deepening supply-side reform in science popularization，fostering synergy among government，school education，society and the market，embedding science popularization in the national“Five-Sphere Integrated Plan”，and proactively aligning science popularization with scientific and technological innovation，school education，social governance and national diplomacy. These measures aim to enhance both the quality and efficiency of science popularization activities. On the micro-level，the Law calls for further involvement of research institutes，universities，and enterprises in creating science popularization content，protection of intellectual property rights for science popularization outputs，and the establishment of science popularization enterprises，all intended to expand the supply of works，products and services. It also maps the priority directions for science popularization activities through disseminating and promoting new technologies and knowledge，strengthening science communication during emergencies，enriching various training programs with science popularization content，and expanding international exchanges and cooperation. Furthermore，the Law mandates monitoring and evaluation of misinformation，science popularization performance and citizens’scientific literacy，to help science popularization activities improve quality and efficiency and finanlly achieve benign and sustainable development. In the future，the implementation of the Law should be advanced via strengthening policy promotion and interpretation，clarifying the responsibilities among government departments，taking high-quality development as the lead，and giving full play to the role of the National Science Popularization Month platform，so as to effectively promote science popularization activities.

Grounded in ecosystem theory，this study constructs a science popularization ecosystem and deconstructs its key elements and structural relationships. Six key components were identified across four dimensions: supply-side，demand-side，environment-side，and presentation-side. Following six key components，a“4W2E”evaluation framework was developed with 29 measurement indicators across six dimensions: persons，contents，channels，audience，environment，and impact. Utilizing multi-source datasets，the science popularization development index was calculated for 31 provincial-level regions from 2012 to 2021 using a combined Analytic Hierarchy Process（AHP）and Entropy-Critic weighting method. The findings identify a phase-wise upward trend in nationwide science popularization development，with eastern regions demonstrating higher development levels than the central and western regions. Spatially，the development of science popularization shows a progressive expansion from east to west，accompanied by notable regional disparities. During the 2015—2018 period，science popularization development exhibited a marginal decline，primarily attributable to insufficient supply-side content provision. These findings provide empirically grounded policy recommendations for optimizing resource allocation and promoting quality-intensive science popularization public strategies.

The Outline of the Nationwide Scientific Literacy Action Plan（2021—2035）clearly states that it is necessary to implement the project of improving the capacity of grassroots science popularization services，thoroughly implement the grassroots science popularization action plan，and carry out the creation activities of national science popularization demonstration counties（cities，districts）. Taking the specific practice of Xiangda Community in Yuhu District，Xiangtan City，Hunan Province as a sample，this paper comprehensively analyzes the science popularization demonstration creation actions of this community from the perspective of the Actor-Network Theory，providing experience references for the construction of a wider range of science popularization demonstration communities. The study reveals that establishing a science popularization demonstration community depends on multi-subject collaboration. Thus，it is essential to link human agents like science and technology associations，communities and the public with non-human ones such as science venues，social media platforms and science policies，dig deep into hidden resources to build a cooperative network，and develop management mechanisms to maintain the network’s stability and balance，thereby enhancing the sustainable development capacity of community science popularization services.

Carbon neutrality science popularization is a critical component in facilitating ecological environmental construction and fostering a society-wide transition to low-carbon practices. This paper systematically analyzes the implementation status，challenges and optimization path of carbon neutrality science popularization in China. The research reveals that，despite gradual improvements in the policy framework，expanded coverage of science popularization bases，and increasing diversity of science communication resources，persistent issues remain. These include superficial public understanding，insufficient policy coordination，homogeneity of resource development and a shortage of professional talents. Based on the CAC（Cognitive-Affective-Conative）communication model，this study proposes reconstructing the cognitive framework around“carbon neutrality=ecological security+civilization advancement”，developing immersive science popularization scenarios and products centered on the logic of“carbon neutrality=emission reduction+carbon sink enhancement+ecological protection”，and establishing a closed-loop assessment mechanism based on“behavior-feedback-incentive”. Supported by a three-dimensional strategy encompassing policy coordination，technological empowerment，and talent cultivation. This approach promotes a paradigm shift in science popularization—from knowledge dissemination to internalization of ecological responsibility—thereby providing systematic strategies and implementation pathways for achieving carbon neutrality goals.

Taking the six versions of the Chinese textbooks for junior high schools published by People’s Education Press from 1978 to 2013 as a closed corpus，this research conducts a quasi-quantitative analysis on the compilation characteristics of science Popularization articles，and explores their evolutionary laws in dimensions such as quantity，unit themes，genre forms，illustration designs，sources of authors and creation times. The research shows that from 1978 to 2013，the selection and compilation of science popularization articles in Chinese textbooks for junior high schools presented a wavelike upward trajectory in terms of quantity changes，dynamically conforming to the national science and technology development strategies and the needs of educational reforms；the setting of unit themes reflects distinct characteristics of the times，scientific nature and inheritance；the illustration designs have developed from scratch，with continuous expansion and innovation in forms and contents，demonstrating the organic integration of scientific communication and visual narration；the selection and compilation of works by foreign authors have changed from being single to being diverse，showing the internationalization of the vision of textbook compilation and the extensive inclusiveness of the scientific spirit. In the future，the selection and compilation of science popularization articles should，based on closely following the pulse of the times，strengthen the collaboration among multiple disciplines，promote the integration and interweaving of the contents of disciplines such as physics，chemistry and biology，make overall arrangements for the overall layout of textbook contents，and construct a more three-dimensional educational system for the comprehensive improvement of scientific literacy.

The development of museum-school collaboration policy holds significant importance in advancing the national strategy of integrating education，science，and talent development. However，there is currently limited theoretical focus within academia on the policy evolution associated with museum-school collaboration. This study adopts a historical institutionalism perspective to examine the historical evolution of museum-school collaboration policies over the past two decades. It analyzes the logic of policy changes from structural，historical，and dynamic dimensions and proposes future outlooks and optimization strategies. The results reveal that the evolution of museum-school collaboration policy in China can be divided into four phases: the foundational phase under the backdrop of quality education reform，the exploratory phase of connection driven by the development of minors’ scientific literacy，the deepening and quality-enhancement phase under the transformation of educational approaches，and the systemic integration phase under the“double reduction”policy wave. The policy changes are influenced by macro contexts，path dependence，and critical historical junctures，as well as the interactions and dynamics among micro-level actors. Looking forward，it is essential to：（1）gain insights into deeper societal structures and establish a dynamic adjustment mechanism for policy changes；（2）consolidate positive path dependencies and develop a comprehensive advancement mechanism for policy clusters；and（3）reconcile the interests of diverse stakeholders and create a collaborative and synergistic mechanism for policy implementation.

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.