On the afternoon of Saturday, April 11, 2026, the OPEN Spring Lecture series kicked off with its inaugural session, ‘Tracking a Behemoth: The Interpretive Science of Decoding Animal Specimens.’ This lecture series is co-organized in collaboration with the National Taiwan University (NTU) Center for the Advancement of Science Education and the NTU Museum of Zoology. Themed around biology, the program allows participants to learn scientific concepts through engaging experiences, featuring a variety of themed games and hands-on activities.

In 2026, the National Central Library’s Multimedia Creative Experiment Center (Open Lab) launched the 'OPEN Four Seasons Lecture' series. Centered on the core theme of 'Science - Humanities - Maker,' the program integrates hands-on activities directly into its curriculum. By combining scientific learning with practical application, the series aims to foster a love for reading and enhance humanistic literacy. In collaboration with university science education centers and science promotion organizations, the program utilizes lectures, courses, and workshops to guide the public in applying what they have learned. This aims to simultaneously generate educational impact while broadening the Center's cross-disciplinary role as a place of innovation and creativity.

The 'OPEN Spring Lecture' series seeks to draw on the classic detective stories of Sherlock Holmes. By tracing clues and unraveling mysteries alongside the cases, participants are encouraged to observe, deduce, think, and explore following the narrative's progression. Themed 'Seeking the Truth Between the Unknown and the Known: The Fascination of Sherlock Holmes' Cases,' the program guides students in examining animal specimens up close, creating combinations, and creatively connecting knowledge. Participants will also observe fingerprint variations and learn about fingerprint identification techniques. Packed with maker and scientific elements, the series goes beyond theoretical exploration to include hands-on practice. This cultivates a maker's mindset for problem-solving while allowing participants to experience the boundless charm of science. Today’s session is led by Instructor Wei-Wang Kuo, a technician at the National Taiwan University Museum of Zoology, College of Life Science. Holding dual master's degrees in Zoology and Museum Studies, his expertise lies in museum education. An avid board game player, Kuo loves incorporating games and interactive elements into his teaching, turning fun experiences into an effective learning method.

Kuo began by giving everyone an introduction to the specimens. He first used a bone found in the mountains of Miaoli to teach the students how to identify a bone's type and anatomical position. Next, he brought out a dog's leg bone and challenged the participants to determine whether it was a foreleg or a hind leg, using this exercise to illustrate the specific characteristics of bones.

Instructor Kuo brought a variety of specimens and arranged them on the tables, allowing participants ten minutes to freely observe and carefully handle them. Afterward, participants wrote down their questions on sticky notes. The inquiries were highly diverse. Once the observation period concluded, Kuo grouped similar questions together and addressed them one by one. One student asked, 'Is the fluff on the chick specimen real?' Using this question as a jumping-off point, Kuo explained the preservation process for chick specimens, how specimens are dyed, and how various mounts are created, helping the class fully understand the unique characteristics of each piece.

For the second phase of the activity, participants gathered in a circle, closed their eyes, and held out their hands. Kuo then presented various specimens, allowing everyone to feel the differences between them purely through touch.

The first round focused on pelts and skins. By stroking the rabbit pelt in the direction of the fur, participants could determine which end was the front, while the snakeskin featured scales that help increase friction for locomotion. Because these two types of skins are preserved using different methods, their textures felt noticeably distinct. The second round featured the feather category, where participants used their hands to feel various types of feathers. Next, Instructor Kuo challenged the students to identify items that are related to animals but are not the animals themselves. Collectively known as trace specimens, these included eggshells, footprints, and honeycombs.

The event concluded with a board game session. With each family forming a team, participants selected materials to craft clues, challenging the other teams to guess which card they had drawn. Once familiar with the rules, they applied the same method to create clues for identifying specific specimens. This approach helped everyone easily memorize the unique characteristics of each specimen.

Integrating science, the humanities, and the maker spirit, this course both inspired participants' creative thinking and provided an afternoon filled with scientific surprises. The 'OPEN Four Seasons Lecture' series will continue to roll out courses across various themes. By consistently blending science, culture, and hands-on making, the series guides learners in exploring uncharted territories and unlocks endless possibilities for both creativity and knowledge. Additionally, on the afternoon of April 18, another session titled 'Sherlock Holmes' Brainstorming: Clues to Animal Survival' took place, inviting everyone to delve into the mysteries of science and the humanities while embarking on a shared adventure of scientific and maker discovery.