Shenyang Children's Activity Center

Shenyang Children's Activity Center

The Shenyang Children's Activity Center is a science education base.

The predecessor of the Shenyang Children's Activity Center was the Shenyang Women and Children's Palace, established in 1989. It is affiliated with the Shenyang Women's Federation and serves as a municipal-level extracurricular education institution in Shenyang, functioning as an important activity hub for the city's children and teenagers. As a public welfare-oriented youth activity center, the Shenyang Children's Activity Center organizes over 30 fun activities such as “Holiday Joy City” and practical learning classrooms during holidays like May Day, Children’s Day, and National Day, all provided free of charge to children and their parents.

Introduction

For many years, the Shenyang Children's Activity Center has closely adhered to its mission of “serving society and serving children,” designing and organizing a variety of moral practice activities that are profound in purpose, vivid in content, innovative in form, and highly engaging. These efforts have made significant contributions to strengthening the ideological and moral development of minors. The center has been awarded numerous honors, including National Advanced Children's Activity Center, Liaoning Provincial Outstanding Women and Children's Center, Shenyang Municipal Civilized Unit, Shenyang Municipal Advanced Cultural Work Unit, Shenyang Municipal Moral Education Base for Primary and Secondary Schools, National Practice Base for Little Citizens' Moral Development, National Key Unit for Aviation (Aerospace) Model Activities, Liaoning Provincial Advanced Women and Children's Palace, Shenyang Municipal Advanced Support Unit for Caring for the Next Generation, Liaoning Provincial Base for Aviation, Maritime, and Vehicle Model Activities, as well as computer and foreign language training stations under the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and the State Education Commission, and the workstation for the “Liaoning Million Parents’ Education Project.”

Details

Through years of practical activities, the Shenyang Children's Activity Center has developed a number of well-known, influential, widely participated-in, and highly attractive brand projects, including the “Little Mayor’s Advisory” campaign, the “Strive to Be Little People’s Representatives” campaign, and the “I Am a Qualified Little Citizen” series. These activities, tailored to the characteristics of minors, provide primary and secondary school students with opportunities for participation, experience, and practice. They are highly popular among students, who actively participate and engage, with over 200,000 students from urban districts and suburban counties (cities) of Shenyang joining each event. These activities embody the principles of universality, engagement, and educational value. As the initiatives grew, so did participation and their educational impact. They gained strong support from the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, and related departments, and received extensive media coverage from major news outlets in Liaoning and Shenyang. This made the “Little Advisor,” “Little Representative,” and “Little Citizen” campaigns widely recognized. Over the years, these programs have become key vehicles for moral education in Shenyang. In 2003, the “Strive to Be Little Mayor’s Advisors” campaign was shared at the National Youth Education Work Conference, while the “Strive to Be Little People’s Representatives” initiative was designated as a quality moral education project for Shenyang students by the Municipal Education Bureau. The Shenyang Children's Activity Center also received the Special Contribution Award for Students’ Holiday Work from the Shenyang Municipal Government.

Over the years, the Shenyang Children's Activity Center has also leveraged historical events such as the Korean War, September 18th, and other significant occasions, as well as traditional holidays, to organize educational activities including the Summer Camp of the National Hero Squadron at the Liaoshen Campaign, Winter Camps to Connect with Nature, the “Carry the Torch from Revolutionary Predecessors Towards the 21st Century” theme events, the Shenyang Little Citizens’ Oath Ceremony, and the “Remember History, Call for Peace” Angel Action. These events integrate education, visits, learning, competition, development, and entertainment, combining knowledge, educational value, fun, interest, and hands-on experience. They further promote national and contemporary spirit and maximize the educational role of extracurricular activity venues. Today, the center’s themed one-day camp activities have become one of the main holiday events for Shenyang students, with over 70,000 participants annually. Renowned figures such as veterans Zhi Shunyi and Yan Shilu, model worker Zhang Chengzhe, and famous children's writers and artists Li Moran and Yang Daqun have frequently joined these activities and are beloved by the children.

Alongside diverse extracurricular activities, the Shenyang Children's Activity Center makes full use of its advantages to offer specialized training in arts, culture, science, and sports. Shared interests bring together talented children to form various clubs and interest groups such as dance, vocal, instrumental, performance, Latin dance, fine arts art troupes, aviation and model aircraft clubs, young reporters’ groups, and Little Dragonfly Calligraphy and Painting Societies. These groups are active in Shenyang’s cultural, artistic, calligraphy, and painting exhibitions, competitions, and TV programs. Over the years, the center has undertaken performance tasks on provincial and municipal TV stations and participated in public square cultural events, as well as international cultural exchanges. Representing China, they have visited countries and regions including Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, bringing honor to Liaoning and Shenyang. Through these colorful activities, children achieve healthy physical and mental development and continuously improve their overall quality.

The Shenyang Children's Activity Center continuously increases its focus on supporting the underprivileged and actively carries out volunteer-based educational assistance programs. Together with the Shenyang Women's Federation, it organizes free art training for children from impoverished and single-parent families, facilitates participation of rural children from remote areas in Children’s Day events, sends teachers to teach at rural schools in Faku as part of volunteer teaching efforts, and conducts free one-day farming camps for disadvantaged children—ensuring that children in poverty, orphans, and those with disabilities can access art education and enjoy a variety of enriching activities just like their peers.

Due to its growing social impact and moral education role, the Shenyang Children's Activity Center has received high attention from municipal leaders. The city’s annual Children’s Day celebration is hosted by the center, with leaders from the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, and other major bodies regularly attending. The Shenyang Mayor has inspected the center’s former site multiple times and proposed plans to construct a new facility.

On September 5, 2003, Mayor Chen Zhenggao conducted an on-site office session at the former site of the Shenyang Women and Children's Palace regarding the construction of the Shenyang Children's Activity Center. Key decisions were made regarding investment, location, scale, and construction timeline. Approval was given to invest 100 million RMB in building a landmark structure within Shenyang Science Park that aligns with the city’s overall urban planning and spiritual civilization goals, represents Shenyang’s image, and caters to extracurricular educational needs for children with child-friendly design elements. The plan also called for constructing an open, exquisitely designed, fully functional, and top-tier children's activity center that complements other children’s venues in the city. On June 12, 2004, construction officially began on the Shenyang Children's Activity Center. After about a year of intensive work, the center was completed and opened on June 1, 2005. This public cultural facility exemplifies the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government’s strong commitment to children’s education, laying a solid cultural foundation for building an advanced cultural city and a harmonious Shenyang, further enriching the city’s cultural depth and improving its urban functionality.

The completed Shenyang Children's Activity Center covers a construction area of 22,614 square meters and a land area of 17,020 square meters. Located at the southern node of the city’s Golden Corridor, it sits within Science Park, bordered by Qingnian Avenue to the west and Wentsu East Road to the south. It stands in harmony with the Wulihe Stadium, adjacent to the Summer Palace and Science Palace. The architectural style is natural, simple, and unadorned, blending seamlessly with the new Shenyang Library to create a unified whole. From afar, a sea of green is punctuated by colorful flowers, presenting a scene of harmony between urban vibrancy and nature.

With its superior location, beautiful surroundings, advanced facilities, and comprehensive services, the Shenyang Children's Activity Center provides a nurturing environment that promotes holistic development for children and teens. It fully meets their needs for practice, learning, and entertainment, establishing itself as a vital hub for extracurricular activities.