行走的课堂：古城·海岛·生态园

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几年前，在内蒙古沙漠里参加创新之旅，一个孩子停下脚步，被沙丘上流动的光影吸引。

阳光在沙面上洒落，风吹过，影子又变了形——那一刻，她忽然生出一个念头：难道时间也有形状？

回到北京后，她把这份灵感化成创新的作品——用相机拍摄了一组时间的影像，试着记录光、影与时间的关系。

今年的创新之旅做了一点“倒装”——往年5月出发的行程，提前到了9月新学期刚开始的时候。

这样一来，学生们刚开学，就能从旅行里收集创新的灵感，点亮整整一年的学习！

还有，启明星孩子每年都重新分班，让大家能相互认识，成为好朋友。那么，没有什么比一场安排在开学不久的、同吃同住同玩乐的旅行来得更高效了！

于是，6年级走进京郊怀柔；

7年级探访千年古都洛阳；

8年级出发去南京；

9年级前往平遥古城；

10年级则吹着海风，奔赴青岛。

一路上，他们在山间、田野、社区与工坊中，遇见“真实的世界”，带回那些书本里学不到的观察与思考。

比如——8年级学生在南京的红山森林动物园之行：

红山森林动物园，被称为“国内最有良心的动物园”。这里尽量还原动物的原生态环境，不再让它们被关在一眼望穿的围栏里，而是生活在被植物环绕的空间中。想看见它们，有时还真得靠缘分！

参观当天，下起了大雨。动物们有的还在活动，有的干脆去躲雨，学生们也湿漉漉的，可这就是真实的世界啊！

雨并没有打断孩子们的行程。他们跟着讲解员学习生物知识，还亲手做了“丰容实践”——比如给一些纸箱做上装饰，放进肉块，散在老虎的生活区里，让它可以，但又不那么容易直接吃到肉块——模拟真实的野外猎食环境。

错过了

又错过了

终于吃到了

在红山，我们看到动物的便便被收集起来做成肥料，再用于园区植物，这样就形成了保护环境的循环。

去年我们自己做的PFC项目也关注环保，但主要是垃圾分类。对照红山处理废物的做法，我发现那只是第一步。真正的环保，还包括再利用和循环。以后我们的项目也可以朝这个方向改进。”

——8年级学生蔡馨谊

这些地方我也能和爸爸妈妈去，但和老师、同学一起感觉完全不同，就像还在课堂里——大家边走边学。我特别喜欢启明星的‘家’的氛围，和好朋友一起出发，真的很开心。”

——8年级学生江杉

这些，都是启明星“创新之旅”的意义——

带孩子们走进真实的世界，让他们的好奇心在山野与城市间生根发芽；

让一次次旅途的灵感，引领校园里的探索与创造；

同时，也让学生在旅途中继续感受到“家”的温度，和社区成员之间温暖的联结。

年复一年，这样的旅程，不仅让孩子看见更大的世界，也让他们更清楚自己在世界中的位置。

这样的创新之旅——下一年，还要！

This year’s Inno Trips made a creative“flip”—instead of happening in May, as in previous years, they were moved up to late September, just after the start of the new school year.

This way, students can bring back inspiration, reflection, and fresh ideas from their travels—ready to fuel their new year of learning. These experiences often spark inspiration for their study.

The new schedule also helps them bond more quickly with their new classmates.

At Daystar Academy, students are regrouped into new classes every year to encourage them to meet new friends and build meaningful connections. And what better way to do that than by sharing a journey together—eating, living, and exploring adventures side by side?

* Sixth grade: traveled to Huairou, on the outskirts of Beijing

* Seventh grade: visited Luoyang

* Eigth grade: went to Nanjing

* Ninth grade: explored Pingyao

* Tenth grade: headed to Qingdao

During these journeys, students “meet the real world.”

In the mountains, the fields, local communities, and workshops, they took in vivid experiences and new perspectives—such as the eight graders’ visit to the Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo.

Known as “the most conscientious zoo in China” Hongshan aims to recreate the animals’ natural habitats.

Rather than keeping them in open, sunken enclosures for easy viewing like in traditional zoos, the animals often roam in lush, plant-filled spaces–sometimes hidden completely out of sight.

The eighth graders experienced this reality firsthand. When they visited on a rainy day, some animals continued their active routines, while others sought shelter.

But observing animals was not the only purpose of the trip. In fact, the rain itself became a lesson.

Students reflected on how, in the real animal world, humans are guests—not controllers.

The weather did not stop them. Students followed their guides to learn about biology and took part in engaging enrichment activities, such as creating food box for the tiger.

The tiger missed the food box.

The tiger missed the food box again.

Finally found it!

At Hongshan Zoo, we saw how animal waste isn’t just collected—it’s turned into fertilizer for plants in the zoo. That’s real recycling and environmental sustainability.

Last year, our PFC project also focused on environmental protection, but we only thought about sorting waste.After visiting Hongshan, I realized that’s just the first step. Recycling and reuse are the next steps we should explore in future PFC projects.”

—Camilla Cai, Eighth-grade student

“Many of the places we visited on our Inno Trips are ones we could also go to with our parents.

But traveling with teachers and classmates feels totally different. It’s like we’re still in class, learning without even realizing it—but we’ve taken it outdoors!

And I also love how Daystar feels like a big family. Traveling with friends makes me really happy.

—Shan Jiang, Eighth-grade student

That isthe heartof Daystar’s Inno Trips—

Year after year, it encourages students to engage with the real world, to spark curiosity, and to channel their youthful energy and creativity into positive, meaningful pursuits.

At the same time, it strengthens their sense of belonging within the Daystar family, allowing students to find a source of energy for learning and growth.

We are already looking forward to next year’s exciting Inno Trips!