Abstract: Quantum mechanics, as the foundation of modern physics, is also essential for the public to understand science and identify pseudoscientific claims. With the rise of the second quantum revolution, students from diverse backgrounds, including humanities majors and high school students, show growing interest in learning quantum mechanics. Yet traditional teaching, reliant on mathematical derivations, poses barriers for those without advanced mathematics. This paper reports on a general education course in quantum mechanics that abandons slidebased lectures and instead employs optical simulations, blackboard sketches, simple experiments, and interactive games. Within 32 class hours, students gain an intuitive understanding of quantum states, superposition, coherence and collapse, the uncertainty principle, as well as basic ideas of quantum communication (BB84) and quantum computing (DeutschJozsa, DJ algorithm). Assessment is conducted through interviewbased exams and quantum game assignments, supplemented by accessible experiments such as the threepolarizer paradox. Teaching practice shows that the course effectively enables students, even without a physics background, to grasp key quantum concepts, avoid common misconceptions, and form a coherent picture of the quantum world. The experience offers a practical model for integrating rigorous science into general education.

Key words: quantum mechanics, general education, optical simulation