Wang Jingli wangjingli0715@163.com ALTHOUGH kindergartens in Shenzhen are still closed due to the COVID pandemic, the Shenzhen Nanshan Government Agency Kindergarten held an online tech class Saturday to give children a chance to learn about science and technology. The online tech class is also a key event of the kindergarten’s 20th tech festival which recently began online. Liu Ruopeng, president of Kuang-Chi Institute, whose primary focus is on metamaterials research and development, was invited to deliver for the class a themed speech on the evolution of life on Earth. He started his narrative by taking children and parents back to about 4.6 billion years ago, the beginning of the solar system, to explain where humans came from, along with latest evidence and research results. After his introduction, many children were inspired to raise questions regarding scientific theories such as wormhole theory and natural phenomena. For example, they asked why water flows downward instead of upward given that the sun is hot, what magma is and where it comes from. The class was attended by some 3,500 people and received more than 155,000 thumbs up, according to the kindergarten. At the end of the event, Liu Hongli, principal of the Shenzhen Nanshan Government Agency Kindergarten, appreciated the scientist’s sharing and encouraged children to explore the universe and research on both the known and unknown sciences. | 