The licensing ceremony for the first group of Children’s Science and Innovation Centers in the Yangtze River Delta was held today, as the 2023 National Science and Technology Week was well underway. The event was organized by the Chinese Society for Modern Educational Technology, Shanghai ChuangZhan Science Popularization Development Center, and Suzhou Youth Off-Campus Education Guidance Center, with the aim of promoting children’s enlightenment and education in the Yangtze River Delta region and arousing their interest in science.

After application and review, 42 Children’s Science and Innovation Centers in the Yangtze River Delta were approved, including 39 in kindergartens and three built by sub-district communities. One of the 42 is co-built by media, also the first of its kind.

Mr. Ding Xin, deputy chairman and secretary-general of the China Association for Educational Technology and former deputy director of the National Center for Educational Technology, said that developing a group of children’s science and innovation centers in the Yangtze River Delta will help improve the scientific literacy of young people, and train a local team of high-caliber science and technology talent with the awareness and capabilities of innovation.

Interest is the primary drive for learning. To provide better course services for those centers, Shanghai Teenager Art and Children Creativity Center provides free equipment and courses to Suzhou Youth Off-Campus Education Guidance Center. It will offer free artificial intelligence courses in each licensed center successively in the coming month. The practice will be continued for more centers to come. Meanwhile, Shanghai Teenager Art and Children Creativity Center will train teachers for the licensed centers, guide them to hold S&T popularization and innovation activities, and organize them to participate in various such activities for children in the Yangtze River Delta.

Mr. Fang Zhan, director of the Shanghai Chuangzhan Science Popularization Development Center, said, with the licensing ceremony as the starting point, more resources in S&T innovation, family education, mental health, labor education, and teachers’ professional development as well as professional services will be brought to the Yangtze River Delta for the licensed centers. A mechanism will also be built that integrates innovation practices inside and outside campus as well as a comprehensive cooperation and development platform.