The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted for nearly a month in Macao. Children and young people still need to stay at home to fight the pandemic. In view of this, Macao Science Center (MSC) will continue to launch new popular science education programs through the YouTube channel of the "MSC Online Educational Resource Platform" and the MSC WeChat subscription account in late July so that students can learn all kinds of popular science knowledge through the Internet and enrich their summer life without leaving home. 

In addition to the existing popular programs "Pandemic Prevention Information Station", "Weekly Science News", "Metaverse", "Interesting Stories of Western Scientists", and "Fishery Industry in Macau", MSC will launch a number of new programs starting from the 18th of this month. The topics of the programs are diverse and closely related to life, including "Evolution of Macao's Waters", "Insect Ecology", "Ancient Chinese Star Mansions", "Starry Sky Field Online", "Carbon Emissions", and the short aerial documentary "A Day Before Stillness". 

MSC has specially invited Mr. Leong Chi-Man, a young local insect ecologist known as "Macao Ant-Man", to discuss with the audience the interactions between humans and various insects in the new program "Insect Ecology". Mr. Leong will lead the audience to examine the soil around MSC, and together with the audience, explore and observe the interesting little creatures that live near MSC to learn about their ecology and characteristics. The program will be broadcast on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. from July 20. It is suitable for primary school students and interested adults. 

MSC has also invited Chu Kar Kit, a Macao carbon auditor and engineer, to be a guest host of the "Carbon Emissions" series. He will explain the meaning of "dual carbon" (namely "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality") and knowledge related to energy conservation and emission reduction, and help students to correctly understand major national strategic decisions as well as to learn about the impact of carbon emissions and "dual carbon" on the environment, and the importance of sustainable social development. The program will be broadcast on Fridays at 3:00 p.m. from July 22. It is suitable for primary and secondary school students. 

In order to develop primary and secondary school students' interest in astronomy and encourage them to learn about and inherit traditional Chinese culture, MSC will launch two astronomical science series, "Starry Sky Field Online" and "Ancient Chinese Star Mansions", on the 18th and 24th of this month respectively. "Starry Sky Field Online" can be described as a preparatory course for astronomical science popularization workers. The content covers basic astronomical knowledge, astronomical telescope operating skills, and discussions on popular astrophotography topics. In addition, various professional equipment operation demonstrations will be provided to help the audience practice on their own. The program will be broadcast on Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. from July 18. It is suitable for young people aged 15 or above. "Ancient Chinese Star Mansions" will be broadcast on Sundays and Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. from July 24. The program will introduce ancient China's stargazing techniques, the way of dividing stars, and the "Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions" so that the audience can see the romantic starry sky in the eyes of the ancients. It is suitable for people aged 10 or above. 

In order to meet the needs of young children for learning from home during the fight against the pandemic, MSC has also prepared a series called "Picture Books on Chinese Scientists". Children can learn the touching stories of many scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the country through picture books. Another program entitled "Simultaneous Science and Play" will demonstrate to parents and children how to use common materials to make simple science toys by hand; the aim is to train children's hands-on skills. During the program, the audience's problems encountered in making the toys or inquiries about scientific principles related to toys will be handled immediately. 

Since June 19, MSC has successively produced more than 80 episodes of popular science education programs that are broadcast on the YouTube channel of the "MSC Online Educational Resource Platform" (https://www.youtube.com/user/Mscmacao) and the MSC WeChat subscription account. The above platform is free of charge and is suitable for primary and secondary school students or people who are interested in science applications. The public can also check the program schedule on MSC's website (www.msc.org.mo) or social media.

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