The Hindu : New Delhi News : Experiments made easy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 20, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Experiments made easy

Lakshmi B. Ghosh

With no sinks, a revolving equipment box and much more, chemistry labs may well be on the threshold of a make-over

GREEN, CLEAN LAB: Prof. H.O. Gupta in the midst of an experiment at his new look chemistry lab in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Moving away from the "cookbook" syndrome affecting most science laboratories, this is one chemistry lab that promises to keep the experiments "clean and green''. In an ambitious attempt to make labs across the country "toxic-free", a professor at the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has created an eco-friendly lab that does away with not just the chemical stained sink and heavy apparatus but also the traditional way of blindly following the book.

"There is enormous wastage of chemicals in our labs. And since most of the chemicals are later thrown into the sink or washed away, they further end up polluting the system around the school. The new lab does not have a sink. It is a model that would help schools in rural areas by being cost effective and those in urban areas in being environment friendly,'' says H.O. Gupta, a chemistry professor at NCERT who has created the new system.

Based on the concept of micro-scale chemistry, the lab also has miniature lab equipment. "Instead of using big racks to store the chemicals, I have developed a specially designed revolving box containing all necessary chemicals and miniature apparatus. Students don't even need to move from their place to perform the experiments,'' said Prof. Gupta, who has also created a `W' shape test tube to make experiments such as the lime test easier.

The lab also comes with a guidance book for teachers in which over 40 experiments have been worked out on the basis of Prof. Gupta's theory of learning cycle for students. "Chemistry is usually taught in such a way that students often can't connect theory to practicals. The learning cycle created by me consists of three phases -- exploration, experimentation and transformation. My aim is to motivate students towards doing the experiments in unfamiliar situations. He should know how to use the knowledge he has gained from the experiment in other situations too,'' added Prof. Gupta.

Although Delhi University's Gargi College had tied up with the Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environmental Education (CEE) to introduce waste management in its labs last year, most experts feel that an important step towards minimising waste would be to use chemicals only in required proportions.

While 30 teachers have already been trained in the new `technique', Prof. Gupta has now written to various schools with the proposal to set up the lab in their premises.

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