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Education Plus
A peep into the world of science
CHITRA DEEPA A.
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The science exhibition on wheels put on show the immense possibilities for students who do not want to jump on the engineering bandwagon.
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Photo: R. Ragu
Widening horizons: School students looking at an exhibit displayed inside the Science Express that arrived in Chennai on February 29.
School and college students and their teachers and parents and science enthusiasts got a glimpse of Mars’ surface right inside a train in Chennai, at the Science Express that arrived in the city on February 29.
The 16-coach air-conditioned train, painted in sparkling white, fully loaded with scientific facts and information and divided into 12 sections, was targeted at high school and college students.
Chennai is the 34th halt for the Science Express that will cover 23 more cities across the country.
Demystifying science
“The aim of the Science Express is to inspire and encourage the youth of the country to take up scientific and scientific research as a career,” says Ranganatham G.V. of Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre, Ahmedabad, and project coordinator, Science Express.
“When young students visit the Science Express, they get an idea about the current research areas in India as well as in Germany. There are 12 coaches and each deals with one topic of current research. We have provided a list of research centres both in India and Germany so that science students can understand the possibilities for research in India and develop keen interest in scientific research,” he says.
“Most students in India opt for a science degree if they could not manage to get a medical or engineering seat. Such students diversify into some other area for their postgraduation studies. We are aiming to inspire such students by providing them details about scientific research across a gamut of subjects so that they can change their mind and continue their rendezvous with science,” says Mr. Ranganatham.
Inspiring youth
“It was a revelation to me that cutting edge research is going on in some of the premier research institutes in India. We always assume that such research takes place only in foreign institutes,” says Vasumathi, who visited the Science Express with her daughter.
“I was greatly impressed with the multimedia and audio-visual presentation put up by the Max Planck Society, Germany. Abstract concepts were visually explained in a comprehensible manner. Such events where students get to know about Indian and German research institutes simultaneously should be conducted more often as it widens students’ horizons and keeps them updated on current developments,” says Sivasankaran, a visitor at the Science Express.
“I wish the authorities concerned had made it very clear that this science exhibition on wheels is being put up especially for those students studying in Class IX and above. It was sad to see hundreds of school students from smaller classes standing in the hot sun and waiting for their chance to see the exhibition. Once in the train they were lost as the concepts were too difficult for them to comprehend,” says a parent.
“As an inspiration for students to take up pure sciences and create a mass awareness about future prospects in this field, the Science Express was very effective. On the whole, I saw the train as a beautiful expression of India’s national integration: Any project in India has to be on a mega scale to reach out to the people — and however huge the project is, it does not deter us — once we put our minds to it, nothing is impossible,” she adds.
In all, the arrival of the Science Express has kindled the interest in science for many young people who visited the exhibition.
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