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Young World
Discovering the joys of science
JOHN L. PAUL
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Science is entertaining and easy to understand here.
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Photo: H. Vibhu
Infotainment: Science park at the Cochin University for Science and Technology.
The Centre for Science in Society at the Cusat campus resembles a school within the sprawling university campus. C-SiS, as it is referred to, teems with chirpy school children all through the year. The centre has a science park, herb park, science library, labs, multimedia computer facilities, pavilion and mini-workshop, aimed at developing in children interest in science and technology. The happy yells and thumping feet of children make the place a vibrant one and no wond
er the children feel freer here than at school, since no attempt is made to silence or control them. Yet, they do not create a ruckus.
Fun time
The facilities at the centre are aimed at making children have a first hand experience of scientific principles that they read in text books. The Director of C-SiS and former head of the Electronics department of Cusat, Dr K G Nair says that the facilities and teaching at most schools in the country are not congenial to learning science. “There are thousands of students who pass standard X without seeing a test tube,” he says.
The centre has 98 physics gadgets, apart from other equipment and samples, to help students learn science in a simple and interesting way. Dr Nair was inspired teaching his two sons the principles of science, with simple working models he made for them. He says that though there are many budding C V Ramans in Indian schools, they are unable to make their mark for a variety of reasons.
At the science park, children were seen crowding around the exposed model of a car, to check out and learn the functioning of the gear, steering, clutch, brakes and speedometer among other stuff. Then there are working models of a hydro-electric power generator and wind mill, the production of solar energy, the model of DNA, a periscope, demonstration of osmosis, how images are formed and erased by pixels, incinerator for waste disposal, explanation of resonance and so on. The centre also has a toy laboratory.
Apart from one-day programmes, the C-SiS holds extensive programmes during the summer vacation. The centre also has a Child Scientists’ Forum, for which programmes are conducted on a Saturday every month, for a year. The science talent development programme runs seven weeks.
Great response
The response form is full of interesting statements by students. Surya PS of St Raphael’s HS, Ezhupunna, has jotted down her unforgettable experiences at the centre. “One day was too short a time to learn all the gadgets shown here. Some parts of the park are exposed to the direct rays of the sun. It would be ideal if some more trees are planted,” she says. One day is too short a time, we would need more time to learn interesting aspects of science, writes Swathy Krishnan of Government Higher Secondary School, K S Puram Karunagapally.
The centre was established in 1991 as an offshoot of the Indian Science Congress organised in the university, with the theme Science in Society. Over 2000 teachers and thousands of children have derived inspiration from the facilities at the centre and reasserted their love for science. The State Government has recognised it as a training centre for high-school science teachers, under the Sastraposhini programme.
For details, call: 2575039 or 2575975 or e-mail: c-sis@cusat.ac.in.
The website is www.c-sis.org.
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