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SCIENCE EXPRESS CHUGS INTO CITY, MAKES LEARNING FUN
April 5, 2008: Hop onto this train and you will feel like you have entered a spaceship. Silver interiors and fascinating colours greet the eye, flagging off a journey that leads not to another city, but to the world of science.
The 16-coach Science Express, which is to travel to 57 cities, reached its 41st destination—Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus—on Friday. It will be in town till Tuesday. The Science Express makes knotty theories simpler by showcasing them through models and images.
From theories explaining the Big Bang to those elaborating the functions of the human brain, and from nano-structure to methods of sustainable development, the 16 coaches have exhibits on diverse areas of natural and life sciences.
“Initiatives such as these have to be encouraged as they provide a different learning experience to students,’’ said M Barma of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, who inaugurated the train’s Mumbai stay. “Demonstrations make science look more real to children and can cultivate active interest in them to pursue it as a discipline,’’ he added.
The coaches have around 300 large-format visual images and 150 video clips and multimedia. A visitor can rest his/her eyes on the kaleidoscope and take a look at the contours of Mars as if the planet was only a blink away. One can also touch any part of the world on the globe and the disappearing languages of the area will flash on an adjoining screen.
“Learning from books can be a little boring. Attractive visuals and activities related to scientific principles thrill me more than anything else,’’ said a 13-year-old, who was among the first to visit the Science Express at CST. The train is a joint venture between the Centre’s department of science and technology, the German government, Max Planck Society and the chemical firm, BASF. (TOI)
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