’Science Express’ Climate Action exhibition train at M’luru Jn, March 25 to 28

’Science Express’ Climate Action exhibition train at M’luru Jn, March 25 to 28

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, March 24,2016 : According to media information available, ’Science Express Climate Action  Special’  train will be berthed at Mangaluru Junction Railway Station for four days from March 25 to 28.  The train will display the world of micro and macro cosmos, creating awareness about strengths of science in meeting global challenges, including latest discoveries and innovations in the field of modern science.  However, public feels that the Junction is not accessible enough for ordinary people to visit.

Science Express is a unique science exhibition mounted on a 16-coach AC train. It has been travelling across India successfully for the past nine years, having been flagged off on October 30, 2007 by the then Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel. The exhibition train has, since then, covered over 1,22,000 km across the country, receiving more than 1.33 crore visitors at its 391 halts, in 1,404 days. The Science Express has, thus, become the largest, longest running and most-visited mobile science exhibition in India and has created six Limca Book of Records in its journey so far.

The coaches of Science Express thematically represent the Big Bang, Nanocosmos, Building Blocks of Life, From Gene to Organism, Architecture of Mind, World of Senses, Sensors, From Data to Knowledge, Global Challenges, Spaceship Earth, Our Home in the Cosmos and the Universe. It was a treat for the visitors, especially students, who got an opportunity to learn about cutting-edge science and technology through the exhibits, models and audio-visual displays in the coaches of Science Express.

After successful tours across India, ‘Science Express’ was redesigned on the theme ‘Climate Change’ and from October 15, it is running as ‘Science Express – Climate Action Special (SECAS)’. The SECAS will travel across the country for about seven months, halting at 64 locations in 20 States, covering about 19,800 km.

It is a unique collaborative initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), and the Ministry of Railway.

The state-of-the-art exhibition aboard the ‘Science Express – Climate Action Special (SECAS)’ is carried on eight of the 16 coaches of SECAS, developed by Centre for Environment Education (CEE) on behalf of MoEFCC.

It is exclusively devoted to information, case studies and material related to various aspects of climate change, the underlying science, impacts, adaptation activities, mitigation solutions and policy approaches in a manner that is easy to understand and interesting for not just school students but also the masses.

Another interesting complementary activity of the Science Express is the Platform Activity. It has been designed with the purpose of teaching better utilisation of time, by engaging the students who wait for their turn to enter into the exhibition coaches.

Besides, the platform provides a bigger space to cater to larger groups of students. The on board team conducts activities dealing with different topics of Science and Mathematics in the form of games, puzzles, demonstrations, quiz etc. Some important national and international days related to Science and Mathematics, like the World Ozone Day and World Environment Day are also celebrated on the Platform with students and general public to generate awareness.

In order to broaden the reach of Science Express, at each station, different activities are planned in advance. Amongst all these activities, one of the most sought-after and exciting one is the Outreach Activity conducted by the Science Communicators onboard at different local schools/institutions for students who are not able to visit the train.

Science Express has a separate section for Teachers Orientation Programme, where the teachers at primary and secondary levels are oriented for using hands-on approaches for teaching science and mathematics.

Kids Zone :  The Kids Zone caters exclusively to children up to 10 years of age. The children visiting this section are able to make simple models and also indulge in fun-filled activities, games and puzzles in science, mathematics and environment. These activities serve as the first step towards developing a positive attitude for formal learning of science and mathematics.

The children are exposed to concepts of sound, light, optical illusions, static electricity, air pressure, centre of gravity, laws of motion, balanced diet, environment conservation and numbers through activities like Hovercraft, Trumpet, Balancing Butterfly, Magic Coin Box, Toy Car, Stroboscope, Balanced Diet Pyramid and Tap-tap.

Joy of Science Lab  :  Joy of Science (JOS) Lab is a unique onboard laboratory in the train. It been set up and is being managed by the Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC), with the support of the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

This hands-on laboratory has six work stations, where groups of 20 students (standard 6 to 10) can perform various experiments and activities for understanding different concepts of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Environmental Science. The train was previously berthed at Palakkad station.