Train of knowledge

Updated on: Tuesday, December 15, 2009

This is a train with a difference. It harbours a treasure trove of scientific information that young minds can feast on, ranging from the mysteries of the cosmos to the secrets of the atomic world. And it will stop at select towns and cities in Kerala in the coming days.

This 16-coach train is called the Science Express and it began its latest journey on October 2, 2009.

By the end April 2 next year, it would have traversed 18,000 kms and visited 56 cities. During its earlier trips it had already covered 100 cities across India.

Over 35 lakh visitors, mostly students, had in the past seen this science exhibition on wheels. It is now traversing Karnataka and will be in Kerala soon.

The website http://www.sciencexpress.in/ provides information about the current location and itinerary of the train, according to which the Kerala leg of the journey will begin at Kozhikode on December 23. Considering the global focus on climate change, of topical interest is an entire coach on ‘Climate Change-cause, effect and mitigation'.

The exhibits in the coach show how climate is changing spurred by human activity. Ways of adapting and mitigating climate change are also highlighted.

But that is not all. In the 12 exhibition coaches are displayed more than 300 large-format visual images, over 150 video clips and multimedia elements all of which go to make a travelling science exhibition.

It focuses a lot on cutting-edge research in science and technology as well.

Most of the exhibits were created by the Max Planck Society, Germany. The exhibits delve into the making of our universe - how it began, glimpses of space, black holes, galaxies, Big Bang, our home in the cosmos, spaceship Earth, simpler cold atoms, ultra-short light, biotechnology, building blocks of life from ‘gene to organism', the world of senses, architecture of the mind, renewable energy, technologies and energy sources for future, nanocosmos, bio-engineering, genetics, cell biology, computer applications in medicine and global challenges. The exhibition, aimed mainly at high school and college students, will help them acquire a scientific temper and encourage them to pursue careers in science.

It also tries to take modern research out of the lab and reveal how science is relevant to everyday life and also to the future, in terms of enabling society to face global challenges.

Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC), Ahmedabad, is coordinating and managing 'Science Express' across India. VASCSC's team comprising of science communicators aboard the train help visitors understand the exhibits better. Each of the coaches have exhibits on a specific theme - on the way to the big bang; from gene to organism; technologies of the future, nanocosmos; architecture of the mind; climate change; building blocks of life; the world of senses; global challenges; spaceship earth; our home in the cosmos; the universe; science and technology in India and the joy of science.

The Joy of science is a hands on lab where students can perform experiments and take part in various activities centered on physics, chemistry, biology, electronics and mathematics.

Train of knowledge

More Education news