Joy of Science – Science team participates in IUCAA workshop, Pune (31.01.17 – 04.02.17)
Making a simple motor
TATA trust organised a 5-day workshop at the IUCAA science centre where we participated as Eklavya science team members. On the first two days, the IUCAA team demonstrated toys illustrating science concepts. Their primary focus was on making learning joyful. The toys were easy to make and kept the children engaged. There is a perception that science experiments require well-equipped labs, but the toys demonstrated were made out of trash.
Food testing
In sessions led by Eklavya, participants explored the scientific process and worked on science concepts like percentage of oxygen in the air, electricity, gears, food and nutrition, and the human digestive system.
Demonstration of a working model of motor
Participants were asked to connect two bulb of different resistance in series. One bulb was bright and the other dim. When asked the reason for the difference, participants said that the bulb nearer to the positive terminal of the battery was brighter. Then they were asked to switch the positions of the bulbs, and found that the same bulb was brighter. This time the reasons offered were that the brighter bulb was getting more voltage or more current. The discussion was very rich and interesting.
Demonstartion of Gears in a workshop
The team observed that a balanced approach is needed to learn science. It helps learning to go through the process of science while learning concepts in an enjoyable way.
(Gaurav Kumar, Honey Singh and Sanjay Sen, Science team, Eklavya, CLIx)
