Kolkata, Mar 3 (IANS): The National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) has created a national record for the largest and longest running science education programme through its fleet of 23 Museobuses, spanning 50 years, an official said on Thursday.

The Limca Book of Records: "NCSM has conducted the largest and longest running science education programme by travelling 14, 88, 297 km in 72, 823 exhibition days.

"It has reached out to 645, 19, 367 people through a fleet of 23 NCSM Museobuses (specally designed exhibition buses) over a period of 50 years. The science education programme began on November 17, 1965, at Ram Krishna Mission School, Narendrapur, West Bengal."

According to NCSM Director General A.S. Manekar, the achievement is a tremendous boost to the oranisation's activities in furthering science education, especially in rural India.

"We will try to increase the reach of the mobile buses to more people and add more buses," Manekar told IANS.

Kolkata-headquartered NCSM is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture.