Mangalore: Scientific World Unfurls as 'Science Express' Chugs in to City
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (MM/AF)
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Mangalore, Mar 29: Science Express, an exhibtion on train, chugged in to Mangalore Central railway station carrying a huge amount of scientific knowledge on Saturday, March 29.
The train contains a total of 16 coaches out of which 13 coaches have been reserved for science exhibition. Of them, 12 coaches have been designed by Max Planck Society of London and one by BASF. Majority of the coaches contain information and demonstration about physics and the rest of them are on life sciences.
The train began its journey on October 27, 2007, flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It chugged through 44 places across India before reaching the city. The train completed its 100 days of journey at Howrah. The train is slated to travel a total of 57 places in 217 days before concluding its journey. It will be leaving the city on Tuesday April 1.
The Science Express car contains interesting information about Mars Rover, languages which are on the brink of extinction in many parts of the world, use of computers in the scientific field, the concept of future cars and many more. BASF has designed a ‘Kids Lab’ in the car to facilitate the students to participate in experiments. The concept selected by BASF is 'impact of chemistry on modern life.'
Life of wheels:
The personnel of Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre of Ahmedabad are engaged in the task of explaining the various concepts of sciences in the car. It is a thrilling experience for them to interact with various kinds of students from all over India, they said.
According to Prachi, one of the personnel here, they faced language problems in many parts of India, but were still able to get the message across.
All of them are postgraduates in various disciplines of science. They experienced chilly winter in northern parts of India while they also met heavy rain in Kanyakumari. It has been an unforgettable experience, Ranchi said.
Inauguration:
Eminent scientist Dr Kasturi Rangan inaugurated the science exhibition here on Saturday, March 29. Speaking on the occasion, he said that lots of developments have taken place in the scientific field today and various branches of science are disappearing. On the other hand, barriers between these braches are breaking up and the branches are merging. This is a good sign of development, he opined.
Deputy commissioner M Maheshwar Rao presided over the function. Dr K V Rao, director (training) of Pilikula Science Centre, state pollution control board president Sharathchandra, BASF national president Prasadchandra, P P Shetty, senior general manager of BASF and others were present on the occasion.
Thousands of students from in and around the city have been paying a visit to the Science Express.