| learningnet-india.org The complete educational resource |
 |
| Home | |
| What's New | |
| Profiles | |
| Activities | |
| Announcements | |
| Publications | |
| Articles | |
| Resources | |
|
|
|
Keywords
Resource Group, Resource Center, Mobile, Science, Rural, Middle School, High School, Government
Geographical Location
Pune, Maharashtra
Languages
Marathi, Hindi, English
Objective/Mission/Goals
Vidynan Vahini was set up with the following objectives in mind -
- To provide rural school children with the opportunity to handle scientific apparatus and learn the basics of science through experiments.
- To create awareness of the relevance of science in the lives of rural school children by discussing concepts such as cleanliness, hygiene, safe drinking water, and the environment.
- To explain the science behind some seemingly curious results, thus helping to remove age-old superstitions.
- To educate adolescent children on human reproduction.
- To bridge the gap between urban and rural education.
- To spread the message in rural communities that science can help solve the problems in their everyday lives as much as it does for the urbanites.
- To hold workshops and training camps for science teachers in order to establish a dialogue with them through continuing education.
These objectives are accomplished using a Mobile Science Lab developed by the organisation's founders, Pushpa Deshpande and Madhukar Deshpande. Most rural secondary schools have grossly inadequate science laboratories. The students often learn science without performing or even observing a single experiment. Vidnyanvahini, through its MSL, gives the students in secondary schools a chance to learn science by performing experiments. Vidnyanvahini emphasizes in general, things should not be accepted as facts just because they are stated in a book. Instead, they should be verified by observations and rational conclusions drawn from such observations. It is through such an attempt that we hope to inculcate and nurture a scientific attitude among the school children.
Typically, members of the Dialogue and Action Group (DAG) of Vidnyanvahini together with the local science teachers interact with seventy to eighty students on a given day. The students watch and perform 20 to 25 short experiments. Supplemental information is provided through audio-visual aids, exhibits such as a model electric train, lecture/demonstration, and discussions. Vidnyanvahini selects schools based on their need, size, and location. The MSL, in consultation with the school authorities, schedules two or more trips to about seventy-five schools per year. The experiments are chosen primarily for 8th, 9th and 10th grade students. Five to six teacher workshops are held on a yearly basis.
Resources Available
- Schedule visits of the Mobile Science Lab to your school
- Participate in Teacher Workshops
Contact Information
Madhukar Deshpande, Pushpa Deshpande
701 B Kshitij, Plot No. 87A-1-1
Sahakar Nagar No. 2, Pune 411009
Phone: (020) 2422 2127, 2428 1134, 2422 4865
Website Links
Vidnyan Vahini
Science on Wheels
The Ties that Bind and Grow