BASE Camps for Afterschool

BASE is the Bangalore Association of Science Education. BASE focuses on non-formal science education. It offers workshops, exhibitions, summer camps, etc., for school-age children. For more information go this this link and see under BASE. The website also offers a sky chart for every month - you will find it at this link.

Mad Science AfterSchool!

With international schools mushrooming in India, international afterschool programmes can't be too far behind! Mad Science - an afterschool science enrichment programme from the US is now in India - at two locations Kolkata and Mumbai.

Mad Science offers a range of fun, hands-on science activities for children between 6-12 years of age. Visit their website for more information and contact details.

Moon Struck Afterschool!

Chandrayaan I has been launched. Here are some videos to relive the moment:

A You Tube video recorded 4 km from the launch site at Sriharikota.

Here is another You Tube video of the DD live telecast. It gives a feeling of 'being there'. Must point out to children how calm and composed the scientists are!

And from ISRO's own website are these video resources (you need to use Internet Explorer) - the DECU-ISRO video on the mission is good.

Food for Thought for Afterschool!

This post is about a resource on ecology - specifically on food chains and food webs. Indian textbooks usually carry the very boring insect - frog - snake - eagle example. Examples from the many foreign textbooks which students use at undergraduate and postgraduate levels are - well foreign!

What if you chanced upon a very well written, very Indian example illustrated with clear colour photographs? Well, here it is.

Dilip Amritphale and Sanotsh Sharma have put together an excellent piece in Resonance (January 2007) based on their field research on the food chains associated with Calotopis - a very common plant on India's wastelands. Read it yourself and share it with your students - it is sure to get them hooked on to nature study.

Mission Moon - Afterschool!

Get your afterschool programme to focus on India's first mission to the moon - and fast (the launch is due in a few weeks time)!

Chandrayaan-1 (Chandra- Moon , Yaan-vehicle) is a scientific investigation of the Moon by spacecraft. Chandrayaan-1 is the first Indian planetary science and exploration mission and will be launched soon from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota (SHAR), India.

The Indian Space Research Organization website has some good resources on the mission you can use. Here is a well-written booklet.

Learning Basket for Afterschool!

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has a learning basket on its website. The site offers interactive learning modules relevant to high school science - electricity, energy, cell division, genetics...

Navigation seems a challenge if you directly click on the links to the modules - so try right-clicking on the links and choose the 'open in new tab option'.

Media Literacy Afterschool

A young girl took her life over fear of the world coming to an end following the start of the LHC experiment. Amidst the fierce competition between TV channels for dishing out sensational news - a life is lost.

It brings home some harsh facts:

• If you do not give people the right information - they will have access to only the wrong information
• People have any number of information sources today - but do they have access to media literacy skills?

Media literacy should be a core part of any afterschool curriculum - how to access information and how to critically evaluate the information you access.

Afterschool services in India also need to have many avatars - there are thousands of school drops outs like the unfortunate 16 year old who will benefit from a non-formal flexible educational experience. Is there a local learning club that she could have gone to - to discuss her fears and to seek facts? I find it so disturbing that the child was constantly asking her family questions about the end of the world. She did not get her answer...

My dream is to have a network of afterschool learning centres that anyone can walk into - to learn and to share their own learning and life experience.

Experience Science Afterschool!

"Children experience science everyday from dawn to dusk. But, how much of this science do they truly analyze, appreciate, apply or even understand?" This question is from the Anubhava Science Centre's website. I think it expresses the core concern which led to its creation.

Anubhava Science Centre is a facility in Bangalore that lets children learn science by doing. It caters to children in the age group 5-10 years. Children spend time choosing and doing science experiments for an hour every week. (I like the choosing part the best - it is so tough for an adult to actually let a child choose!)

We need so many of such facilities - one in every residential locality!

Resources for Afterschool Science and Math

Getting into the IIT is a cherished dream for both teenagers and their parents. A good foundation - with strong conceptual understanding and problem solving skills - is what afterschool programs for teenagers can help to build.

Here is a good resource for IIT aspirants and their teachers: Make your way to the IITs. This site offers ebooks, tests, videos and several links. While the site is useful for high school (standards 9 to 12), I would highly recommend it for educators at the elementary levels (standards 6 to 8) too. Access to good reference material will make the teacher's treatment of science more contextual, in-depth and meaningful.

Science Club Afterschool

Any good afterschool programme must have a science component. It helps if your science club is part of a larger network. Vigyan Prasar supports science clubs though its programme VIPNET . While there are quite a number of science clubs across India and Andhra Pradesh - the programme does not seem to be very popular. Anantapur and Kurnool have a decent number of science clubs affiliated to VIPNET while Hyderabad has just a handful.

Being part of a network is a mutually enriching experience - for the network as well as for the members. In the current Indian scenario where there is no afterschool network - being part of science, math, art and literature networks can help afteschool centres to exchange experiences and agree on quality standards.

Catch the Eclipse Afterschool!

It is the day of the partial solar eclipse (in India) today - and it times itself so well for an afterschool program - starting at about 4.30 pm and ending at about 6 pm. The skies have a lot of cloud cover - so while I'm not sure what we can actually get to see from Hyderabad, there is a lot to do in any case: keeping a safe solar viewer ready at hand, digging out reference books for entries on eclipses, setting up a small demonstration on the eclipse and logging on to NASA TV for a live telecast!

The next solar eclipse (this one will be total) is due on 22 July 2009. So be sure to stock up your afterschool program with a astronomy kit from Vigyan Prasar. The kit has amongst other things a safe solar viewer, information cards and a small demo kit.

India Goes for Gold Afterschool!

Indian students won four gold and one silver medal at the 39th International Physics Olympiad (IPO) that concluded on Monday in Hanoi, Vietnam. This is India's best performance ever in the physics olympiad.

The Indian participants were mentored at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), the nodal centre for India's science olympiad programme. The main activities of the HBCSE are: (a) Research and Development, (b) Teacher Orientation and Science Popularisation, and (c) Olympiads and other Students' Nurture Programmes. The HBCSE is a valuable resource for afterschool programmes.

The HBCSE website notes "One of the most painful lacunae in our school system is the absence of quality printed materials for teachers and students to supplement the textbooks. The lack of such resources probably contributes to the authoritarian and bookish approach to learning that is often seen in the classroom". HBCSE publishes quality co-curricular materials including teachers handbooks, student booklets on remedial algebra, a set of 3 books on a problem-solving approach to physics, etc.

Headfake Textbooks for Afterschool!

You've heard 'headfake' before right? If not please look this up - its worth it!

Now talking about headfake textbooks relevant to Indian kids. There is a wonderful series of science (story) books by the IL&FS. I've got a few in my afterschool library. Just yesterday a 5th grader read one of the books - Camp Yellow Submarine - it gives a good intro to the structure and working of the digestive system. The storyline is an adventurous trip inside the body in a mini submarine. I handpicked the book for her as she had just finished the same lesson in school. It was a great way to reinforce and enrich what she had learned in school.

We need lots of books of this kind at costs that are affordable. Is anyone listening?

Astronomy Afterschool

A readily available resource for learning science is the sky! Joining an astronomy club or starting one on your own is a good way to dwell deeper into the fascinating world of stars, eclipses, comets, etc.

The Astronomy Club of Hyderabad offers support to set up your own afterschool (or school) astronomy club. The Amateur Astronomers Association in Delhi is another resource. While it would be useful to give a complete listing of such organizations/institutions to help you find one in your city - this is beyond the scope of this blog. But a stroll through these two websites should provide you enough pointers and contacts to get info on your city/state.

Train for the Olympiad Afterschool!

What gives gifted Indian students the motivation to keep going? One of the answers is the olympiads - competitive academic events that test the students ability to grasp and apply concepts - way beyond the exercises in the textbooks. Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education is the nodal centre for Olympiad programmes in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Astronomy. The programmes aim at promoting excellence in science and mathematics among pre-university students. The exams are held in several stages - starting from the local to international levels. Students short-listed in the initial rounds are provided specialized coaching to help them face the international exam. Students of the XI and XII standards are eligible to participate - while some (astronomy) also have a Junior level where students from VIII standard upwards can join.

Skywatch Afterschool

The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune has a Scientific Public Outreach Programme (SciPOP). The SciPOP has several programmes reaching children both during and afterschool time. The 2nd saturday lecture and demonstration programme invites scientists to speak to kids in the 9th and 10th standards. For children in the age group 10-18 years, hands-on science workshops are organized. However, students must be in a group of about 40 and must be accompanied by their teachers to take part. On friday evenings a sky-watching programme is organized - this is open to all (with prior appointment). Campus visits can also be requested.

Academic institutions opening their doors to children is a sure shot way to generate interest in science and math. Afterschool centres also need to pursue links with such institutions - so that such learning opportunities do not get limited only to schools.

Afterschool vacation camps on bioresources

The National Bioresource Development Board (NBDB) under the Department of Biotechnology been running a Vacation Training Programme on Bioresources since 2002. This 3-4 week programme is held annually for the children who have appeared in the class X board exams. The course consists of interactive lectures, hands-on lab & field work and individual projects on study of plants, animals, microbes of their area, web page designing on bioresources, simple biotechnology-based experiments etc. Since 2002, more than 40 programmes have been organized across the country.

The Department has now launched DNA clubs (DBT's Natural Resources Awareness clubs) in 145 schools across 23 states and UTs of the country. The Vacation Training Programme is now a part of the DNA club programme. These clubs will conduct a range of activities and provide hands-on learning opportunities focusing on bioresources. Regional Resource Agencies (RRAs) have been established at different locations in the country to facilitate this activity.

There is also a school contact programme through which quiz competitions, film shows etc are held in different schools at the regional and national levels. This programme is being hosted by National Geographic Channel.

Afterschool Science at the Museum

Did you know? - the first science museum in the country was set up in 1956 (I do not know yet which one it is!). The National Council of Science Museums has about 25 science museums across the country. Here is a map showing you their locations. Apart from these, there are science 'cities' set up state governments (for example, the Gujarat Science City, the Science City in Chennai). Then there are those set up by independent foundations (the Birla Science Museum in Hyderabad).

The Gujarat Science City has a variety of programmes and facilities for popularizing science. The facilities include exhibit halls on science and space, an energy park, a life science park, etc. The activities include a series of lectures on popular science topics, workshops on science for children, events to mark important days (such as the World Ozone Day), etc. Interestingly, they also have a training module on use of puppetry for science popularization - and a puppetry corner at the science city. The best part is that the science city is open till 9 pm.

Afterschool...Naturally!

The Bombay Natural History Society's Conservation Education Centre is located on 33 acres of forest land on the outskirts of Mumbai (earlier Bombay) city. It provides a range of 'afterschool' educational opportunities including nature trails, nature camps, special events (how about 'Breakfast with Butterflies'?!), and even distance learning courses. (BTW distance learning courses will be a separate post - there are so many great courses out there!) The centre also offers volunteering opportunities.

Several nature clubs/associations across the country offer a range of nature-related programmes:
The Birdwatcher's Association of Andhra Pradesh (of which I am a member) based in Hyderabad organizes monthly birdwatching trips and indoor meetings.
The Butterfly Conservation Society, also in Hyderabad, organizes similar programmes with a focus on butterflies.
Sundarvan, a nature discovery centre (and mini zoo) in Ahmedabad organizes nature camps at its campsites.

Opportunities provided by these institutions are valuable - they give children a chance to learn specialized skills (species identification, census, etc.), they give a real-life feel to science (especially important as many Indian schools do not have basic lab facilities), and build nature appreciation. These are what every good afterschool programme must aspire to achieve.

Science Education Afterschool

Another important area where afterschool programmes are active in India is science education. There are several institutions focusing on popularizing science. Some like the Jana Vignana Vedika focus on using science to counter superstitions, some like Ekalavya focus on promoting activity-based science education, some others like the Bombay Natural History Society focus on a specific agenda (in this case nature camps, eco-clubs, etc. for conservation). There is a lot of ground to cover in this blog! One step at a time. To start with one of my favourites:

The Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre (or the VASCSC) located in Ahmedabad, India is an institution built (in the 1960s) by the visionary whose name it carries. Its campus offers several interactive science exhibits that children can fiddle with. There are well equipped physics, chemistry and biology labs. A small but resourceful science shop offers do-it-yourself science kits and puzzles for children as well as demonstration kits for teachers.

The VASCSC offers a range of programmes for children and teachers. These includes weekend clubs on science and math, summer workshops (science hobby workshops, math lab, computer workshops, etc.), teacher training programmes, etc. The centre also has several outreach activities.

The need for such institutions across the country is great. However, what we have are a handful scattered across India's gigantic landscape.