Pratham Education Foundation

Celebrating Science

By Namrta Kaushal

For me, the word ‘science’ conjures memories of tedious hours sitting in a classroom, attempting unsuccessful efforts to keep my eyes open and trying hard to understand kinetic energy. I sat in that classroom and decided that science was indeed dull, useless, and irrelevant.

Recently I witnessed the science program run by Pratham in Lucknow. I always thought a child who reads science learns science. Well, that’s how I had learnt it. And I had no choice but re-think that opinion!

My perception and fears were altered at the science program I visited here. The 4 day program included 2 days of workshops where the children learnt 60 different science models. The target audiences for this program were children from classes 5-9.

All the students were divided into pairs and given a model each to rehearse. Over the next 2 days, students would then put up a Science fair and educate children from other schools about their model.

It was amazing to see children who were hesitant in telling me their names, but would confidently answer any questions regarding a science concept. They not only gained confidence while carrying out the experiments at the fair, but also identified their own inclinations towards the subject which I so dreaded during my schooling.

The science team from Pratham reaches thousands of children through science clubs, science workshops and fairs all over the country. The prime objective of the workshops for students is to ‘Learn by Doing’. The students not only understand the complicated experiments during the workshop but also learn it for lifetime through performing it during the fair.