Students from XlRI have undertaken the task of imparting practical scientific knowledge to students belonging to the less privileged sections of society.
Inspired by the concept of ‘Toys from Trash’ popularised by Arvind Gupta, a group of 10 students have come up with the novel idea of explaining scientific and mathematical concepts to students of class 9 and 10 with the help of models made from everyday material that could be sourced at zero cost from homes. These include hovercrafts made from water bottles and balloons and trusses made from ice cream sticks.
From past one month, the budding managers of XlRI have been travelling to several schools such as Sardar Madho Singh Memorial School and Mithila High School and interacted with the students there.
“Most of the things we learnt in books did not make much sense to us. But seeing working proof of those concepts in front of our eyes was very exciting,” said Aarti, a class ten student from Mithila High School.
Evoking this excitement in studies was the very purpose of this initiative as Yash, one of the XlRI students puts it. “We wanted to reintroduce the fun aspect in learning at minimal cost. Most Government schools have very little budget to spend on fancy lab equipment and 3D models. We, thus, came up with this idea that costs next to nothing.”
The students displayed great eagerness in learning each concept and were quick to grasp all that was taught. “Our students come from a little privileged background. They are hesitant to ask questions and explore beyond what is there in their books. This is the first time that such a unique workshop was conducted in our school. Such sessions will give greater exposure to them and awaken their curiosity in subjects like Science and Mathematics,” said Sarita Kumari, the principal of Madho Singh Memorial School.