Vigyan Vahini

7/25/2019 Vigyan Vahini

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http://www.thebetterindia.com/25327/these-mobile-science-laboratories-

traveled-280000-kilometres-to-teach-science-education-remote-india/

A roup o! retired pro!essionals. "ne #$obile %cience &aborator'( bus.2)80)000 *ilometres traveled. $ore than 3 &akh students covered. %cience

education b' this roup o! senior citi+ens will ive our 'outh!ul teachers a

comple,

As the #$obile %cience &aborator'( $%& bus turns on the windin roads o!

$aharashtra) the teachers read' the science e,periments and all the material !or

activities. A science laborator' on wheels is perhaps no novelt' in ndia these

da's1 a!ter all) it has proved to be the simplest wa' to reach out to those in rural

landscapes. owever) the people takin it !rom place to place certainl' are.

Vidnyanvahini, as the name itself gives away, is literally a wealth of

knowledge on wheels.

*nowlede is imparted at absolutel' no cost at all and science is made

interestin b' idn'anvahini(s team) a roup o! retired pro!essionals !rom the

various scienti!ic !ields. 4his team o! entertainin and passionate teachers has

an averae ae o! 6 'ears with the 'outh!ulness o! that o! twent'-'ear-olds.


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4he idn'an ahini team with the #$obile %cience laborator'(

arsh weather conditions) lon hours o! work or arduous ourne's in a bus are

the least o! deterrents !or this team as the' travel across the state and the

countr' to teach science the wa' it should be practicall'.

4he last 20 'ears o! their enerous service have seen more than 3 lakh students

!rom all over ndia bene!it. 4heir impressive records include 2)750 visits to

schools across ndia till date. 9ven more impressive is to know that the' have

traveled 2)80)000 kilometres) the same as travellin seven times around the

lobe) in ust 20 'ears

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umble beinnins

idn'anvahini was born o! an idea b' $r. and $rs. eshpande. An ;


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4he $%& on the road .

$r. And $rs. eshpande looked to their acuaintances in various !ields !or

support. olunteers came on board to !orm a small team o! !ive) and soon the

operations bean in ?@@5.

Bith the simple aim o! creatin a passion !or scienti!ic enuir' and heihtenin

students( interest in the subect) the $%& embarked on its ourne' to villaes in

$aharashtra.

4ravellin close to ?50 kilometres ever' da') the team commenced their visits

to schools on the !rines o! =une. 9ach da' saw new schools and e,cited

students) and to reach out to as man' o! these students) more members oined

the initiative.

Bithin months) the word o! the $%& had spread to various rural schools in

$aharashtra and the idn'anvahini team had more invitations to schools than

their schedules could permit.


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r. *iran =hatak teachin =h'sics in a school in rural $aharahtra.

Cn the beinnin) we hired a bus and went !rom villae to villae. Dust a !ewmonths later) due to the increasin demand) we invested in a bus o! our own and

desined it to make it a lab on wheels. Be have ever'thin in the $%& !rom

audio visual euipment and workin tables to science e,periments euipment

and librar' sets)E sa's $r. %harad Fodse) secretar' o! idn'anvahini.

Ae is a state o! mind:

Bith ever' passin 'ear) the idn'anvahini team has increased their outreach to

more parts o! the countr') and also modi!ied their curriculum and activities as

per the students( and schools( needs. Additions to idn'anvahini(s proram

include se, education !or middle school students) mobile librar' !or schools and

teacher trainin prorammes.

All these activities toether have kept this senior citi+ens( team o! 25 bus' !or

the last two decades. COnce a month we take a long trip in the MSL for a week

visiting schools we associate with in Maharashtra. The rest of the month goes in

trips to various schools around Pune and other cities and villages in Madhya


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Pradesh, Assam and other states. ot a day is kept free)E answers $r. Fodse

when asked about the hectic schedule.

4he $%& is euipped with ever'thin !rom science e,periment

euipment to a television and librar' sets.Gurthermore) word o! their !antastic proramme has reached the !ar corners o!

ndia like Arunachal =radesh) ;aaland and Hhhattisarh) where the' have been

invited b' respective overnments and private orani+ations to ive valuable

advice on similar mobile laborator' proects undertaken. 4he' are also ver'

o!ten invited !or teacher trainin prorammes in $aharashtra and other states.

And) the idn'anvahini team has enthusiasticall' oblied.

! that wasn(t all) idn'anvahini(s work hasn(t been limited to the con!ines o!

rural education. 4he' have taken up a watershed development proect in %urodiillae) Ahmednaar. 4he team built close to ?5 bandhs to arrest the water in

this dr' villae to ive the ariculture a much needed boost.

Gor the last 5 'ears) the villae has seen their crop !lourish) with an onion crop

worth


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4he watershed !illed to capacit'.

And) work oes on

>nlike the earl' da's) idn'anvahini now no loner needs to o lookin !or

!unds. As individual donations and compan' H%< !undin pour in) work carries

on. "ver the last 20 'ears) the team has conducted an averae o! ?50 school

visits ever' 'ear despite the team now runnin on a strenth o! ?5 volunteers in

the !ield.

evelopin passion and interest amon students is a non-uanti!iable obective.

owever) a stud' conducted b' the %'mbiosis nstitute o! $anaement) =une

concluded that their work was #e,traordinar'( and ver' positivel' received in

the rural landscapes.

Additionall') the' have also received reconition throuh awards b'!oundations like $arathi idn'an =arishad and %eva %adan 4rust) amonst

others.

"ne presumes the rouh travel and lon hours would be the biest challene

!or the idn'anvahini team. %urprisinl') $r. Fodse cites absolutel' the

opposite as a challene) C!e are always short of time to make visits to all the

schools that invite us. Our calendars are full and we cannot, unfortunately,

reach out to everyone we would like to include in our programme. "nvitations

are many and days are few.E


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ere is a roup o! %amaritans who re!use let retirement dictate terms. Home

rain or sunshine) or even weak knees and back aches) the idn'anvahini team is

on the road read' to make science education hands-on.

$r. %harad Fodse conductin a workshop in a school in ;aaland

4o enuire about science education prorammes in schools or to make

donations to the trust) please contact $r. %harad Fodse at I@? @23 7@6@.

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About the author:A!ter a deree in Jankin) =ooa Hhoksi took o!! !or %outh America to

!ollow her passion K teachin. owever) her love !or the ndian outback brouht her home

to work on the 9ducation-Jase proect with Honservation Bildlands 4rustin the =ench 4ier

Vigyan Vahini

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