As some students tinker with a demo of a DJ console, earphones on, bodies swaying, others peer through what appears to be a microscope-telescope combo to see nerve cells and how a meteorite looks like. Then there is one exhibit that emits sounds made by various engines and even produces the sound of claps if one gets the answer right.
The displays are part of a fascinating travelling exhibition ‘Germany: Land of Inventions’ that is on at Christ Nagar English Higher Secondary School, Kowdiar.
The novel exhibition, organised by the Goethe Institut here in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Society and the Max Planck Society, showcases world-changing inventions made in Germany in various areas such as energy, optics, information technology, mobility, materials, and communication. There is also a section on research and studies in Germany.
Aimed at schoolchildren and science and research enthusiasts, the exhibition at the school library hall has been set up to appeal to the public too. Students can try their hand at the interactive exhibits, guided by Sreeresh who explains the exhibits and clears their doubts.
Find the answers
To make the process more interesting and fruitful, students are divided into groups and each is asked to head to an exhibit, observe it, and answer a questionnaire.
If one does not know the answers, he/she just has to look around, for the answers are there on the display boards put up all round. Most of the boards give the details in German, but among them are some in English.
Once the students have seen for themselves the role technology and innovation play in their lives, they are ready not only to complete the questionnaire, but also take back something of what they have learnt. For instance, they get to know about Philipp Reis who in 1861 had come up with a telephone, but never registered a patent on his invention or civil engineer Konrad Zuse who built the first functional computer in the word in 1941 because he found making calculations monotonous.
On December 10, a workshop will be held for students of four select schools as part of the expo. The students will attend the workshop in two sessions.
The exhibition will be on from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. till December 13.
