For a school going kid of Delhi, the chances of not having visited the National Science Centre — more commonly known as Science Museum — on Bhairon Road near Pragati Maidan are slim. For city-based schools, it is customary to take their students to this 22-year-old museum which allows a kid to discover science the way it ought to be. But why make it sound an absolute child’s affair when adults can derive as much pleasure out of it? So even if your kid has already been there once from his/her school, make another visit for your sake. And you will be thrilled to visit one of the most engaging museums in the city. But be warned that you need one full day for the museum —which would still not be enough because there is so much more to do.
A number of galleries — our science and technology heritage, fun science, information technology, pre-historic life, human biology, water: the elixir of life, emerging technologies — and quizzes, besides exhibits for seeing and experiencing, 3D shows, science shows, etc., offer enough to keep you busy for an entire day. Decide at the entrance what you want to see and pay accordingly. Otherwise for an adult it is just Rs.40 and for a kid Rs.20.
You walk past a magic tap, energy balls (whose demonstration takes place once every hour) to reach the beautifully designed science and technology heritage where you can see India’s science heritage right from Harappan times. Exhibits in this section comprise models of different yantras — peeth yantra, jal chakra yantras, gola yantra, reproduction of the famous chariot wheel of the Sun Temple in Konark, etc. One thing you can’t complain about is the captions, because they are so explanatory and lucidly written.
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Brahma’s disc, a recreation of Nagarjuna’s alchemical laboratory, Delhi’s iron pillar, Aryabhatt’s cube roots and square roots, yarghu (multispindle cannon cleaner designed by Fathullah Shirazi for Akbar), things related to glass, architecture, music, mining are found in the subsequent section.
The interactive nature of the exhibits is what is unique about the museum and expectedly so because there couldn’t have been any other way for this space to be. There isn’t a single gallery which doesn’t have interactive exhibits that invite the viewer to experience it. The fun science section is devoted to such exhibits and understandably it was where I found the largest concentration of visitors. In the Human Biology gallery, do pedal a cycle, on doing which the skeleton behind the glass wall on a similar cycle will depict how different joints coordinate and move as we pedal.
Animated specimens of dinosaurs, background voices, lighting effects, also make the Pre-historic Life gallery another special one. You will find it difficult tear yourself away from Fun Science, with each exhibit beckoning you to try it out. A maze of mirrors, a giant kaleidoscope, a cabin that freezes your shadow, rolling balls — the gallery is just magical.
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Gallery after gallery I find more and more and more exciting stuff and I can go on listing it. But in such an expansive space there seems scope for special exhibits to be highlighted. Also, I didn’t see any literature, any pamphlet, any map being shared with the visitors.
(The National Science Centre is open all 7 days from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Photography is allowed. Nearest metro station is Pragati Maidan)