Mahesh and Ravi are studying in std V and they are making sure that their experiment with the suction tube is well-explained to every visitor. They might still be in junior class but the co-ordination they display is more than impressive. As one explains, the other swiftly demonstrates the experiment. The best part of the experiment — when the two boys pull apart the suction tubes to explain air pressure and then they finally get to lift a can with just the help of a suction tube. A final bow from the two boys and the visitors get to move on to the next experiment.
Mahesh and Ravi were a part of the day-long Physics fair, which was held at the Nachiketa Tapovan School in Kavuri Hills. Close to 34 school children participated in the first-ever physics fair in the school and they attribute the ‘good event’ to Rohan Reddy. The fair was a culmination of what the children have imbibed in the past one month. The school is a charitable institution run free of cost for under-privileged children from the surrounding slums. Rohan who has just finished his std X wanted to put in some community service, had started taking physics practical classes for the high school children for the past one month.
After the suction tube experiment the experiments get even more interesting as the children explain surface tension, ‘air has weight’, ‘air occupies space’ etc.
As the visitors pay attention to these experiments, the constant bursting of balloons draws everyone’s attention. As one turns around —it appears that a group of boys in the hall are explaining about air with a balloon and an egg. And amidst all this, the kids find it most interesting when they get to explain their experiment to Rohan. “For the past one month the kids have spent their afternoons with me and it was sheer delight to explain what I learned in school,” says Rohan.
The school dedicated the afternoon for a whole month to accommodate Rohan’s Physics classes with the children.
But Rohan just didn’t randomly teach what he learnt in school, “I looked up the net for experiments which kids can learn and are used in our day-to-day lives. Once I knew what experiments to teach, I got the material and randomly distributed to the higher classes. The children also prepared the charts which they have put up on the walls,” explains Rohan.
And will the boy miss the fun? “Oh, yes. The boys would always pull me for a game of cricket after our science classes,” he smiles.
