The sun is blazing away. A dash of greenery at the garden catches my eyes, as I enter the sprawling campus of the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre on Avanashi Road. Inside, there’s a buzz of activity. Twenty six members of Vigyan Prasar Network of science clubs, from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry are learning to build a telescope.
Vipin Singh Rawat, the resource person from Vigyan Prasar, Delhi, is busy giving instructions. Some participants are grinding a glass. “It’s a hands-on training. The objective is to popularise science. After they finish grinding, we send the mirrors for aluminium coating at the Vainu Bappu Obervatory in Kavalur. We ensure that they take back a fully-functional telescope at the end of the 10-day workshop,” he says.
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Another resource person, Tusshar Purohit from Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astro Physics from Pune, tests the mirror for quality and gives tips on corrections. “The workshop gives them a deeper insight into the working of a telescope and astronomy. As most members are teachers, they take back the experience to students. Once they start watching the night sky, the moon and its craters, the rings of Saturn, the faces of Venus… they learn more.”
Anil Dhiman, an amateur astronomer from Bhopal, says everyone is thrilled to watch objects in the night sky. “Anyone can learn. For example, you can easily identify a planet from a star based on the bling. When you learn about solar eclipse, it helps to break myths associated with it,” he says.
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Some teachers like Priyadrshini RS and Bini V who have come from Thiruvananthapuram, are thrilled with the experience. And, they promise to teach their wards back home. There’s Vanjur Mohideen from Paramakudi, a math teacher. He says they learnt every single step of building a telescope from scratch. Jose Daniel, the headmaster of a school in Palakkad, has been teaching science for 18 years and encourages a practical approach among his students. “The knowledge we gain from the workshop will help our students in a big way.”
Manikavelan A from Madurai works with the Galileo Science Centre that conducts regular science activities for school students. “Students in some rural pockets of Tamil Nadu don’t know how to recognise a telescope. We can introduce them to science using one. The workshop reminds us to look up and watch the sky and stars.” Along with teachers, there are also students. V Bharat Kumar, a second year Physics student from Jamal Mohammed College in Tiruchi, is one. He regularly conducts night sky session for students in rural areas. He says, “The children jump in joy when they see a telescope. They come to me and ask, ‘Can I touch it’, ‘Can I see the moon and stars’… they are full of questions. I want to learn and help those students build their own telescope.” JJ Akinshibi, a school student from Kanyakumari, joins the conversation and says, “I did my school project on ‘Mission to Jupiter’ and my master sent me here to learn more.”
Students are drawn towards astronomy, says A Sakthivel, the founder of Coimbatore Astronomy Club. “Students are looking at career options in Astrophysics and research. A basic interest in science and knowledge of Physics and Math is all it takes. As an amateur astronomer, one can watch bright stars and constellations and then observe the moon, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and more. They should start watching the sky with the naked eye. Regular night sky observation sessions are the key to reach out to the public.” He has been watching the night sky for the last three decades and conducts regular night sky sessions for students and the public.
He sees hope in youngsters like M Altaf, a Physics student from Kongunadu College who turned up at the venue as an observer. Altaf is keen to pursue astronomy. “Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Stephen Hawking’s book, A Brief History of Time , the concept of black holes and time travel keeps me hooked. I want to explore space.”
Science can be fun
The new telescopes made at the workshop will be used to observe the night sky on April 13. From 7.00 pm to 8.30 pm. Open to all
The Regional Science Centre has three permanent galleries — ‘Hall of Textile’, ‘How Things Work’, and ‘Fun Science’ — a 3D film show facility, inflatable dome planetarium, science demonstration corner, children activity corner, library and telescope for observation.
They conduct regular sky observation programmes too
Open from 10.00 am to 5.45 pm. Call: 0422-2573025/ 2570325
“Astronomy is a fascinating subject. Gazing at the sky is the beginning of any science experiment. The participants are expected to send us a regular report on the activities with the telescope.”
T.M. Alagiri Swamy Raju, project director of Regional Science Centre