What does science have to do with a traffic glove? Do you know how to make a light bulb out of a pencil lead and have you ever seen pasta dance when dunked in soda?
A Start-up
Science Hopper, a start-up that is encouraging students to improve their sense of scientific enquiry, has answers to all these questions and more.
For Gayathri Shanmugam, what started out as a way to teach her 11-year-old son the basics of science has blossomed into an idea that could change the way students look at science.
“Often, students find it difficult to understand science concepts, since most of it is explained through textbooks. We are looking to take practical science to the classroom,” Ms. Shanmugam, founder of Science Hopper said.
Currently, the team has operations in Chennai and Bangalore.
Her team works with students from classes VI to VIII and looks at concepts in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Earth Science.
“For schools, we also take a look at the concepts taught in the curriculum and tailor our programmes to suit the school,” she said.
The students will perform experiments and record their findings, she said.
Understanding concepts
For Ananya Siva, a Class IX student from National Public School who attended the programme, a hands-on approach to science helped her understand concepts better.
They made an electrical circuit from dough and learnt how to create a three dimensional magnetic lines of force using a bottle, iron filings and two magnets. “Now, I can visualise and apply a number of concepts we learnt practically,” she said.
Her brother Siddarth, who also attended the classes, helped his class make a model of the human body using pasta, vegetables and other everyday household items.
“Now my son understands where each of the organs are placed and their relative size, which he would have never learnt sitting in a class and looking at pictures,” Kalyani, his mother, said.
