Students of Class V to X in Mysuru and Bengaluru are being given an opportunity to come up with missile technology solutions as part an education startup’s Young Innovator Hunt.
Those who register for the hunt, are expected to imagine themselves fighting against the British forces from the island town of Srirangapatna on behalf of the 18th Century warrior king Tipu Sultan, who pioneered missile technology.
The participating students will be asked to devise an innovative missile solution to keep at bay the British forces surrounding Srirangapatna, an island town surrounded by two branches of the Cauvery.
Anglo-Mysore War
“We will narrate the story of the second Anglo-Mysore War in which Tipu Sultan scored a historic victory against the British with the help of missile technology, said Dhruva V. Rao, founder, Science Ashram, a science education centre, which believes in teaching concepts of science through experiments. Also, a painting of the battle scenario will be provided to the students.
“The primary reason for Tipu’s victory in the battle was the scientific approach towards problem-solving and high order thinking skills. Students are also expected to think out of the box and provide missile solutions to prevent the British forces from crossing the Cauvery and entering Srirangapatnam,” Mr. Rao added.
Necessary material
Science Ashram will provide a set of tools and necessary materials for students to come up with missile solutions. “The solution can range from a catapult to a ballista to a trebuchet. The missile solution should be around 20 ft,” Mr. Rao added.
Pointing out that the missile technology was born out of such high order reasoning skills displayed by Tipu Sultan, Mr. Rao said NASA had displayed a painting of this battle scene at its centre in USA. “This was recognised by the late President Dr. Abdul Kalam at Wallops Flight Facility, the base for NASA’s Sounding Rocket Programme,” Mr. Rao said.
Students, who register for the programme, will be allotted a day on which they have to visit the Science Ashram either in Bengaluru or Mysuru to develop their missile solution. “We can accommodate about 30 students per day at each centre”, he said.
Last year
Mr Rao is hopeful of young minds coming up with innovative solutions during the exercise. During its first Young Innovator Hunt last year, hundreds of students participated in a contest to come up with a solution to propel a car without fossil fuel. “Participants came up with interesting solutions that included the use of solar energy and electric energy to propel the cars,” he said.
Interested schools may contact Science Ashram at 9980878105 or info@scienceashram.com. While each participant, as a token of appreciation, is given a fidget spinner from the Science Ashram, the winners are given an opportunity to visit ISRO and HAL along with the Science Ashram team, Mr. Rao added.
