The science school doesnt teach, explained through adda….Johnson T A
There is an emptiness that many scientifically tempered families feel when children raise questions about simple things like the concepts of sound, light, heat, electricity, motion, magnetism that are all around but often hard to explain.
With no great learning museums or experiential learning culture in the country, and with school curricula skewed towards rote learning, parents are often at their wits end trying to satisfy their childrens curiosity.
Four techies and a techie-turned-flower farmer in Bangalore who felt that emptiness when confronted with their childrens questions have tried to do something about it with a venture called Science Adda a small experiential, multimedia gallery of science concepts that can travel easily to remote places or ship experiments to subscribers.
According to Ravindra Krishnappa, 47, an engineer, an IT industry entrepreneur and now an angel investor, who is the primary driving force behind the venture, Science Addas attempt is to position itself as a cross between the Discovery and Disney experiences.
The prime audience is children between the ages of nine and 16. However, the aim is to rekindle curiosity across all age groups and facilitate interaction for the family, Ravindra says. The idea occurred when I found it difficult to explain some science concepts to my children. I think many parents experience it. We discussed it often as friends and we felt we must do something.
The aim of the Science Adda is not to replace school science curriculum but to complement it, says Kumar Nagaraja, 47, a senior solutions architect for IT infrastructure at IBM, who went to school with Krishnappa and spent hours talking about such a venture.
Understanding science concepts is central to understanding things around us. We are taking a concept such as, say, sound and providing an experiential understanding of how sound works, travels, how we hear, how it works in musical instruments, applications in technologies like ultrasound. We are trying to provide a series of five to seven carefully chosen experiments and experiences that are crucial to understanding a scientific concept, says Kumar, who dedicates time after work to Science Adda.
The founders have cast their venture in a business model and not in a donation-based NGO model like other similar ventures to take science to the hinterlands, such as the Agastya Foundations. The NGO model works for some people but we felt a revenue model is necessary for the venture to sustain itself year after year. We do not want to be asset-heavy either by investing in a central location. We want to be able to take Science Adda wherever it is sought, says Ravindra.
Science Addas strategy is to reach out to schools and residential communities for a subscription. The venture will also tie up with franchisees and seek corporate sponsorships for thematic exhibitions, says Sivaram Kuppachi, 38, a director for strategy at a multinational IT company who came into the initiative after seeing his thoughts mirrored in those of his former boss Krishnappa. The five co-founders have so far pitched in around Rs 50 lakh personally into Science Adda.
We are being primarily driven by passion. We can give experiential learning to the kids without having to worry about the curriculum, formulas and things like that. They can look at concepts and ask fundamental questions without having to worry about formulas and curriculum, says Naganand Doraswamy, 47, an IT entrepreneur and angel investor.
We also want to ship interesting do-it-yourself experiments for kids on a subscription basis so they can try things out at home. When I was trying for something like this for my son, I could not find any place where I could get interesting experiments delivered at my doorstep, says Naganand. I would not like to blame the science education system. But I feel that places where understanding of fundamental concepts can be imbibed without worrying about curriculum and formulas are also necessary.
Tasked with the Science Addas aim of making all its thematic experiences and experiments movable from place to place is Ajith Shivapuja, 47, a former schoolmate of Ravindra and Kumar and now a computer science engineer who has taken to growing anthuriums.
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-science-school-doesnt-teach-explained-through-adda/996799/0