Students of Sri Ram Dayal Khemka Vivekananda Vidyalaya in Thiruvottriyur have taken up a responsibility that is normally associated with teachers.
Nineteen students from Classes X to XII have together started Passion Tech, an initiative to inculcate an interest in physics among underprivileged children.
The students group visits government schools across Chennai and conducts workshops demonstrating the concepts of physics through simple experiments.
The demonstrations include Pascal’s Law, Newton’s Law of Gravitation, Newton’s Law of Planetary Motion, Bernoulli’s Law and Archimedes’ Principle. The workshops are suitable for students from Class VI to VIII.
For the experiments, these students make use of simple things available at home such as bottle caps, tins of beverages, glass bowls and jars, candles, carton boxes and balloons.
The group formed in January has so far conducted five workshops at schools in Gummudipoondi, Thiruvottriyur and Chromepet.
“We have won many inter-school science competitions, which has instilled in us the confidence to teach other children. We chose physics because that is our forte. Every Sunday, we conduct workshops at the Thiruvottriyur Branch Library. There are a few children who attend our workshops regularly. They say they find it easy to learn and memorise the concepts of physics because they have a thorough understanding of it,” says B. Guru Prasad, one of the members of Passion Tech.
For details, call B. Guru Prasad at 73587 38022 / Preeth Kumar at 86374 68421 or write to passiontech21@gmail.com
Another initiative for the benefit of government school students
In another two weeks, Ignite India, a unit of Agni College of Technology, will launch a new project called MIE (Mentors Innovators and Entrepreneurs), with the support of the School Education Department.
MIE is meant to benefit students of government schools in Tamil Nadu. As part of this project, buses will be retrofitted with a laboratory to demonstrate concepts underpinning many high-end technological products. The mobile laboratory will visit government schools.
Children will get to learn about the development and application of wireless communication, drones, nano-technology and artificial intelligence.
Agnishwar Jayaprakash, founder, Ignite India, says, “The initiative seeks to make underprivileged children industry-ready and the various demonstrations of MIE are meant benefit children from Class 6 to 12.”
The bus will also house a digital library that offers reading material and videos explaining various cutting-edge technologies.
For details, call 99620 52572.