Summary
Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM) arranged a sequence of science-oriented presentations to commemorate the 'Festival of Physics'
The enthusiasm among the students make the initiative a grand success
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”~ Albert Einstein
It was a week-long exploration of and experimentation in Physics. Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM) arranged a sequence of science-oriented presentations that involve hands-on experiments to commemorate the 'Festival of Physics'. These lectures were conducted in English and took place at the BITM auditorium from July 31 to August 04 2023.
This was a part of the Science Demonstration Lecture [SDL] initiative that BITM is known for. The programmes were scheduled in two shifts - the morning sessions (10:00 AM – 11:00 AM) were led by science communicators from BITM, while the afternoon sessions (11:30 AM – 01:00 PM) featured presentations by guest experts. These sessions aimed to offer captivating perspectives on Physics, encompassing fundamental subjects and placing them in the context of the Physics syllabus outlined in the ICSE/CBSE/WBBSE Class 7-12 curriculum. The sessions were attended by over 2000 registered students and teachers from 15 schools in Kolkata.
Glimpse of the full-house auditorium to attend the interesting experiments with Physics Edugraph
This initiative by BITM aimed to supplement the existing Physics curriculum of schools with a demonstration of practical elements that would be educative, interactive and experiment-oriented, while at the same time holding the essence of classical and modern approaches. This first edition was an introductory attempt, meant to be repeated upon specific request by schools. “We aspire to make students discover and delight in Physics anew”, shared Subhabrata Chaudhuri, Director BITM, speaking to Edugraph.
We closely observed the sessions on the fourth day. The morning session was titled ‘Awesome EMI’, which was conducted by Dilip Ghosh, former Education Officer at BITM. In this session on Electromagnetic Induction (the full form of EMI), Ghosh used several experiments to demonstrate to students the relationship between magnets and electricity. He emphasised the fact that simplistic presentations help students to understand the concepts better. He traced Oersted’s experiment, Law of Attraction, Ampere’s Swimming Rule, solenoid experiment and many more.
Dilip Ghosh, former Education Officer at BITM, involving students from the audience in the experiments he demonstrated on stage Edugraph
Ghosh believes that “if students only resort to rote learning the theory of Physics, they won’t be able to remember. Understanding the application of the theory is equally important because once they learn the practical significance of the discipline it will help students to acclimatise the theory by themselves.”
Moumita Dasgupta, School Coordinator, Podar International School, Howrah delivering her lecture on the topic of Optics Edugraph
The afternoon session titled ‘Enlightening Light’ was on the topic of Optics. It was conducted by Moumita Dasgupta, School Coordinator, Podar International School, Howrah. She lectured on light, sight and colour. She delved into the Law of Reflection and further into the experiments on the passage of light, diffraction patterns, usage of the mirror, concept of the virtual image and so on.
Aditi Ghose, Education Officer, BITM, ensured coherency of the event. She remarked on “making Physics more attainable and accessible to create the memory of experiments, unforgettable”. The enthusiasm among the students rightly proved the success of the initiative. If such a pedagogic method becomes popular with all infrastructural benefits, academics might seem easier for many.
Last updated on 04 Aug 2023
