Mangaluru: Choo..Choo…Science Express, the exhibition on wheels – redesigned on the ‘climate change’ theme arrived this morning to Mangaluru, and will be stationed at Mangaluru Junction Terminal from 25 March-28 March 2016. This exhibition train has been redesigned and is running as ‘Science Express – Climate Action Special (SECAS)’ , which was flagged off from Delhi Safdarjung Train station on October 15, 2015. It is a unique collaborative initiative of the Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (Mo EFCC) and the Ministry of Railways. The exhibition schedule will end in Gandhinagar- Capital of Gujarath on 7 May 2016.
Speaking to Mangalorean.com, Raghav Pandya- Manager of SECAS said, “The objective of the exhibition is to create awareness among various sections of society, especially students, as to how Climate Change can be combated through mitigation and adaptation. The broad themes covered in each exhibition coach are: understanding climate change, impact of climate change, adaptation, mitigation, international negotiations on climate change, hand-print, two coaches put up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and an exhibition put up by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF). We are about 50 staff, all science graduates/post graduates who will be in-charge of educating children, as well as adults on climate change. Public and students can visit the special train, which has climate change as the predominant theme, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. One entire coach has been dedicated to children below 10 years. Entry is free. I urge the citizens and children of Mangaluru to make visit our exhibition, thereby get some knowledge on climate change etc”.
Science Express is a unique science exhibition mounted on a 16-coach AC train. It has been travelling across India successfully for the past seven years. Flagged off on 30 October 2007 by the then Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel, the exhibition train has since then covered over 1,22,000 km across the country, receiving more than 1.33 crore visitors at its 391 halts, in 1404 days. Science Express has thus become the largest, the longest running and the most visited mobile science exhibition in India and has created six Limca Book of Records in its journey so far.
From 2007 to 2011 the train travelled as ‘Science Express’ displaying the world of micro and macro cosmos, spreading the awareness about strengths of science in meeting global challenges, including latest discoveries and innovations in the field of modern science. The coaches of Science Express were thematically represented on the Bing Bang, Nanocosmos, Building Blocks of Life, From Gene to Organism, Architecture of Mind, World of Senses, Sensors, From Data to Knowledge, Global Challenges, Spaceship Earth, Our Home in the Cosmos and The Universe. It was a retreat for the visitors specially the students to know about cutting-edge science and technology through exhibits, models and audio-visual displays put up in the coaches of Science Express.
After four successful phases, Science Express was redesigned on the theme Biodiversity and from 2012-2014, it traveled as Science Express Biodiversity Special (SEBS), a unique collaboration between Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Govt. of India. Out of the 16 coaches, MoEFCC had put up exhibitions in 8 coaches that were solely dedicated to showcasing the myriad biodiversity spread across the bio-geographical zones of India like Trans-Himalaya & Himalaya, the Gangetic Plain, North-East India, the Western Ghats, the Indian Desert, the Semi-Arid Zone, the Deccan Peninsula, the Coasts and the Islands. In rest of the rake, DST had put up exhibition on the themes of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Water, Sustainable Environment and Energy Conservation. In the second part of the coach on Energy Conservation, DST’s panels on Science Education in India had been placed.
In its three phases, SEBS has covered over 54,000 km across India and received over 69 lakh visitors. Besides, the first phase of SEBS (2012) was visited by the highest number of people amongst all its phases till date. After 7 successful tours across India, ‘’Science Express’’ has been redesigned on the theme ‘Climate Change’ and from 15 October 2015, it is running as ‘Science Express – Climate Action Special (SECAS)’. It is a unique collaborative initiative of Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), and Ministry of Railway, Government of India.
The state-of-the-art exhibition aboard the ‘Science Express – Climate Action Special (SECAS)’ aims to create awareness among various sections of society, especially students, as to how Climate Change can be combated through mitigation and adaptation. The broad theme covered in each exhibition coach is as follows:
Coach 1: Understanding Climate Change – Insights in the climate as a system, the greenhouse gas effect and the underlying reasons for climate change with key message that the current change in the climate is due to human activities.
Coach 2: Impact of Climate Change – How temperature rise, monsoon variations, sea level rise are predicted to affect vital sectors like water, agriculture, forests and biodiversity, and human health and ways to reduce these.
Coach 3 & 4: Adaptation – Concepts of adaptation and examples from day to day life, adaptation strategies and stories from field. Adaptation options in urban and rural contexts and the adaptation actions India is taking.
Coach 5 & 6: Mitigation – Concept and definition with examples, emphasis on restoring balance, enhancing sinks and reducing emission through Renewable Energy (RE) technologies. Various programmes implemented by India and low carbon strategies and ambitious goal to increase RE footprint.
Coach 7: International Negotiations on Climate Change – Introduction to UNFCCC, IPCC and internationally agreed action & targets. Explaining concept of equity and common but differential responsibility, Kyoto protocol & other key outcomes of major COP, etc.
Coach 8: Hand-print – What can one do at school, on roads, at home and in offices and focus on concept of lifestyle choices with the key message ‘Increase your Hand-print. Decrease your Footprint’.
Coach 9 & 10: Exhibition put up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt of India, covering themes like Biotechnology for bio-resources and nature conservation with emphasis on Tiger Conservation and Chemical Ecology and India’s research and development initiatives in field of Biotechnology.
Coach 11: Exhibition put up by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) showcasing select innovations, demonstrating the ingenuity of common people and an innovative project which uses augmented reality techniques. Exhibition on themes like Innovations in S&T, Science Education, DST Scholarships & Schemes, Careers in S&T, etc.
Coach 12: A kids zone set up exclusively for children from Std 4 and below to participate in fun-filled activities, games, and puzzles in science, maths and environment.
Coach 13: The joy of science (JOS) -hands-on lab in this coach is a space where students from Std 5-10 can perform experiments and activities to understand concepts in environment, science, and maths in an interesting manner. A training facility is also set up for orientation of teachers here. For the first time solar panels have been installed on the rooftop of science express coaches 11-13, as a collaborative effort of DST and CEL, for harnessing solar energy.
Coach 14: is used for accommodation of staff members. SECAS will travel across the country for about 7 months, halting at 64 locations in 20 States, covering about 19,800 km. The exhibition will convey a strong message about Climate Change and will also be a good opportunity to generate dialogue and discussion.
The exhibition is open to all, and entry is free. And the best part during this hot summer in the City, all the coaches are air-conditioned. Mobile phones, cameras, bags, cigarettes, water bottles, any liquid and certain either items are prohibited while entering the coaches.
For more information email to: scienceexpress@gmail.com or contact the team aboard the train at : 09428405407, 09428405408
