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VASCSC (Ahmedabad)

India / Gujarat / Memnagar / Ahmedabad / 120 Ft Ring Road
 astronomy, school of science / department of science
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Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre(VASCSC):

Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre had its origins in the Group for Improvement in Science Education founded by Dr. Vikram A. Sarabhai in 1963 at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. After a highly successful pilot program of trying out innovative science teaching on a select group of college students, the idea of founding a community science centre that would propagate such methods on a wider scale emerged. The Centre was formally established in 1966 at Ahmedabad with Dr. K.B. Shah as its first Director. In the early years, the Centre received not only Dr. Sarabhai’s guidance in the formulation of its vision and goals, but also benefited immensely from his personal involvement in the execution of many of its programs. After Dr.Sarabhai’s untimely death in 1971, the Centre was renamed the VASCSC in his honour.

The Centre is located in the Gujarat University Campus and has its own premises, built by the Nehru Foundation for Development on land gifted by the Ahmedabad Education Society. Its activities and goals are best described by the vision statement that was drafted at that time of its inception.

The Community Science Centre is dedicated:

 To promote among students, teachers and lay public.
 An understanding of the fundamental concepts involved in the Physical and Biological Sciences and Mathematics,
 The acquisition of scientific knowledge and insights as far as possible by the process of inquiry through experiment, audio-visual media and other means,
 To simulate interest, encourage and expose the principles of science and scientific method to elementary, secondary and college students, teachers and the general public.
 To be concerned with the role of education and ways of improving education in relation to the individual and the community as a whole.
 To help make clear the social implications of science and technology.

The Centre has been unique in combining nor-formal and formal techniques in its attempt to ensure that students understand science and mathematics better.

The VASCSC has not only pioneered innovative science teaching through its research and learning programmes but has also served as a role model for the founding of other such Centres of science in the country.

The Centre and its Activities

As the name indicates, a major raison-d’etre of the VASCSC is to act as a Community Science Centre serving the science and mathematics education needs of the local students. From the very beginning, the Centre has had a strong link with students and has evolved into an excellent visitor centre. The building, which was designed by students of the Centre for Environment Planning and the School of Architecture, Ahmedabad, is split over three floors. The basement holds an exhibition area, while the first floor is used for the Biology, Chemistry and Physics laboratories. The main offices, library, mathematics and computer laboratories and the workshop are situated on the ground floor. The building stands in its own grounds, which also includes the highly innovative “Science Playground.

The quadrangle at the centre of the building is a treasure house of interactive exhibits, while the playground has unique structures to let a child learn science while playing. Visitors spend days in solving the various puzzles that are showcased in the quadrangle and admiring the birds and fish in the small aviary and aquarium. Visitors, young and old, delight in sitting on the coupled swings and feeling the contours of leaves on the specially designed tactile exhibits. Children sit on conveniently positioned seats, some white in colour and some black, and discover painfully that black objects absorb more heat than white objects do. The Library of the Centre is well stocked with Books, CD-ROMs and periodicals. There are 13,000 books, 60 CD-ROMs and subscriptions to 48 periodicals. The library has recently started a program to encourage young students to use books and other reference material. This has been done by inviting members to, e.g. design a greeting card by selecting a picture of a flower and using an encyclopedia to identify it.

The workshop of the Centre is well equipped with drills, a lathe, saws and other tools. The workshop assists students in the fabrication of models and takes care of the fabrication of exhibits for the Centre and for other organizations. For example, a set of models fabricated by the workshop has been sent to all museums of the National Council of Science Museums and to other community science centre, including ones at Shillong and Rajkot. The workshop has also organized many programs in schools and educational institutions, where staff is trained in the fabrication and use of teaching aids and models. Many of the existing models have been simplified and alternative cheap models have been designed. Today, the workshop has a list of about 125 items that can be made by school teachers and students using low cost and easily available materials.

The Centre has five main laboratories namely, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Computers. All the laboratories follow an open house policy and students are free to design and perform their own experiments; guidance is available from staff and volunteers for the same. Students often approach the staff for assistance in making models for science exhibitions. Starting from the PSSC based science exploration programmes of the sixties a large number of more formal activities have been conducted at the Centre. Typically, such programmes require the participant to register for a fixed period, varying from a few days to a few months, and to go through a loosely defined programme with the staff. The Centre has always believed in a holistic and integrated approach to science education. All programmes are learner – centred rather than being teacher – centred and emphasis the importance of learning by doing. The learner is looked upon as a creator of knowledge rather than a recipient and a clear distinction is made between information and knowledge.
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Coordinates:   23°2'12"N   72°32'56"E
This article was last modified 9 years ago