Did you know that the high, snow-capped Himalayas stand where the Tethys Sea existed 70 million years ago? And that the mountain range resulted from the collision of the Indo-Australian, Eurasian and Tectonic plates? Are you aware that the north-eastern part of India is home to more than 220 tribes, who speak around 1,000 different languages and dialects?
Can you imagine a ‘melon’ doing an acoustic function? Before letting your imagination go haywire, step into the Science Express. The ‘melon’ here is the bulge on the head of dolphins. In this special edition on biodiversity, you are sure to meet more such intriguing, yet amazing, facts about the rich bio-geographical diversity of India.
The train, which arrived at Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station all the way from Koodal Nagar on Monday, is presented by the Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
In fact, the exhibits are not merely information supplements, and they strike a chord at the necessity of preserving and conserving nature, natural resources and plant-animal wealth our nation is blessed with. Even the invitation into the train itself is befitting; the welcome note is a warning, which reads: “By the time you have gone through this exhibition, one or two species of plants or animals would have become extinct from this planet!” At the end of every coach, this message repeats. Whoever or whatever you are, all the 16 exclusive coaches in the Express are enough to transform you into a responsible nature lover.
Beginning from the Himalayas, the journey takes you to the abundance of the Gangetic Plain, North-East India, the Western Ghats, the Indian desert, the Deccan plateau, coasts and islands.
Full of pictorial depictions, the exhibits will also wow you with models of animals, birds and products that are particular to each place.
Once you enter the coach on climatic change, never miss trying the ‘chaotic pendulum’ there. It is a reminder of how the tiny changes caused on Earth once may end up with big and drastic after-effects.
Youngsters have much more in store, and if you are a tired lot, jump into the ‘Kids Zone.’ Here you can have a funny tryst with the hard and difficult theories in your textbooks. If ice-cream man and dancing capsule can teach you about centre of gravity, you will be fascinated to know how plastic bottles can give way to a beautiful piggy bank, lamp and magazine stand. But this is only for kids below fifth grade. Don’t worry, inside ‘Joy of Science’, science stations await students from standard six to 10 to try hands on different experiments.
However, as schools remained closed, not many little friends were seen visiting Science Express on Day One.
The exhibition was opened by Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agarwal. “In the state, the train is highly relevant as it would create awareness among people and sensitise them. We expect millions of people to visit the train throughout the state,” said Agarwal.
The train will be stationed on platform number five till Wednesday and would be open from 10 am to 5 pm.
Source: Indian Express 13 August 2013