March 25th to March 30th 2016

​Albert Einstein once said "Science is not just a collection of laws, a catalogue of unrelated facts. It is a creation of human mind, with its freely invented ideas and concepts."

Over the last four days, eleven children set out on an interesting journey to understand some basic scientific concepts and learn about renowned scientists.

At the summer science workshop organized by Sunshine Society, 10 year old boys and girls set out to explore the vast and interesting world of microbes. They collected samples, as diverse as parrot feathers and deodarant to look for microorganisms. The task gave them a new outlook of their world as they came to know that they are surrounded by microbes, some friendly and others not so friendly. Before testing, they had to guess whether the sample they chose would contain bacteria, and this sparked off a debate between two of them - whether saliva contains bacteria or not.  In the true fashion of scientists the debate went on for days to come. On another day, the children peered through an advanced microscope, putting all sorts of materials to discover anew the world around them at the micro-scale.
The second day was a very interesting one. The eleven children together explored Thomas Newcomen and James Watt’s creation- the steam engine. They created steam boats which were powered by a cute engine made of an egg. They hollowed out eggs and filled water in them, lighting a fire underneath to produce steam to power the boat. This activity resulted in a lot of mess which the children enjoyed a lot. Another attraction for them were the games they played. They were to guess the name of the scientist, which the quiz master thought of, by asking ten questions which would just be answered with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. The first day had no winners but the second day had many- Arpit, Ilinna and Aditya.
The next day the children unlocked the secrets of the human eye. The children explored lenses- concave and convex. They made a model of the human eye to understand how it worked. Their instructor told them that "We look with the eyes but see with our brains". This activity was followed by the dissection of a goat eye.The lens taken out from the eye was used to see faraway objects. The children thoroughly enjoyed this. The cherry on top of an exciting day was a game of dumb charades in which each child had to act out an invention and the rest had to guess it.
The fourth and the last day was when the concept of centre of gravity of any object was explained to them. Soon, they knew how to balance objects and the secrets behind many toys. They had already seen inertia in action by spinning eggs!  The attraction that day was particularly the game in which two teams had to put on their thinking caps, work with their teams and make structures with Lego blocks and polyhedrons.
In five days, the children enjoyed the wonders of the world of science, made more friends and learnt team work and patience. This experience was enlightening for both the students and their teacher who shared their knowledge with each other. Aaditya, Akshat, Arpit, Divij, Ilinna, Kaashvi, Navya, Prithvi, Saanvi, Shaurya, Shreyas now have another thread bonding them together- the scientific bond!
All this threaded together like pearls in a necklace, by Dr. Beena Pillai, member Sunshine Society, senior scientist CSIR-IGIB.

What started as a small step towards adding English to the children's skill set, has now become a much wanted workshop. This year Children were already waiting in anticipation to attend the workshop much before it actually started.
Continuing from previous year, the children moved forward in comprehending English better.
Under the leadership of Ritika Kakar from Mahagun Maple, Sector 50, Tanya, Sanya, Katha, Aman, Aarav, Pratik and Aaklit formed a team to ensure that English is taught relevant to all age groups. Each member of the team was responsible for a particular age group and was responsible for teaching age specific English.

June 27, was the last day of this year's workshop and the achievers were facilitated. There were a series of tests conducted after each concept, and the achievers listed. The children were sure very happy and motivated getting the prizes.

The involvement of Meena, Archana and Shalini overseeing and anticipating the needs of the children made the workshop very effective.

Last but not the least the workshop, two year in a row, would not have been possible without the availability of space in the F3 community centre. Thank you RWA F3 Alok Vihar 1 for your thoughtfulness in providing the space and extending all possible help.
Sector 50 has now become a front runner in making a difference in the children's life. All the above facilitators are from F-block sector 50 and the rest of Sector 50. 
So three cheers to the front runners in education!

Some glimpses from the last day of the workshop below until next year during the summer vacations.  

It is one thing that teachers teach and facilitators help to understand, it is another to ensure that the student gets the best out of the facilities provided.
Meena Agarwal, Archana Chaturvedi of Alok Vihar 1 and Shalini Chauhan of Shubhkamna apartments took the session on tips to study and staying motivated to ensure that the children understand that it is for their own good that they study and input as much handwork as they can. Meena and Archana are convinced that the handwork of all of us should be fully utilised.
The session held on June 24, 2016, motivated the children to continue their studies and to take the best from their circumstances.
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