Raman Research Institute opens private museum and live satellite demos as over 1,000 students throng it on Science Day

There were also interactive events for visiting children, including a treasure hunt and a quiz. The institute also organised a Meet The Scientist event, featuring RRI scientists across several fields. Dozens of stalls were also set up featuring experiments organised by different sections of RRI, alongside displays from outside parties.

One of these was the RRI’s Electronic Engineering Group, which demonstrated a satellite dish receiving images from orbit, with the data decoded to display phenomena such as the weather over India and cloud temperature.
Alongside the student visitors, other notable attendees at the event included Malleswaram MLA C N Ashwath Narayan. Speaking to indianexpress.com, he said, “This is a really good initiative, an excellent celebration of Science Day. I also spoke with several students today. I was very happy to see their curiosity.”

Professor Tarun Souradeep, Director, RRI, said, “The response is very encouraging. We are glad it is growing, and it has to grow more.”

In response to a query on the ability of such events to sensitise youngsters, he said, “To me, that is very important. India has a very large latent talent pool for science, which has not been used… Much of the talent does not get exposed enough to go forward.”

He added, “Most exhibits are made here and focus on basic sciences rather than trying to wow visitors… Science ultimately reaches people when it is accessible. If it is packaged very glamorously, people may enjoy it if they see it, but never think they can also be a part of it.”