Cleanliness, traffic rules, and science: what students of Pune Zilla Parishad schools learnt during their Nasa tour

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Their US tour was organised by the Pune Zilla Parishad.

‘There was so much cleanliness’

Students, their parents, and the teachers accompanying them told The Indian Express that a completely different view of public life in the US as compared to India was an eye-opening experience.

“Discipline and following rules were a big learning experience for me during my visit to the US. We have a lot of traffic here, but we saw that this was not the case there. We learnt that we must speak politely with everyone we meet,” Rudra Morade, a student of ZP School, Mordewadi, says.

“There was so much cleanliness. The people follow the rules and don’t throw garbage around, and bins are installed everywhere. In India, the traffic police are present at signals to enforce rules. But in the US, we did not see any traffic police; everyone was following the rules,” the Class 7 student adds.

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Pratap Musmade, Kasturi’s father, also agreed that the difference in lifestyle was the biggest learning for his daughter.

“It was the first time my daughter stayed away from us on her own for so many days. She liked the discipline and cleanliness in the cities there. She told us about the traffic rules and the lack of accidents there. She got a lot of knowledge in the Nasa centre and enjoyed the communication skills she got to learn there.”

Kasturi is a Class 7 student at ZP Kendrashala Koregaon Bhima.

From Kennedy Centre to Disney World

Pramila Jori, one of the four ZP teachers who accompanied the students on the trip, also says their biggest learning was the stark contrast in sanitation and self-respect in their lives back home.

“Being away from their parents and doing their work on their own, lack of equality between men and women in India, following traffic signals and lane discipline — all of these things were visible to the children, and they were astounded by it.”

Jori said the trip also ignited the student’s scientific temper. “The ATX (Astronaut Training Experience) at Kennedy Centre was the most enjoyable experience for the students. They got to learn first-hand about the kind of problems astronauts face in space and how they solve them in real time. And obviously, the visit to Disney World in Orlando was another favourite experience for many of the students.”

Rudra, a Class 7 student, said the exposure he gained after visiting places such as Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center, and Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has changed his outlook towards the subject.

Giving an example of the knowledge imparted to them during their visit to the United States, Rudra says he got to know that to prevent the melting of a lander during its reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere due to high heat, the lander’s surface is coated with titanium.

“I used to think that all scientists do is mix some chemicals to create other chemicals. Earlier, I wanted to be an IPS officer. But after the visit, I want to become a scientist, an astrophysicist.”