Train-ed with a message

“The exhibition on the train is a fun and effective way of reaching out to the public to spread awareness about science and now particularly biodiversity. We have tried to demonstrate the manner in which human beings react and interact with the various life forms on Earth in the exhibition. For example,we haven’t just put a model of a tiger,we have shown what significance the tiger has for people from different cultures and religions around the world,” she adds.

The institution has made efforts to portray biodiversity in way that makes students and other visitors to the exhibition learn about their own connections with biodiversity and how it affects their lives daily. Topics like deforestation and extinction of certain species have also been also dealt with in the same manner.

“The program staff has been working on this project since January this year. We have come up with a range of interactive games like one where you can push a button to hear the call of a particular species of bird,or find the local habitat of some animals in another game. Our aim was to keep the exhibition as colourful as possible,because that’s what biodiversity is all about. We have also ensured that we give out information about smaller life forms like insects and even microbes rather than just sticking to the popular bigger life forms,” says Menon.

CEE has over 40 volunteers called environment educators,working on the train,explaining the themes and ideas presented at the exhibition to the visitors. Students from Pune University are also lending a hand in maintaining the compartments and helping spread knowledge among the visitors. The institute has also organised painting competitions for the students as well as a ‘vote for the national microbe’ campaign,in which visitors are allowed to pick what microbe they choose to be the national microbe and the microbe with the maximum number of votes will be declared at the biodiversity conference in Hyderabad later this year. Visitors can also sign a pledge to conserve the environment and stick their petition on a wall of the train,which visitors from cities all over the country can see when it travels across India.