Bengaluru engineer’s free museum is delight for children to learn innovation

According to a Better India report, “His workshop in Banshankari Stage II, Bengaluru, houses a unique museum that is open to all, free of charge and is especially popular with schoolchildren and teachers looking at explaining science beyond the books.”

Named after his mother, the museum has two parts. “The space on the ground floor holds innovations of various kinds and is mostly a lesson in recycling and space saving. You will find a portable traffic kit (complete with lights and barriers), a chair that turns into a handy stepladder, a cycle that works as a battery charger and an exercise bike that also doubles as a wet grinder!” adds the report.

While the other exhibition on terrace, hosts many plants and also many machines that explains difficult concepts of physics such as hydraulics, compressed air, surface tension in easy way.

Though the museum may not be quite hi-tech or trendy, it surely portrays the enthusiasm and hard work invested by the 77-year-old man in creating all the models and machines. The resilient man, however, is quite worried about the sustenance of the museum. “Ravindra’s biggest worry at the moment is how to sustain the museum in the long term, given the amount of work it entails. Though he does get a steady stream of visitors across all ages coming in, Ravindra would love to use his expertise to develop models for schools or organisations that work to popularise science among children.”

From kaleidoscope, periscope, shuttle launcher, to hovercraft model and a wave pendulum, Ravindra keeps adding things to his collection to make things interesting for young minds.

Ravindra was given a special award by the HAL for manufacturing equipment out of waste material. Obsessed about recycling, the man says, “I don’t like to throw away anything.”