more-in In a classroom at Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School, Thycaud, on Tuesday, teachers and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) members from 11 schools in the Thiruvananthapuram South sub-district were making kaleidoscopes and puzzles, besides winding metal wires into springs. The equipment were being made under the watchful eyes of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) block resource centre (BRC) trainers for setting up science parks in the 11 government schools in the sub-district at ?30,000 each. After piloting in the sub-district, the project will be expanded to 79 government schools in the remaining 11 sub-districts in Thiruvananthapuram. Gopakumar R. from the South BRC said rather than buying equipment for the science parks, the SSA trainers had been working for the past two weeks to make 51 equipment each for the schools. On Monday and Tuesday, representatives of teachers and PTAs were invited to familiarise them with the equipment so that they would be able to assemble and dismantle them and even take up their maintenance. They would also be familiarised with the know-how and their literature, he said. For easier learning Children often did not understand concepts in their science textbooks despite repeated instruction. The equipment would help them see and understand scientific concepts and get practice. For instance, children found it difficult to understand the concept of force, but an experiment using three pulleys would help them get it right. Equipment to understand multiple reflection, day and night on earth, weight of air, and image difference in various mirrors would all help reinforce what students learnt in class, Abhilash from the Attingal BRC said. Involvement of PTA members and teachers ensured that the equipment was installed and taken care of by them. Soumya S., a parent, said she took tuitions for students and knew what problems they encountered. Instead of mere theory, the equipment would help the students see, understand and learn, she said. The trainers were assisted by welders, carpenters, painters and so on, school science teacher Ajith Kumar M. said. The SSA aims at setting up science parks in all 90 schools in the district by the end of the year. The science park at the model school will be inaugurated on October 24.

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