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Mirror Magazine

Get the ideas moving
Dilshath Banu takes a ride on the mobile exhibition train....
Imagine. Exhibit. Discuss.
This was the idea of the mobile exhibition, where exhibits were installed and moved along a railway track. A project by the Ministry of Sience and Technology in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, the train consisted of 14 exhibition stalls, showcasing the inventions of the National Apprenticeship Board, Sri Lanka Police Department, Sri Lanka Environment Authority, Department of Meteorology, Science and Technology Commission, Sri Lanka Standard Institute, Arthur C. Clarke Institution, National Science Foundation and Atomic Energy Authority.

There are no real restrictions on types of exhibits, provided that they involve school children and the public in a meaningful way. The exhibits varied from a motor engine to a foetus to funny mirror images.

The mobile exhibition has a serious side as well, teaching students the use of scientific knowledge and its application through technology. Students of Christ King College and St. Mary’s College in Jaela were trained to demonstrate the exhibits at the event.

Working on the effects of consuming drugs and how it changes the outlook of the people who consume drugs for a long time, Dominic Dilshan, an A/L student of Christ King College said, “This kind of exhibition is an experience for us as we combine our textbook knowledge with the practical. It also helps us to understand things we don’t know and increases our passion for science and technology.”

Lihini Lakmali, a Grade 10 student of St. Mary’s College demonstrated how an anemometer created by Met Department functioned. “Anemometers are used to measure the speed of wind. If the anemometer cups spin faster it means the force of wind has increased.”

Sajith Dilanka, a science stream student of Christ King College stood relaxed when people gathered around him. When asked to explain the exhibit erected by the National Science Foundation, he smiled and said, “You can guess what it is all about.” This exhibit depicts ‘lightning’. Clouds made of cotton wool with dolls for humans set up in a cage depicts how lightening occurs and how it affects human beings. Said Sajith, “Less frequent, positive strokes generally contain more current and are apt to catch more people by surprise.”

Sajith also said that very few people could predict lighting. “Today, we have lightning sensors to monitor the lightning condition. Lightning information is most valuable to forecasters, when it is combined with weather information, to help project the thunderstorm’s path,” he said.

It’s true that we are living in the 21st century, which is the so-called ‘hi-tech era’. Yet certain schools in our country do not have access to the ‘net revolution’; some students in remote areas do not know how computers work. Explaining the exhibit produced by the Arthur C. Clark Institute of Technology, Prasad Sanjeewa, studying in the maths stream at St. Mary’s College said, “Internet started as a scientific aid, and has now taken over the global market, spawning a unique set of products and services. However, most of us do not have the facilities to browse the net and step in to the new world.”

Says Prasad, “This exhibition provides us with a new experience and lots of insight. We not only learn to demonstrate the exhibit, but also make good friends with students from other schools in the area. And I am happy that this mobile exhibition will be beneficial to a lot of schools as well.”

The exhibition room inside the train was packed with people, mostly students from various schools around Jaela. They wandered between the demonstration, pressing buttons while observing the exhibits. In a corner, a student demonstrator started to spin around when the rotated bicycle wheel was given to him by one of his colleagues. When asked what the spin meant Nilantha Madushantha Perera, from Christ Kings College explained that this was to show how ships and aeroplanes moved.

“The mobile exhibition project operated regularly in our country, but it stopped due to the lack of funds and other reasons,’’ said Pradeep Samaratunga, project officer of the mobile train exhibition, adding, “This exhibition provides prospects of experiencing science, especially for students who are from rural areas and do not have the possibility to experience exhibitions of this kind. Also, since we provide training for the selected demonstrators from varies schools, it’ll be possible for such students to develop good communication skills and an understanding of science.”

From Jaela, the journey of the mobile exhibition will reach Negombo, providing many people to experience this scientific treat!

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