1. robinage.com
Mumbai | December 4 - 10, 2014 | Vol 7, No 34 | ` 17.00
DIGITAL EDITION www.robinage.com/mobile followrobinage
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A new initiative called Avasara Young Scientists
unleashes the hidden scientist in young girls.
It gives the girls hope and an insight into the
developing world of science.
Melissa Fernandes tells you more.
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Many young girls
love gadgets,
laboratories and
all things science.
But very few women build
their careers in science, which
is considered to be a male-dominated
field. In order to break
this mould, Avasara Academy
recently started an initiative
called Avasara Young Scientists
for girls between classes 6
and 8. The programme aims to
encourage science education for
girls by giving them hands-on
experiences with science.
Urvashi Bahuguna, pro-gramme
manager at Avasara
Academy says, “Girls in India
are not encouraged to take up
STEM (science, technology,
engineering and mathematics).
They are told they aren’t smart
enough or that a career in the
field of arts is more suitable
for them. When they do come
across scientists and engineers,
most of them are men. At
school and at home, these fears
and beliefs are reinforced by
parents and teachers, who fear
they will be harassed in the
male-dominated institutes and
engineering colleges. They even
lecture the girls that science CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Te
fi
fo
a
ms
a
pt
hm
me
el
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e
FUN STUFF 9
education would not help them in
doing housework. We conceived this
programme to fight these stereotypes
and demonstrate to schoolgirls that
science can be engaging and fun as
opposed to difficult and boring.”
A painting with
aboriginal art
11

2. INDIA BULLETIN R
2
Stude nt s D e si gn
Their Own Syllabus
MAHARASHTRA
ODISHA
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
DID YOU KNOW?
Zoology is a branch of
biology concerned with the
study of animals. Zoology is
divided into different fi elds—
mammalogy referring to the
study of mammals, ornithology
referring to the study of
birds, herpetology referring
to the study of reptiles and
amphibians, ichthyology
referring to the study of
fi shes, entomology referring
to the study of insects and
helminthology referring to the
study of worms. In the 1700s
and 1800s, zoology became
a genuine and important
discipline in the sciences,
leading to the expeditions of a
number of noted zoologists.
DID YOU KNOW?
Gori eats 2kgs of crab and
a kilogram of fi sh everyday.
The person looking after Gori
sends her a meal-time signal by
beating the aluminium bucket
carrying her food. The reptile
immediately understands the
signal and comes to the end of
the pen for her meal.
Keeping in
mind the development of modern
technology and the industry’s
changing dynamics, students
of the zoology department
of Mumbai University have
designed their own syllabus.
This is the first time in the history
of Mumbai University that
students have designed their
own syllabus.
The 27-member committee
that formulated the syllabus
includes six students—a
mixture of undergraduates and
some rank holders from earlier
batches. The newly designed
syllabus will be studied by the
university’s first-year Bachelor
of Science students for the year
2015-16.
India’s Only Captive
White Crocodile to Be
Released Soon
India’s only female
albino captive white crocodile,
39-year-old Gori, will soon be
released into the wild. The
proposal to set Gori free was
made years ago but no decision
was taken as wildlife experts
expressed their concern over
her ability to adapt to the wild.
Now, Bhitarkanika National Park
authorities have finally agreed
to release Gori, however they
will expand her territory before
releasing her completely. To
do this, they have linked the
enclosed pond Gori lives in to
the surrounding natural creeks
such that there is a constant flow
of saline water into the pen from
the Bhitarkanika river system.
This will help Gori acclimatise
to the new environment. Gori
is 8ft long and was caged in
a pen inside the Dangmal
Crocodile Research Center in
the Bhitarkanika National Park
since birth.
The Avasara Young Scientists programme
was held at Flame School campus in Lavale
Village, Pune. Over a hundred eager, thoughtful
and ambitious girls from Pune joined the
programme to unravel scientific mysteries. The
girls participated in activities such as creating
the best helmet to protect motorcyclists,
designing a pill coating, solving a crime scene
and even coding a computer game. Naina Balvi,
a class 7 student from Kilbil High School, Pune
says, “I was thrilled to take up all the challenges
and experiments thrown at us by the instructors.
My favourite experiment was when we tested
soaps to find the best germ-free soap. For this,
we added food colours in milk and later threw
soap solution into it. The colours spread out in a
circle. We were told that whichever spreads the
most is the best germ-free soap. Dettol proved
to be the best, compared to Lifebuoy and Pril. I
liked this experiment because it informed me
about something I use every day. I was excited
to discover this fact!”
The girls were also made to use their
imagination to discover scientific rules hidden
in common techniques. Pranjal Mane, a class 7
student from the same school says, “We fancied
ourselves as engineers. For every challenge,
we were given a fixed amount of material and
asked to make something out of it. We made a
tower using spaghetti sticks. Our challenge was
to balance the marshmallow on top of the tower
for two minutes. We achieved this by building
a strong foundation for the tower for which we
stuck the spaghetti sticks together in a square,
then added four sticks at each corner and then
built a shed using the spaghetti over which the
marshmallow balanced.”
Apart from exploring scientific concepts,
the programme also built awareness on the
various fields in science. Bahuguna adds, “The
programme allowed the students to see other
careers in science like forensic detectives
and biochemists as against the traditional
ones of engineering and medicine. Building
a tower, designing a boat and learning basic
computer programming helped the girls get
a much clearer idea of the kind of work these
fields require.” Echoing her thoughts, Mohini
Khedekar, an ambitious class 7 student from
Kilbil High School, Pune says, “I wanted to
become an oncologist but after this experience
I am even interested in engineering. The
programme really helped me develop my
thoughts and guided me with various options.”
The Avasara Young Scientists programme
gave the young girls a chance to dream and
aim for higher goals in life. It showed them
that science is a wide and welcoming field for
all women. The programme also celebrated
the successful Mars mission–which has been
named among the best inventions of 2014 by
TIME magazine–and highlighted the increase in
women scientists at the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO). Tasneem Sayyed, a
student of St Joseph’s High School, Pashan, Pune
says, “I want to be a scientist and create things.
One day I will become a software engineer for
which I am learning science thoroughly.” Naina
wants to pursue astronomy too. She adds, “I will
become an astronaut because I want to see the
Earth from outside and explore it.”
With the success of this programme, Avasara
Academy is planning to conduct another
programme at the end of December that will
branch out into different subjects. Bahuguna
adds, “The new programme will provide
girls with a rigorous academic experience
with hands-on learning to inspire continuous
inquiry. We’re also opening the Avasara
Leadership Academy for highly motivated
class 7 and 8 girls in June 2015 that will
hone their leadership skills.”
Urvashi Bahuguna with
the young scientists
— Urvashi Bahuguna, programme
manager at Avasara Academy
To participate in Avasara’s science
and leadership programmes, log on
to www.avasarayoungscientists.org
The programme allowed the
students to see other careers in
science like forensic detectives
and biochemists as against the
traditional ones of engineering
and medicine. Building a
tower, designing a boat and
learning basic computer
programming helped the girls
get a much clearer idea of
the kind of work these
fi elds require.