Students of 50 Corporation middle schools in Chennai will now conduct science experiments that are fun and master concepts that will help form a scientific bent of mind.

DOING SCIENCE THE FUN WAY: The low-cost science lab kit provided to the schools.

CHENNAI: Students of 50 Corporation middle schools in Chennai will now conduct science experiments that are fun and master concepts that will help form a scientific bent of mind.

The selected schools will receive science kits that allow children to learn by doing simple experiments in physics, chemistry and biology.

About 15 scientists from IIT-Madras and Institute of Mathematical Sciences have prepared the "Eureka low cost science lab kits" that cost Rs. 5,000 each.

Two non-government organisations, AID-India and Satyam Foundation, have joined hands to take science to poor children. While AID-India provides the software, the latter, a social responsibility initiative of Satyam Computer Services, funds the project.

Students of class VI to VIII will learn how the eye perceives images, look at heartbeat rates, find out how air escapes from a balloon and experiment with light using a laser pointer to understand laws of reflection and refraction.

About 300 exciting experiments have been devised. "The topics will be relevant to 9th standard too, though the target is middle school," says A. Ravishankar, joint secretary of AID-India and assistant professor at IIT-Madras.

The experiments, evolved over nearly four years, were first tried on students in rural areas informally in 2003. The seven-year-old AID-India began science education programme in some schools in villages in Tiruvannamalai and Kancheepuram districts where 20 part-time volunteers with Class X to XII qualification teach students. The volunteers report to full-time volunteers trained by AID-India.

"Over the next year we plan to extend it to other schools in Chennai and in other districts. We are looking for financial support from other organisations." Already there have been requests from Kancheepuram education officer, he says.