Sunday, March 12, 2006

Exploratory Learning Environments

Sid and Sam at the entrance to The Tech The Tech Museum of Innovation (popularly known simply as "The Tech") in San Jose is such a wonderful space that works to de-mystify the whole "technology" thing for kids (and interested adults as well). From visual representations of the boolean logic that drives circuits to chunks of silicon and the insides of all kinds of electronic components of computers and other gadgets that are all around us - kids can "see", "touch", "feel", "experience"...

Schools in the area leverage the presence of this fantastic informal learning environment and avail of the various events and activities that the Museum aims at schools. The Tech runs summer camps and also the hugely popular annual "Tech Challenge" for school kids.

This museum obviously benefits from being in the heart of Silicon Valley for ideas and artifacts. Why can we not have a similar space in India, in Bangalore - purportedly the "Silicon Valley" of India? There is no dearth of tech activity around here; sadly, there's just a dearth of good intent that will translate into action...


Hands-on @ The Tech
        Hands-on and Interactive - A 'desi' explains the history of the silicon chip (left picture)

1 comment:

Marshwiggle23 said...

great that i can sit at home and know what's happening around the world:)