Some simple experiments with straws

Manish Jain
Straws and potatoes can be used to explain some simple laws of physics. Here are a few experiments which can be tried out in the class or by students on their own. Not only can children have fun with these toys, they can also learn a lot along the way.

Stories to amuse and entertain

Arun Elassery

The mainstream educational discourse stridently insists that science and mathematics are the most important and also the most difficult subjects that children need to learn. Here are some contrary expert opinions.

Innovative exhibits, spectacular results

Sanjana Krishnan

On the 17th of January, students of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, set up an exhibition called Paradigm. It was a wonderful exercise in learning by doing. The students were encouraged to take up topics from the syllabus that interested them and design innovative experiments to illustrate some concepts embedded in these topics.

Teaching to think

Tejasvi Dantuluri

There is a growing apathy in students towards science. One reason (or misconception) is that it is a tough classroom subject and another is that it is the clever student’s cup of tea. This notion has led to both fear and stress in pupils as they keep encountering the subject at different levels of their education.

Making mechanics less mechanical

Kripa Gowrishankar and Richard Fernandes

Galileo is credited with discovering the laws of the simple pendulum. It is a much told story that he observed the swinging of the lantern in the cathedral of Pisa (whose bell tower is the famous Leaning Tower) during a church service. He is said to have timed it against his pulse, which one presumes he had suspected to be of uniform temporal nature.