He is excited to turn right and leave and then he starts walking toward what he believes are Penguins.
Shah moves his fingers forward as though he were touching something.A scientist monitors the activity.Shah exclaimed, “The best thing about my experience was that I had the opportunity to touch a penguin.”
Shah isn’t the only one.Varmika Parmar, nine years old, had an almost identical reaction.”I wanted touch the Penguin, it was so thrilling.”
The virtual experience has made the girl chirpy and she wants to travel to Antarctica.This is precisely what Mega Science Technology and Industry Expo, part of India International Science Festival 2021, aims to do — inspire scientific spirit in masses, focus on young minds, and draw more young raw talent into the research.
The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research’s (NCPOR), stall draws the biggest crowds.
There are four VR stations that showcase Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.You can also see a fully packed Himalayan man dressed in Himalayan gear, standing next to what’s purportedly an Antarctica-themed tent.
M.Swati (a scientist at the NCPOR) managed the crowds at the VR station.
She said that she was getting amazing reactions from students.A penguin was hugged by one child who refused to let go.
There is one VR station that showcases ‘Bharati’, India’s research station at Antarctica.The viewer feels like he or she is actually walking towards it and can easily enter the building.At one point, a visitor almost gasped as soon as fluorescent green wavy lights — called the aurora australis in Antarctica, sometimes referred to as the ‘southern lights’, appeared on the screen.”The one that appears in Antarctica is called Aurora australis and the one that appears in the north pole is aurora borealis,” explained the scientist at the stall.
Not just the younger lot but students in the higher age group too enjoyed the VR experience to the hilt.Aniket Shirodkar, a student of B Sc second year, took the virtual trip on an Ocean Research Vehicle and then dived deep in a submersible.”It actually felt like being in the deep ocean,” he said.
Explained Surya Prakash, scientist with the NCPOR, “This is a complete eight-minute virtual trip.
You can actually see how the ice-breaker ship moves forward, you can be on board a submarine and go deep up to 1,000 metres and look at the ocean there.Those who cannot actually go to Antarctica or deep into the ocean, this is a good opportunity.”
The NCPOR stall is one of the dozens of stalls spread over two special halls at the Expo that saw a beeline of parents bringing in their young wards, collegians coming in droves and in general, people curious about various stalls.
Barely few feet away from the VR stations, Nikita Faterpekar has brought in her niece Skeisha and nephew Ridvik to soak into the science flavour, both of them examining the prototype of an ORV, the ocean research vehicle.”As a child, I learnt a lot through such exhibitions, my parents always took me there.I want my niece and nephew to learn it too,” Nikita said.
The organisers couldn’t be happier!
niv/dpb
#Virtual #Antarcticas #puller #deep #ocean #Expo # Surya #Goa #Panaji #Aurora
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