‘Need to build scientific temper in society using public spaces’: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was speaking at an event organised by the Science Gallery Bengaluru.
‘Need to build scientific temper in society using public spaces’: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
‘Need to build scientific temper in society using public spaces’: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
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On Saturday, the Bangalore International Centre had transformed, with its three floors full of stories on water. Submerge, a part of Karnataka government’s Year of Water initiative for 2020, featured a travelling exhibition from the Smithsonian Museum called H2O Today.

Organised by Science Gallery Bengaluru, the event marked the opening of its first exhibition season. It opened with a panel featuring Biocon Chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Bangalore International Centre (BIC) Director Ravichandar, Bangalore Metrorail Corporation Chairman Ajay Seth, and Science Gallery International’s Executive Director Andrea Bandelli.

Kiran, who is also the chairperson of the Science Gallery Bengaluru’s Board of Directors, said that there was a need to promote scientific temper, and public spaces played a very important role in that.

“We have to connect science and society and get public to participate in scientific experimentation and curiosity. We have to build a scientific temper where you ask the right questions and have debates about new technologies. It is very important to have a space for that,” Kiran said, talking about the importance of Science Gallery Bengaluru.

“Apart from having a building for Science Gallery, we will also use public spaces like Bangalore Metro, the BIC, where people can engage in science and build scientific temper,” she added.

Science Gallery Bengaluru, the construction of which is in progress, will come up in 2021. It aims to be a dynamic space to engage young adults and members of the public through regular exhibitions and spaces such as laboratories. It will have an interface that intersects science and art. It will also provide opportunities for IISc, National Centre for Biological Sciences and Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology to participate in the Gallery’s programmes, hone their skills and enable public engagement with their research and projects.

The first Science Gallery was started at Trinity College in Dublin and has since come up in many universities worldwide. The one coming up in Bengaluru will be part of the Global Science Gallery Network.  

Kiran also thanked the government of Karnataka and the bureaucracy for engaging with the Science Gallery project, by providing resources such as land and funding.

BMRCL Chairperson Ajay Seth also said that the Science Gallery in the city will help bring scientific knowledge from textbooks into the real world. Ravichandar added that it would facilitate interaction between experts and academics with the public to build the scientific temper in the city.

Science Gallery’s first exhibition season at BIC, which kicked off on December 15, will be a 45-day affair, going up till January 31, 2020, as part of which BIC will host different exhibits and workshops.

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