KOCHI: Taking an effort towards creating inquisitiveness and a space exclusively for children to explore their talents, KV Pattom in the trivandrum is soon set to launch its newly set up ATAL makerspace tinkering lab.
The school is one of the few ones in the city who have been part of the ATAL innovation mission, an initiative by the Central Government. Named a makerspace lab, the place holds true to it’s name, giving an innovative opportunity for students to show their creative genius. They can come up with their own inventions, be it in the area of Science or Math, says school principal Ajayakumar. He adds , “Around 500 schools had been chosen from across the country as part of the National venture, for which Rs 20 lakhs had been sanctioned. Says Faizal, the school librarian, “Our lab not only allows students from other schools to be part of the activities, but the lab is also the only one sponsored by INTEL and provided with a trainer as well.”
The ‘makerspace’ lab is composed of real tools like 3D printers, Vinyl cutters , Electronic Boards, Sensors, Drilling station, soldering stations and also books/magazines for the students, in order to make them more updated with latest inventions. Students will be exposed to lots of maker activities, Hackathons and maker challenges. Hands on training sessions about latest technologies from experts will also be part of the activities. According to Faizal, the lab provides students space to cone up with their own designs and work on it, using the available software. He adds, “They should have an concept, for them to innovate further.”
Recent projects are prototypes of a Smartphone projector done by a group of class IX students. Another venture is the gearless cycle prototype using the scrap materials done by a few students, while a virtual reality headset turned out to be yet another experiment. These were showcased to ATAL innovation Mission director Ramanathan Ramanan during a recent ATL orientation event at the school. According to the principal, the school is one of the few schools in the city , including KV Pangode, Sarvodaya and Chempaka, selected to set up ‘makerspaces’. However, the lab is yet to be officially inaugurated.