Ever wondered how ‘cool’ it would be if schools were to teach scientific experiments and facts through demonstration and presentations rather than through textbooks and thus eliminate rot learning? ScienceHopper is doing just that across several schools in Bengaluru in an effort to help children discover science without missing out on the fun. Launched last September by Gayathri Shanmugam and Ramalingam M, ScienceHopper Education is a product of the N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL), the incubation cell at IIM-B. “Even during the ideation stage of ScienceHopper, I was mentored by Mohan Sundaram, a mentor at IIMB’s NSRCEL. “We were exploring multiple ideas concerning experiential learning to build the foundation of a sustainable business venture, for which the ideal solution was to get incubated at one of the best incubators in the country. We were picked up by NSRCEL and in the past 15 months, we have gained the confidence that if we are clear on our strategy and execute it with excellence, we will succeed,” adds a radiant Gayathri as she looks back at the initial days.
Both the founders were former colleagues at Ramco System in Chennai. Giving up a lucrative corporate job, Gayathri veered towards entrepreneurship owing to conversations between the two main men in her life, “I was inspired by the excitement that was generated when my husband and son used to do experiments even when I was holding a corporate job,” she adds.
ScienceHopper is a mandatory programme, integrated into the timetable and delivered within school hours in the presence of teachers. The Lab in the Classroom program works on a year-long subscription basis. The core team shares their repository of experiments and other hands-on activities with the school. “We then conduct preparatory workshops to train the science teachers on these touchpoints and jointly deliver experiments to students along with the teachers during class hours. The excitement level is at its peak among the students when they learn through the kits and get to verify the facts professed in the textbooks,” he says. As part of their programme the schools can also opt for holiday take-home activities where every student gets a kit.
Reach Out: sciencehopper.com/