CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation is set to introduce Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) in five Corporation schools to give students practical knowledge in science and robotics. “The labs will be set up at a cost of Rs 10 lakh,’’ said an official with the Education Department of Corporation. Officials said Rs 2 lakh will be provided for maintenance every year.
The Centrally-funded ATL is an initiative by the Niti Aayog to cultivate scientific temper among middle school students by making innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). The lab will come up in of 1500 sq mts and will have 3D Printers, robotic equipment, computers and other state-of-the-art technologies. The criteria for setting up a lab is that a school must have 250 students studying science and out of that 50 per cent must be girls.
“Students who make innovative gadgets will get to participate in national-level robotics competitions and even display them in IITs,’’ said the official. The ALTs have been popular across the country and students have come up with innovations such as EVMs, robots delivering goods, etc.