Kerala Biodiversity Museum to be thrown open to public tomorrow

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Coming World Environment Day, the state will invigorate its biodiversity conservation and environmental protection awareness initiatives by commissioning the much-awaited Kerala Biodiversity Museum at Vallakadavu Boathouse. The museum project that was pending for quite some time is being opened after the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) fast-paced the pending construction works. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is slated to open the museum at 4 pm.

“Due to its specialities, the museum will be a first of its kind in the country itself. Not only will it provide an insight into the global/national and local bio diversity, it will also offer an interactive platform where one can clear their apprehensions regarding the environment,” said a KSSB officer.

The museum, a joint initiative of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation and Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Keltron), is coming up on the 5,000 square feet Boathouse building built in the 1820s.

According to KSBB, though the primary objective of the museum is to showcase the myriad bio diversity of the state, the main attraction of it could be the ‘science on a sphere’ and a 3D theatre. The museum that will feature scale models, interactive kiosks and LCD displays will also have informative panels that will explain the state’s traditional rice varieties, marine diversity, marine life and others.

Last month, KSBB chairman S C Joshi had told Express though the inauguration of the museum was extended several times due to a range of reasons, it was decided to inaugurate the museum within a month as it is in the process of speeding up the pending construction works for the past five or six months. According to Joshi, the museum will not only depict the bio diversity of the 14 districts in an appealing manner but will also act like a gateway to Kerala.

He had then stated the primary objective of setting up such a museum is one who visits it should get an idea of the biodiversity in which one is living.The KSBB had set up nine kiosks that intend to provide information about the biodiversity issues it is facing and ways to protect and conserve it, he said.
The other speciality the ‘science on a sphere’ tool that will display planetary data and earth system science, claimed to be the third of its kind in the nation and is being installed with the technical expertise of US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.