Vigyan Samagam exhibition will traverse you through the world from micro to macro, unveiling the efforts of the international community in understanding the Universe. It will showcase India’s participation in the world’s major Mega Science projects, where several developed countries are participating collectively.
Vigyan Samagam exhibition will take you through the workings of the Universe. From discovery of the Higgs particle to that of gravitational waves from merger of neutron stars and black holes, these projects throw light on crucial questions related to the origin of the Universe and its evolution through its various stages. The Mega Science Projects in which India is participating are the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), ‘Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research’ (FAIR), ‘India-based Neutrino Observatory’ (INO), ‘International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor’ (ITER), ‘Laser Interferometer Gravitational - Wave Observatory’ (LIGO), ‘Thirty Meter Telescope’ (TMT) and ‘Square Kilometre Array’ (SKA) for this purpose. All these projects will be showcased during the Exhibition at a single place.
India’s participation in these projects is based on its scientific and engineering capabilities. Participation in these projects puts India among equals in terms of scientific capabilities. These projects work on cutting-edge technologies and hence provide opportunity to our industries to participate and enhance their capabilities.
The global, Mega Science Exhibition ‘Vigyan Samagam’ will also provide answers and insights into the exciting world of front-ranking science and technology to science enthusiasts, students and people at large.
World’s first-ever, global Mega Science Exhibition ‘Vigyan Samagam’ will be the platform where all major Mega Science projects will be showcased at a single place. The Exhibition will begin in Mumbai on May 8th, 2019 at the Nehru Science Centre, Worli. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) are jointly organising this Exhibition. National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Ministry of Culture have joined hands by providing venue for the exhibition and also taking care of the design of the exhibition.
Shri Arun Srivastava, Secretary AEC and Head, Institutional Collaboration and Program Division (ICPD), DAE, Dr. Praveer Asthana, Head of INSPIRE & Mega- Science Divisions, Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Shri Shivaprasad Khened, Director, Nehru Science Centre jointly announced at a Press Conference in Mumbai today and explained the objectives and various activities related to ‘Vigyan Samagam’.
On 8th May, 2019, Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Member of NITI Aaayog will inaugurate Vigyan Samagam Exhibition. He is also the Chief Guest for the two days Seminar organized during the opening of the Exhibition. Dignitaries such as Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India; Shri K. N. Vyas, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy & Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission; Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology; Dr A. D. Choudhury, Director General, NCSM and Dr. Andreas Baum, Ambassador of Switzerland to India will also grace the occasion.
Vigyan Samagam will be a multi-venue Science Exhibition conducted for 11 months in the cities of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and New Delhi. The Exhibition in Mumbai will be open for visitors from 8th May, 2019 to 7th July, 2019 at Nehru Science Centre, Worli. After Mumbai, it will be in Bengaluru from 29th July, 2019 to 28th September, 2019 at Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum. It will then be open to public at Kolkata from 4th November, 2019 to 31st December, 2019 at Science City. In its final leg, it will reach New Delhi at the National Science Centre from 21st January, 2020 and will close on 20th March, 2020.
The organisers DAE and DST, and NCSM have planned this Mega Science Exhibition of a global stature in a unique way and with a distinct objective. The Exhibition will not only showcase India’s contribution to international collaborations on fundamental science and research but will also provide a common interactive platform for Mega Science Projects, industry, academia and institutions.
Shri Arun Srivastava said, “Vigyan Samagam is an endeavor to bring Science projects, overlapped with technology, a step closer to the society and highlight the value and impact of fundamental research to a broad cross-section of stakeholders. Cutting across students, academia, scientific organisations and the industry, this Exhibition shall provide a unique science communication platform and create a bridge for further interactions between India and its global peers, bolstering India’s contribution to globally prestigious science projects.”
Dr. Praveer Asthana said, “The exhibition will also aim to connect with school children, students and aspirants who want to pursue fundamental science and research as a strong career option. It also provides a unique platform to all stakeholders for cross-fertilisation of ideas.”
Explaining about the format of the Exhibition, Shri Srivastava added, “The Exhibition will have themed-based galleries of posters, working models and exhibits, informative audio-visual content and electronic displays and interactive kiosks will be setup for each of the Mega Science Projects. The inaugural event at every venue will be followed by a two-day scientific event comprising invited talks and lectures by eminent speakers from the field of science, technology and industry.”
Global, Iconic Scientific Organisations to participate:
Vigyan Samagam will have the presence of prestigious organisations such as CERN, FAIR, INO, ITER, LIGO, TMT and SKA. The audience would also include invited members from various scientific organisations, industry and academia. Coinciding with the scientific discussion during the first two days at each venue, industry partners working with the participating Mega Science Project Groups will set-up expo at the venue to showcase their contributions. As part of project awareness activities, each participating Project will be carrying out week-long activities consisting of popular talks, science demonstrations, interactive quiz programmes, etc.
Connecting with School Children, Students: A key objective of Vigyan
Samagam:
In each city, a number of activities engaging the curiosity, attention and imagination of school children and students will be taken up. Activities such as quizzes, essaywriting / drawing contests and popular outdoor programmes like science awareness cyclothon etc. are planned.
In order to reach out to people at large and get them involved with this Exhibition Vigyan Samagam has launched a website www.vigyansamagam.in where people can get more information about it. It will soon launch a mobile application Vigyan Samagam. Events such as talk shows, lectures planned during the Exhibition at each of the four places will be streamed live through popular social media platforms.
Exhibition will be open on all Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays. At Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, the timing will be from 10 am to 6 pm.
