NO KIDDING SCIENCE

Shonali Chinniah speaks about running Curiouscity, a science centre in Bengaluru with her husband Anil and bringing science to life for children

- Sapna Sarfare

It is essential to bring the interest and passion for science early in our lives. To do this, Anil and Shonali Chinniah started Curiouscity, a science centre in Bengaluru that brings science to life for kids and makes an inquiry-based approach their key to learning.

At Curiouscity, kids can explore scientific concepts and inquire. It tries to fill the gap between theoretical and practical learning and has professionals give them diverse teachings. The bigger concept is to make science as open to everyone, regardless of gender and financial restrictions. It offers focused programmes on specific topics on weekdays. Shonali Chinniah speaks about Curiouscity.

Excerpts from the Interview:

How did the concept of Curiouscity come up? And why Bengaluru?

Back home in India in 2003 adter 16 years in the US, with our two then-young daughters, Anya and Isha, Anil and I were often searching for interesting learning spaces that we had taken for granted abroad: interactive, open-ended, and hands-on. At home, we began setting up little challenges for our children. We realised that children dont need to be taught curiosity, it’s already there. I began teaching llth-grade biology at my daughters’ school. The children were bright, but their questions were transactional. It led to a deep personal conviction that learning must be joyful. So, I started experimenting. I took them on field trips to IISc to see science in action. Slowly, the questions started to return. Around the same time, I was also working with NGOs like Ashraya.