INTRODUCTION

The word museum is derived from GREEK word Mouion which means temple of muses. It is defined as place of study,
where the items of knowledge are assembled, protected and shown to the students of science. Science museum is an
integral and important part of science teaching. It is useful in giving the students a realistic experience of the things.
Science museum has great educational value in improving the tone of science education. The experiments
demonstrated encourage the students to take up scientific hobbies and project of their interest. Its links school studies
more firmly with the outside world. It also provides better opportunity for self-expression and nature of research.
Instincts are channelized into socially acceptable manner such that spark of interest may be framed into flame of
enthusiasm.
As a science teacher trainee we visited a science museum: Birla Industrial & Technological Museum [BITM] on 24th
September,2016 to enhance our scientific knowledge as well as to develop interest, scientific attitude among students
and encourage them towards science education.
About : Birla Industrial & Technological Museum communicating Science since 1959
The premise of Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, now 19A, Gurusaday Road, was known as 18, Ballygunge Store
Road before 1919. Record shows that the Tagores purchased it from Mirza Abdul Karim in 1898. Meera Devi, the fourth
of Rabindranath Tagores five children, spent a large part of her childhood in this house. From Surendranath Tagore,
G.D. Birla bought the property in 1919 and from henceforth came to be known as Birla Park. In 1956, Dr. B.C. Roy, the
then Chief Minister of West Bengal, foresaw a big role of such Museums of Science, Technology & Industry in a
developing country. the Museum was thrown open to the public on 2nd May 1959 by Union Minister Prof. Humayun
Kabir, in presence of Dr. B. C. Roy, Shri B. M. Birla and Prof. M. S. Thacker, the then Director General of CSIR. BITM
opened galleries on a) Iron & Steel b) Copper c) Petroleum d) Electricity e) Nuclear Physics and f) Motive Power. Then,
one by one, Communication (1963), Mining (1964), Popular Science (1965), Electronics & T.V (1966), Transport (1973)
galleries were added subsequently. Mock-up Coal Mine was inaugurated in 1983. From the very beginning Popular
Lectures and Film Shows got underway. Science Demonstration Lectures for students became a feature of BITM from
1965. The same year also saw the pioneering effort of BITM - the Mobile Science Exhibition (MSE). The first exhibition on
wheels through MSE was Our Familiar Electricity. The concept of Model Making Competition, popularly known as
Science Fair can be traced back to 1967 and the very next year, the first Teachers Training Programme was launched.
Gaining a strong foothold in the city, BITM thought of going to the rural Bengal to spread the message of Science. In
1982, the first satellite unit of BITM, the District Science Centre at Purulia was opened.
From then on till date, Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, the first science museum in this country
has come a long way. With its various galleries, multifarious activities and ever increasing chains of satellite centers, it
has become a place where science happens in front of ones eyes through animated and interactive models. Side by
side, the history of technology and Industry rejuvenates itself to the visitors through real or scaled down replicas.
 OBJECTIVES
1. The museum comprises of different disciplines of science which helps to develop inter-disciplinary
approach among students.
2. It excites interest & stimulates critical thinking among students.
3. It attracts the attention of the students as interesting, beautiful and strange objects are displayed.
4. It is a real life replica of things and hence learning process can be consolidated.
5. It familiarizes students with problems and issues related with science.
6. It develops community awareness by cultivating awareness of science.
7. It helps to make the pupils open-minded and develops reflective thinking among them.
8. It encourages the teacher trainee to use different innovative scientific methods to solve science related
problems.
9. The teacher trainee should use the techniques and experiments shown in science museum to improve
the standard of science education in school.
10. Lastly the science museum helps to develop scientific attitude and aptitude among the students which
would encourage them to become a responsible future citizen of a country.

FEATURES OF BITM
1) Fascinating Physics:
Fascinating Physics Gallery has 28 interactive exhibits on Mechanics, Gravitation, Light and Electromagnetic Waves. The
Modern Physics section of the gallery takes you to the microcosm of subatomic particles, to the edges of the universe
where black holes and pulsars reside, to a super cool region near the absolute zero temperature and all such forbidden
areas! The 38 exhibits with eye-catching visuals, working models, animations, video, multimedia, unmanned quiz and
other presentation techniques make ones experience enthralling.

2) Transport:
The gallery portrays the development of transport system from the Wheel to the Supersonic Jet Engines of the
modern time through artifacts, models and interactive exhibits in thirteen specified sections. A 1926 Rolls Royce
Car and the Fiat Tipo used by the eminent scientist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose are the star attractions of this
gallery.

3) Motive Power
The gallery on Motive Power depicts, how, ever-rising need of power forced man to use animal power and, natures
wind and waterpower, to supplement his physical strength. It continues up to modern days diesel and petrol engines.
Exhibits on the most recent sources of power and the future projections are also present in this gallery.

4) Biotechnology
Biotechnology implies genetic manipulation of organisms to give them new capabilities or improved characteristics for
the benefit of human beings directly or indirectly. Through arrays of interactive exhibit, this gallery makes this cutting
edge technology easy to understand.

5) Electricity Gallery
The Electricity gallery unfolds the story of electricity, its different sources, forms, applications in the industry as well as in
our home and its contribution in the development of mankind through numerous three dimensional interactive
exhibits. Mention may be made of a spark theatre exhibiting the magic of static electricity which is an exciting
and unforgettable experience for the visitors. Other exhibits in the gallery are Curie Point, Spinning Egg, Grand
Shuttle, Alternate & Direct Current, Storage Cells and Batteries, Clean Energy Sources, Transmission Loss and
transformers, Electrical Circuits and Safety, LCR Circuit, Saving Energy, Spark wheel, Van De Graff generator,
Jumping Disc, Electromagnetic Induction etc.

6) Television
The gallery on Television depicts the chronological development of this revolutionary technology right from the earlier
days of its introduction by the Scottish inventor John Logie Baird to its present form through 25 state-of-the-art
interactive exhibits, models, diorama, and artifacts in an educative and informative ambience.

7) Underground mock-up coal mine

This mock up coal mine brings to the visitors all such unknown, absorbing and unique facts of the subterranean
world. Generally a coal mine is 2000-2500ft deep below the sea level. The coal mine mainly contains poisonous
gas like carbon monoxide & methane. Inside the mock up coal mine, the air circulation, illumination techniques,
the coal cutting methods ( both manual and mechanical), transportation of coal out of the mine, why the tunnel
does not collapse after the excavation of coal, the safety measures (bird reviving cage, carbon monoxide
detecting tube, methanometer, self rescuer, protomer4, chest guard, knee pad, mining shoes etc.) are present.
8) Others

Metals
Popular Science Gallery
Life-science Gallery
Mathematics Gallery
Childrens Gallery

SPECIAL FEATURES OF BITM

1. Bubble Show: BITM presents bubble show.....Fire Bubble, Fog Bubble, Bouncing Bubble, Scented Bubble, Colour
Bubble, Baby inside a bubble and many more.

2. New 3D Film Show: "The Lost World" is a fast-paced, entertaining and immersive 3D adventure film with stunning 3D
effects. It takes one into a world of prehistoric dinosaurs, such as, fierce Raptors, flying Pterosaurs, giant Triceratops and
Stegosaurus, and the mighty T-Rex.

3. Fire-y-tale Show: The show on Fire-y-tale celebrates the discovery and use of fire. Different laws of physics and
chemistry related to fire are explained through more than 20 exciting experiments Fire Under Water, Dancing Flames,
Fire Tornado, Fire Bubble etc.

4. High Voltage Theatre: The gallery offers a wide range of interactive exhibits covering basic concepts of Electricity and
Magnetism, Static Electricity, Electromagnetic Induction, Electrical Circuits, etc. The prime attraction in this gallery, a
High Voltage Theatre will deliver an electrifying experience that will be amazed by the live demonstration of the Van De
Graff Generator, Tesla Coil, Plasma Bell, and Statistical repulsion.

HOW COULD I ENRICH LEARNER BY VISITING THE MUSEUM

In the electric gallery there are different modern cooking appliances (like micro oven, mixer grinder, toaster,
griller etc.) which require electricity to run them. The students came to know about the different cooking
methods using these appliances and their mechanism of working .They also came to know about the advantages
of these modern appliances over the traditional appliances used previously.
In the biotechnology gallery the pupil came to know about the different cells, its constituents, and structure of
DNA & RNA, methods of cell division, process of replication, transcription & translation. They students became
aware about the different immune deficiency diseases and their mechanism in our body.
By visiting the mock-up-coal mine, the students can get an idea about the working environment & the nature of
work of the coal miners. Gaining knowledge about all these, they can have a clear outlook of who can be called
heavy workers and being the student with knowledge of nutrition able to find out the dietary requirements of
heavy worker & provide them with dietary guidelines to maintain proper health. They can also have an idea
about the toxic effects which can be seen in those workers.
From the experiments shown in high voltage theater students gain knowledge about the proper usage &
precautions to be used while using any electrical appliances and aware the community people about the
dangerous effects from electricity. The students came to know about how to protect them-selves when the
lightning strikes nearby.
From the experiments of fire-y-tale show, the students came to know how a fire can be useful & how it can be
dangerous without having proper knowledge about it. The pupil also came to know the preventive steps to be
taken to extinguish the fire caught.

CONCLUSION
Being a science teacher trainee we visited the science museum: Birla Industrial & Technological Museum
[BITM] to collect firsthand knowledge, experiences, latest knowledge of science and learn new approaches of
science teaching from the museum. We can also keep ourselves informed about the latest developments in the
field of science. From the innovative experiments shown in the museum, we learn about the modern techniques
of science teaching. According to NCF2005, science teaching should engage the learners in acquiring methods
and processes that will nurture the pupils curiosity and creativity. Science teaching should be placed in the
wider context of pupils environment to equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to enter the world of
work.