We normally say science is the study of the earth, or the universe, or even specific things like air, animals or weather. These are only components of science- they do not encompass its definition. Science can best be defined as a process of observing, explaining and falsifying to build and organise knowledge. That is, science focuses on phenomena that can be observed or experienced and focuses on ways to prove and repeat the causes and effects thereof.
This means that science education must also gear itself around the goal of teaching children the process of observation, critical thinking that focusses on plausible explanations as well as the creation of an "engineering mindset"- the ability to systematically design solutions to problems that exist around us. Science education in India- whether due to our poor resources or otherwise- is only now working towards this goal.
Even now, critical science education is limited to urban centres, and even there, to only paid spaces that many parents cannot access for their children. Rural areas lack this infrastructure entirely. This puts children from rural areas at a huge disadvantage- especially those from backgrounds that cannot afford the travel to such educational centres. In Thiruvarur district, the only educational centre that children can visit is the temple museum inside the Thiyagaraja temple in Thiruvarur.
So, QuadSeek made the decision to build Quark. Quark is a science park for children. It has a lot of play equipment designed to demonstrated different principles and concepts in science- from simple machines to DNA. As the children use the items displayed they will gain a practical sense of the concepts- including the effect of changing variables in the working models. The materials in Quark work to teach a range of concepts in Physics, chemistry, biology, geography and math. Quark also has a fully equipped laboratory for demonstrations and hands-on workshops- including a chemistry, physics and biology lab.
Accessibility is very important to us. QuadSeek has made a commitment to work with the district government to transport children from government schools for free. This will ensure that more children have access to quality equipment. We will work on demonstrations and experiments that are connected to their science texts, as well as concepts that are important to know.
Quark also runs special workshops. Workshops are normally run for a length of 3 hours. They are restricted by age and work to provide a thorough introduction to particular topics- such as nutrition, magnetism, electricity, the human body etc. Public workshops are open to individuals, while groups and schools can request for workshops to be conducted (@ the Quark campus, with advanced notice). Event and workshops details are uploaded periodically on our social media. Please follow us there should you wish to attend.
