Last April, I, along with my family (including my paternal grandparents as well), went to the Rangapara North Railway Station in Rangapara near Tezpur – my hometown – to visit a train named the ‘Science Express Climate Action Special’. When we reached the station, we saw the train at a distance and hurriedly walked towards it.
There, at first, I went to the children’s section that had many interesting things on display. First, we played a game of Mathematics, and in the second game, we had to make a pyramid with similar colours on each side. We then saw a microscope through which we could clearly see the tissues in our cheeks. The volunteer stationed there described its significance and she also explained the workings of our heart. There was a battery-powered car also.
My brother went to the toddlers’ section, which had two volunteers who were very friendly and active. They taught him how to make a clapping toy, a plane, and how to create an illusion of a fish in a tank. Then there was a tree with a message board where I wrote down my message to help save the environment. My message was – ‘Save trees, save the environment, and stop using plastic bags’.
The organisers had also held a drawing competition, in which we both participated. When we had finished the drawing, we gave our pictures to the volunteers. They returned them to us with comments of appreciation and also gave both of us a pencil each, made out of recycled paper. While handing me the pencil, they even asked me a question: “What are we saving by using this?” I answered that we were saving the trees.
After that, we went to the longest section of the exhibition which had exhibits on various topics. These dealt with issues like – how the earth is getting hotter, pollution, how the climate is changing, how to reduce the depletion of the ozone layer, how the dinosaurs became extinct, how to prevent floods caused by rivers, which type of bulb was used in which year, how much electricity is consumed and what is the power of the bulb, some small inventions, food chain, et al.
While my grandmother was waiting for us at the platform, she met a person who was in-charge of the train. My father also met him and they discussed about the exhibition in his cabin. This person also gifted us many things related to the exhibition. Much later, we came back home, having our lunch on the way.
It is an educational trip that I will remember forever, as it has opened my eyes to so many unknown things in an easy to understand manner. My brother liked it so much that he did not want to leave the train exhibition at all. It was, indeed, a great experience.