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IIA signs MoU to promote astronomy through ‘Arivu Kendras’
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) signed a Memorandum of Under-standing on Friday with the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department to promote astronomy through ‘Arivu Kendras’ across the state.
Bengaluru: The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) signed a Memorandum of Under-standing on Friday with the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department to promote astronomy through ‘Arivu Kendras’ across the state.
The RDPR operates 5,880 ‘Arivu Kendras’ or gram panchayat libraries across the state, primarily located in rural areas and managed by dedicated library supervisors.
“Through this MoU, IIA will collaborate with the depart-ment to promote awareness and interest in astronomy, as well as science literacy and scientific temper in the communities served by these kendras.
“This will be achieved through the training and mentorship of supervisors, the creation of astronomy resources in Kannada, and collaboration in or-ganising public activities around celestial events,” the Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement.
According to the ministry, this MoU will enable the two organisations to col-laborate in providing information to communities in Kannada about astronomy events visible to the naked eye as well as details about quotidian (everyday) astronomy.
Library supervisors will be trained to conduct low-cost, hands-on activities for the public, with a special focus on students. “Our 5,880 ‘Arivu Kendras’, spread across rural Karnataka, serve a large community, and this initiative will help them learn more about the night sky as well as recent astronomy news and discoveries. “Promoting astronomy and science, especially in Kannada, will enhance science literacy, particularly among students who access our ‘Arivu Ken-dras’, and through them, foster scientific temperament in the rural commu nity,” said Arundhati Chandrashekar, commissioner of Karnataka Panchayat Raj Commissionerate, RDPR department.
Online interactions through the computer labs in the ‘Arivu Kendras’, including talks, contests, and the use of digital tools, will also be promoted. Addi-tionally, training in the use of small telescopes will be provided, the state-ment said.
“Rural communities have a fantastic scientific resource—access to darker night skies due to reduced light pollution.
We have been working with a few ‘Arivu Kendras’, especially through our COSMOS-Mysuru project, and we look forward to a successful collaboration with the department to spread astronomy throughout rural Karnataka through our dedicated outreach sec-tion,” said Annapurni Subramaniam, director of IIA. The Cosmology Education and Research Training Centre (COSMOS-Mysuru) is an upcoming state-of-the-art planetarium and data training centre in Mysuru.
