Felicitation at the end of the event.
Citizens enjoying show in local language
Late night shows were also 'House Full'!
People at the entrance of the dome!
Dignitaries enjoying during the event!
Mrinalini Sarabhai, Mayor of city, Erstwhile Home Minister of State!
Hello!
The Sun seems to have moved closer to Ahmedabad…the heat seems intent on roasting us all to a crisp! But the never-say-die spirit of Ahmedabadis is still alive and kicking!!
Each year, the Gandhi Corporation organizes a theme fair at the Ahmedabad Education Society grounds for 11 days that attracts average footfalls of 50,000 on weekdays and crosses 100,000 footfalls on weekends. And each year they create a new theme based ambience for the fair. This year’s Vacation 2009 theme was ‘Space’.
With a quarter century of amateur astronomy under my belt, yours truly, Tanmaye Vyas, became the Subject Consultant of choice to this fair. This was a happy coincidence as 2009 is being celebrated worldwide as the International Year of Astronomy - IYA2009. As a matter of fact, I was tremendously happy to seize the opportunity to introduce the more than 700,000 visitors to the wonders of astronomy - a massive outreach opportunity on an unprecedented scale that would allow “Tanmaye’s Amazing Space” to realize the purpose and goal of IYA ‘Universe Yours to Discover’ in the truest sense.
The Space theme began right from the entry ticket windows whose interiors were created to mimic the flight deck of the space shuttle – preparing visitors for the trip to space!
The 100 ft passage leading to the main gate was lined with huge posters depicting how the various parts of the Space Shuttle are transported and assembled.
The main gate was an enormous 3D, 50 ft tall model of the launch ready Space Shuttle itself – fuel tanks, et al! At the entrance, fair representatives dressed as spacemen welcomed visitors – the children were especially thrilled to shake hands and be photographed with the ‘astronauts’!
As you entered thru the Space-Shuttle Gate, you saw a 50 ft, 3D model of the domed surface of Mars. Alongside were panels showing the Mars mountain range named in memory of Kalpana Chawla and her colleagues.
Thereafter another 300ft passage displayed huge posters of astronomical bodies, events, and astronauts. On both sides, on the ground, were 3D displays charting the evolutionary history of the planet Earth. The roof of the dome was light up with hundreds of stars. And a central passage on the roof also displayed the Zodiac Signs & Constellations. Most importantly, all information was displayed in both English as well as the local vernacular – Gujarati. This was instrumental in encouraging the vast numbers of visitors to immerse themselves in the wonders of space for a few hours!
The 300 ft passage culminated in a 50 ft, 3D display of the Lunar surface complete with rovers, robots and spacemen!
Besides the exhibit domes for the various vendors, a theme pavilion 91 feet x 78 feet was set up for serious lovers of astronomy who may wish to further explore the subject. Since it was impossible to control the vast crowds and at the same time deliver one-on-one value, we restricted entry to this pavilion by putting a monetary value on it. Even so, we were inundated by a sea of humanity!
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had only 2 days to plan and set up the active ties within this huge Pavilion! But we were up to the challenge! Finally, we offered visitors to our pavilion called ‘Avkaash Yatra’ i.e. ‘Journey into Space’ the following interactive activities:
a. An interesting booklet in Gujarati was custom designed to present some amazing facts of Astronomy in an attractive manner. More than 8000 such booklets were distributed to the visitors of our pavilion.
b. Screening of a custom designed, 15 minute, multimedia presentation titled ‘Journey thru the Solar System’ in Gujarati language with English subtitling and a seating capacity of nearly100 people. More than 200 screenings were conducted.
c. At the end of the screening, an impromptu quiz of 5 questions based on the presentation was conducted an prizes given away to those who answered correctly - a custom designed chart of the solar system with information on all the planets. More than a 100 prizes were given away. Participants were also encouraged to ask any questions they wished in the field of astronomy.
d. Static home planetarium where visitors were introduced to the local night sky and a display of the local night sky thru every month of the year was put up and explained by a volunteer.
e. An interactive game that brought home to the younger visitors the fact that not all planets in our solar system were solid on which a probe can land and explore. That four of them were gaseous which meant that there is no hard surface at all!
The game required the young visitors to throw the various planet size balls thru the four gaseous planet sized holes in the poster. All successful candidates received a prize – a custom designed chart of the solar system with information on all the planets.
f. Another interactive game, this time aimed at holding the attention of entire families – (so that the youngsters could spend more time in our pavilion!) was the 16’ x 8’foot Solar System jigsaw puzzle with 60 pieces. We invited the public to recreate the Solar system in 20 minutes while it actually took more than 50 million years to form! Family groups were encouraged to work together! Winners were given prizes - a custom designed chart of the solar system with information on all the planets.
g. A Rocketry section was created to teach and explain single, double and triple stage rockets used in space exploration. A volunteer explained based on 3D models as well as display charts.
h. A life-size cutout of Yuri Gagarin was put up honouring the first man in space. Another buddy astronaut with a face cutout was placed alongside to allow visitors to be astronauts for a minute and take home some golden memories of their encounter with Tanmaye’s Amazing Space [TAS].
i. Information desk that recorded visitors’ queries and wishes to further participate in our programs as well as future workshops and Career Guidance was put up. More than 1000 students requested guidance about degree courses & career possibilities in Astronomy. Mothers of even Cass 1 students wanted to enroll their children in small introductory courses for themselves and their young ones. Many came forward to buy our multi-media program in the local language – there is such a dearth of information in Gujarati! We plan to bring out a series of CDs to address this anomaly – as soon as we are able to find some funds for the effort!! Many rural/urban schools and institutes booked us for similar vernacular language presentations at their premises.
j. Internal displays in the Pavilion were made up of banner explaining the concept of IYA, Sun, Planets and Comet in the English language for those visitors those who couldn’t follow the Gujarati language.
The fair was open to the public from 22nd May to 1st June, 2009.
Today, when I am writing this blog, TAS is very, very happy to announce that our IYA outreach effort has reached more than 700,000 people. This should be a record event for the year! The pictures attached here are documented proof of the same.
Some distinguished visitors to our pavilion: Erstwhile Home Minister of State, Mr. Ashok Bhatt, present Mayor of Ahmedabad City, Mr. Kanaji Thakore, Mrs. Mrinalini Sarabhai, wife of Late Vikram Sarabhai who founded many world renowned institutes like PRL (Physical Research Laboratory), ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), SAC (Space Application Center); Many educators, principals & teachers of the urban as well as rural schools appreciated our effort that delivered such deep science in layman terms.
Our heartfelt gratitude to Hemubhai Gandhi & his son, Amal Gandhi, who allowed us to share the Vacation 2009 platform for this unprecedented opportunity to take Astronomy to the citizens of Ahmedabad.
For this grand success more than 20 volunteers and resource persons stood shoulder to shoulder in support throughout the 11 days of the fair. We would like to extend our gratitude for their kind support physical as well as moral. Personal thanks to : Urvi Vyas, Usha Nath, Rajesh Nath, Stephen Samuel, Jigar Darji, Ravi Gamit, Ketan Pathak, Jigish Vyas, Janki Vyas, Meet Vyas, Neel, Pratham Ambala, Ravi Ambala, Heta Pathak and other resource persons.
The sponsorship by the Udgam School for Children under the aegis of the KJ Charitable Trust has been the backbone of our sustained efforts for IYA 2009 and we gratefully acknowledge the same.
The Sun seems to have moved closer to Ahmedabad…the heat seems intent on roasting us all to a crisp! But the never-say-die spirit of Ahmedabadis is still alive and kicking!!
Each year, the Gandhi Corporation organizes a theme fair at the Ahmedabad Education Society grounds for 11 days that attracts average footfalls of 50,000 on weekdays and crosses 100,000 footfalls on weekends. And each year they create a new theme based ambience for the fair. This year’s Vacation 2009 theme was ‘Space’.
With a quarter century of amateur astronomy under my belt, yours truly, Tanmaye Vyas, became the Subject Consultant of choice to this fair. This was a happy coincidence as 2009 is being celebrated worldwide as the International Year of Astronomy - IYA2009. As a matter of fact, I was tremendously happy to seize the opportunity to introduce the more than 700,000 visitors to the wonders of astronomy - a massive outreach opportunity on an unprecedented scale that would allow “Tanmaye’s Amazing Space” to realize the purpose and goal of IYA ‘Universe Yours to Discover’ in the truest sense.
The Space theme began right from the entry ticket windows whose interiors were created to mimic the flight deck of the space shuttle – preparing visitors for the trip to space!
The 100 ft passage leading to the main gate was lined with huge posters depicting how the various parts of the Space Shuttle are transported and assembled.
The main gate was an enormous 3D, 50 ft tall model of the launch ready Space Shuttle itself – fuel tanks, et al! At the entrance, fair representatives dressed as spacemen welcomed visitors – the children were especially thrilled to shake hands and be photographed with the ‘astronauts’!
As you entered thru the Space-Shuttle Gate, you saw a 50 ft, 3D model of the domed surface of Mars. Alongside were panels showing the Mars mountain range named in memory of Kalpana Chawla and her colleagues.
Thereafter another 300ft passage displayed huge posters of astronomical bodies, events, and astronauts. On both sides, on the ground, were 3D displays charting the evolutionary history of the planet Earth. The roof of the dome was light up with hundreds of stars. And a central passage on the roof also displayed the Zodiac Signs & Constellations. Most importantly, all information was displayed in both English as well as the local vernacular – Gujarati. This was instrumental in encouraging the vast numbers of visitors to immerse themselves in the wonders of space for a few hours!
The 300 ft passage culminated in a 50 ft, 3D display of the Lunar surface complete with rovers, robots and spacemen!
Besides the exhibit domes for the various vendors, a theme pavilion 91 feet x 78 feet was set up for serious lovers of astronomy who may wish to further explore the subject. Since it was impossible to control the vast crowds and at the same time deliver one-on-one value, we restricted entry to this pavilion by putting a monetary value on it. Even so, we were inundated by a sea of humanity!
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had only 2 days to plan and set up the active ties within this huge Pavilion! But we were up to the challenge! Finally, we offered visitors to our pavilion called ‘Avkaash Yatra’ i.e. ‘Journey into Space’ the following interactive activities:
a. An interesting booklet in Gujarati was custom designed to present some amazing facts of Astronomy in an attractive manner. More than 8000 such booklets were distributed to the visitors of our pavilion.
b. Screening of a custom designed, 15 minute, multimedia presentation titled ‘Journey thru the Solar System’ in Gujarati language with English subtitling and a seating capacity of nearly100 people. More than 200 screenings were conducted.
c. At the end of the screening, an impromptu quiz of 5 questions based on the presentation was conducted an prizes given away to those who answered correctly - a custom designed chart of the solar system with information on all the planets. More than a 100 prizes were given away. Participants were also encouraged to ask any questions they wished in the field of astronomy.
d. Static home planetarium where visitors were introduced to the local night sky and a display of the local night sky thru every month of the year was put up and explained by a volunteer.
e. An interactive game that brought home to the younger visitors the fact that not all planets in our solar system were solid on which a probe can land and explore. That four of them were gaseous which meant that there is no hard surface at all!
The game required the young visitors to throw the various planet size balls thru the four gaseous planet sized holes in the poster. All successful candidates received a prize – a custom designed chart of the solar system with information on all the planets.
f. Another interactive game, this time aimed at holding the attention of entire families – (so that the youngsters could spend more time in our pavilion!) was the 16’ x 8’foot Solar System jigsaw puzzle with 60 pieces. We invited the public to recreate the Solar system in 20 minutes while it actually took more than 50 million years to form! Family groups were encouraged to work together! Winners were given prizes - a custom designed chart of the solar system with information on all the planets.
g. A Rocketry section was created to teach and explain single, double and triple stage rockets used in space exploration. A volunteer explained based on 3D models as well as display charts.
h. A life-size cutout of Yuri Gagarin was put up honouring the first man in space. Another buddy astronaut with a face cutout was placed alongside to allow visitors to be astronauts for a minute and take home some golden memories of their encounter with Tanmaye’s Amazing Space [TAS].
i. Information desk that recorded visitors’ queries and wishes to further participate in our programs as well as future workshops and Career Guidance was put up. More than 1000 students requested guidance about degree courses & career possibilities in Astronomy. Mothers of even Cass 1 students wanted to enroll their children in small introductory courses for themselves and their young ones. Many came forward to buy our multi-media program in the local language – there is such a dearth of information in Gujarati! We plan to bring out a series of CDs to address this anomaly – as soon as we are able to find some funds for the effort!! Many rural/urban schools and institutes booked us for similar vernacular language presentations at their premises.
j. Internal displays in the Pavilion were made up of banner explaining the concept of IYA, Sun, Planets and Comet in the English language for those visitors those who couldn’t follow the Gujarati language.
The fair was open to the public from 22nd May to 1st June, 2009.
Today, when I am writing this blog, TAS is very, very happy to announce that our IYA outreach effort has reached more than 700,000 people. This should be a record event for the year! The pictures attached here are documented proof of the same.
Some distinguished visitors to our pavilion: Erstwhile Home Minister of State, Mr. Ashok Bhatt, present Mayor of Ahmedabad City, Mr. Kanaji Thakore, Mrs. Mrinalini Sarabhai, wife of Late Vikram Sarabhai who founded many world renowned institutes like PRL (Physical Research Laboratory), ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), SAC (Space Application Center); Many educators, principals & teachers of the urban as well as rural schools appreciated our effort that delivered such deep science in layman terms.
Our heartfelt gratitude to Hemubhai Gandhi & his son, Amal Gandhi, who allowed us to share the Vacation 2009 platform for this unprecedented opportunity to take Astronomy to the citizens of Ahmedabad.
For this grand success more than 20 volunteers and resource persons stood shoulder to shoulder in support throughout the 11 days of the fair. We would like to extend our gratitude for their kind support physical as well as moral. Personal thanks to : Urvi Vyas, Usha Nath, Rajesh Nath, Stephen Samuel, Jigar Darji, Ravi Gamit, Ketan Pathak, Jigish Vyas, Janki Vyas, Meet Vyas, Neel, Pratham Ambala, Ravi Ambala, Heta Pathak and other resource persons.
The sponsorship by the Udgam School for Children under the aegis of the KJ Charitable Trust has been the backbone of our sustained efforts for IYA 2009 and we gratefully acknowledge the same.
For more photos of the event, please follow the link mentioned below.
Preparation & Set up :
Participation :
Tanmaye Vyas
+91 93270 19254
+91 99798 61071
+91 93270 19254
+91 99798 61071
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