State Resource Centre At DPI Campus To Expand With STEM And Story Labs

The State Resource Centre (SRC) at the DPI campus in Chennai is undergoing a major expansion with the addition of a new STEM lab, a story lab, and dozens of new do-it-yourself experiments. The new facilities are scheduled to be fully ready by mid-July, with school students from classes 1 to 8 set to begin practicing hands-on experiments at the centre starting in August.

The educational facility, which operates under the administrative control of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), was first launched in January this year. It currently houses learning labs for Tamil and English, alongside a do-it-yourself section designed for students to practice practical concepts in mathematics, science, and social science.

The upcoming STEM lab will focus specifically on electrical and electronic circuits. To establish this lab, UNICEF will extend its support to the centre to procure necessary scientific items, including breadboards, and to train teachers on how to instruct the students.

Alongside the STEM lab, the existing do-it-yourself lab will see a significant expansion. The centre plans to introduce 90 new simple do-it-yourself experiments, which will increase the total tally of available experiments at the facility to 100.

Kamali, the coordinator of the State Resource Centre, confirmed that the preparations are well underway to meet the upcoming deadlines.

"Students can come and practise experiments from Aug this year. Already, a few of the additions are ready. The remaining will be in place by mid-July," Kamali said.

Furthermore, the centre is collaborating with Katha Publishers to design a dedicated story lab. According to SRC resource persons, this lab will provide students with books and educational modules that teach complex science and mathematics concepts through engaging stories.