Bengaluru has earned a stellar reputation as the seat of information technology, biotechnology, and India’s space programme. Sci560, an exhibition hosted by the Science Gallery, Bengaluru, provides a comprehensive overview of this evolution.
Through documentaries, photographs, objects, devices and instruments, Sci560 offers a fascinating kaleidoscope of the city’s emergence as a military-industrial-academic hub. Its intriguing title is a portmanteau of ‘science’ and the city’s PIN or postal code ‘560’, while simultaneously being a play on the term ‘sci-fi’ (science fiction).
Suitable surroundings
Housed in a state-of-the-art building with an aesthetic ambience that blends the traditional with the modern, the Science Gallery is the latest gift to the city known for its scientific and technological prowess worldwide.
Located aptly in Ganganagar, the venue is near the campuses of the University of Agriculture Sciences, the Indian Air Force Training Command, and the administrative headquarters of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO, since 1972 in Bengaluru). It is not too far from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc, inaugurated in 1911), the Raman Research Institute (RRI, founded in 1948), Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT, established in 1953), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL, opened in 1954) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR, set up in 1989).
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Event details
Funded by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Sci560 aims to demystify science and connect science with society. Unveiled on August 25, it requires at least two hours for an unhurried experience. Talks on various topics are lined up, and the schedule is available on the website.
Entry is free. It is open from Wednesday to Sunday. Timings vary, with extended hours (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) on Fridays through Sundays. Initially planned until December 2024, the event has been extended to July 2025.
The nearby bus stop is ‘CBI’ on Bellary Road (aka Airport Road), while the nearest Metro Station is 5 km away. Limited parking is available inside the premises.
Educational institutions can book organised group tours through the website (recommended for students of Grade 6 and above), details are available here .
According to Jagrut, a member the mediators’ team, as many as 4,600 students have been part of organized tours between August and December.
Treasure trove of knowledge
A team of trained intermediaries (who work at the gallery part-time or full-time) go beyond an explanation of the curated exhibits to engage in a fruitful conversation.
A star attraction added recently is a simple machine from the Indian Institute of Science: Astram-10, to make compressed mud blocks. As a user of an earlier version of this device 30 years ago, the author found it intriguing that this design has stood the test of time.
Kere Chronicles documents the revival tale of the lakes across the city. At ‘Wingbeats and Warbles’, one can listen to bird sounds by selecting the respective photographs. A moving timeline map presents a succinct lesson of the city’s geography and history. A live kombucha brew setup demonstrates the beverage’s brewing phases.
The Bheja Fry experiment involves a microscope that enables scientists to delve deeper into the brain’s inner workings. From space-time concept to gravitational space, the wind tunnel by the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) to the photometer to determine a star’s brightness (courtesy Indian Institute of Astrophysics or IIA), there is enough along the walls and on the floors to engross and enthral the visitor.
“My visit to the Science Gallery was educative,” responded Shirish Koyal when asked about his impressions. “It has interesting exhibits on the expansion of Bengaluru, the birds in its lung spaces (their sounds included), the city’s defence PSUs [public sector undertakings], the Bangalore Torpedo (a weapon in use since 1912), the Simputer, and kombucha (a fermented tea that one can sample),” he said, while adding, “Each exhibition hall has young enthusiastic guides who will answer visitors’ queries.”
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Of sights and sounds
Visitors can marvel at a tabla set donated by RRI, illustrating Prof. C. V. Raman’s exploration of sound through Indian percussion instruments. The transmission electron microscope by JNCASR provides a fascinating glimpse of nanoparticles. Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium’s giant opto-mechanical projector turns the viewer’s imagination towards the sky.
Recent additions are radio telescopes Saras and Polyx from RRI for detecting radio waves and x-rays.
Specific halls have exhibits that depict the convergence of the military, industrial, and academic realms. A documentary explains the legend of the Bangalore Torpedo, an explosive charge in connected tubes developed in Bengaluru by Madras Sappers or the Madras Engineering Group (MEG) of the Indian Army. An HT-2 (1951) trainer aircraft stands testimony to the early contributions of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
BEL’s electronic voting machine draws special attention. A documentary sends old-timers to the nostalgic HMT time (watches) even as a dial-type telephone instrument manufactured at the Indian Telephone Industries (ITI, set up in 1948) revives memories of the landline era.
