An event titled “Open House: Inspiring Young Minds” was organized to attract young school children towards the areas of Science and Technology. It provided them with an excellent opportunity to meet and interact with IITK faculty members, researchers and students; they were also given a tour of the beautiful campus. This was only the second time in the history of IIT Kanpur that such a community outreach event has been organized. The first was held during the Silver Jubilee celebrations, 25 years ago.

Around 5000 higher secondary students (9th to 12th) from 50 schools participated in this event along with their teachers. School buses reached the campus in three different time slots and the students were formed into groups, with each group comprising 20 students. Each group had a post-graduate student volunteer guide who took them on an academic tour of the campus.

The 1200 acre campus was divided into two zones: the Academic Area and the non-Academic Area. Inside the academic area, students were taken on a guided tour of the departmental laboratories, with the state-of-the-art research facilities, the hi-tech computer center, the central library and the central workshops. Some exciting demonstrations of the major facilities were given by the IITK students and faculty coordinators to these young children. A poster session too, was specially arranged for them in the main Auditorium Ground where all the departments showcased their current research activities and the significance of their specialization.
There were several other interesting exhibits for the students such as the IIT Kanpur History Exhibition, the Hindi Cell stall, the NPTEL stall and the Student Gymkhana stall. Shiksha Sopan, an IITK based NGO, also set up a stall in the Students’ Activity Centre where they conducted several experiments to explain basic science concepts.

The event wasn’t all about science and technology, however. To give students an exposure to other aspects of development, the Health Center of the Institute, in association with the Adolescence Society, Kanpur and Raptakoss Brett and Co. organized an exhibition on Adolescent Health Issues in the Media Center grounds of IITK. The theme was ‘Yuva Bharat - Swastha Bharat’ (Young India-Healthy India).

Much to the delight of the school children, the organizers also attempted to give them a taste of hostel life. The tour included visits to Halls of Residence VII and VIII where they directly interacted with the IITK students. Finally, an hour-long movie on the historical development of the Institute was screened in the Main Auditorium for the children. Environment friendly souvenirs, sponsored by the Alumni Association of IIT Kanpur, were distributed to the children when they left.
‘This is for the first time that I came to IIT. It’s an awesome feeling. We also got an opportunity to interact with some students here’, said one excited student. ‘I dream to be a part of this campus one day’, said another student.

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The Community Radio is a subject which is gaining popularity in the world of development and social communication. Amongst all the broadcasting media in India, the radio has the highest penetration reaching even the remotest areas and serving the poor and illiterate. The Community Radio is intended to give voice to the unheard voices of the community. In the past few years, it has emerged as a powerful medium of communication in rural India.

IIT Kanpur launched its Community Radio on 26th March 2010. The 30 minute launch ceremony was aired live at 90.4MHz. It started with a 10-minute documentary on community radio by Mr. Amit Tripathi, the Station Manager, and was followed by the addresses of Prof. Sanjay G. Dhande, Director, IITK, some faculty members and some students.

A two-day workshop on Community Radio Awareness was also organized at IITK from 26th to 27th March by the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Dr. R. Sreedher, Director, CEMCA, was present along with representatives from various functional CR stations in Uttar Pradesh.

Around 100 participants from all over India attended this workshop. Participants included enthusiasts who were keen on setting up radio stations in their respective areas. The workshop dealt with the different aspects of Community Radio like the purpose of CRs, licensing procedures, case studies based on the already functional CRs in UP, the setting up of a CR station and available technology, etc.

The Community Radio again went live on the evening of the first day from 5:00 to 6:00pm. The purpose was to demonstrate to the participants how a live program is recorded. During this one hour, a bus full of participants and workshop coordinators toured the surrounding villages and as the bus toured, a reporter named Ms. Seema Bharti from CEMCA interviewed the villagers. They talked about everything from sharing their problems to discussing their aspirations, even singing songs and reciting poetry. As the villagers were pouring their heart out, their voices could be heard at 90.4MHz. The entire program was handled by Mr. Amit Tripathi (the Station Manager) at the radio station.

The Community Radio has already started its transmission of programs. A whole gamut of programs is aired at 90.4MHz ranging from education, agriculture, health, environment, and social welfare to classical music. The purpose is to serve the community within and outside (within a range of 10 km) the campus. So far the response has been very encouraging and the CR team is continuing with its endeavors.

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An Established in 1964, the Campus School continues to be an integral part of IIT Kanpur. Started on a small scale to impart holistic education to the children residing on the campus, this community school soon blossomed into a full-grown school. This year the Campus School, too, organized a Reunion and Open House on 19th and 20th November 2010. Several teachers and students who were once a part of this friendly school graced the event, renewing old bonds.

The function was inaugurated by Prof. Sanjay G. Dhande, Director, IIT Kanpur, by lighting the traditional lamp to the accompaniment of a Saraswati Vandana by Mr. Devanand Pathak (music teacher, Campus School). Ms. Sushma Hora, Principal, Campus School, formally welcomed everyone to the event. Prof. Sandeep Sanghal, Chairman, School Management Committee, gave a brief account of the school history and the recent developments in the school with a major emphasis on the innovative Maths Lab and the upcoming EVS Lab.

Prof. Dhande expressed his happiness with the school’s performance in recent years and pledged all possible support to the school at the Institute level, including the sharing of the Institutes’ resources for a proposed Language Lab.

There was much reminiscing of old times by the visitors. After the tea break the school teachers, old and new, and the school alumni also presented a small cultural program.

On 20th November an Open House was held where the yearlong Club Activities that are conducted in the school were showcased. The 100% students’ participation made it a big success.

Art & Craft: Around 70 students participated in this activity displaying their skills of drawing, coloring, shading and crafting designs out of waste materials.

Maths: Forty-five students displayed various models including the Single and Eight Spike Abacus, Paper Protractor, Centre of a Circle, Factors, L.C.M., Fractions, etc. This club emphasizes on learning without fear and learning while having fun.

EVS: Forty-seven students participated in this club to put up 15 models demonstrating various concepts of Science and Social Studies like the wind mill, the water turbine, conservation of energy and momentum, the energy change model, and many more. Students, parents and teachers has also got together to create a Children’s Museum displaying old coins, locks, old tools, etc.

Language: Twenty-two students participated in this club. There were two displays:

1. Interactive Displays -games in which visitors of all ages could participate and

2. Activity Displays - showcasing the activities done in the club earlier. The interactive displays included games like word search, cover the vowels, boggle, cut to size, what’s the article and chere’s the capital. The activity displays included contributory story, word antakshari, related words, individual short stories, how would you end it, tell it in your own words and tongue twisters.

Theatre: Twenty-eight students participated in this club. Two skits were presented -- Moorkh Sultan, which dealt with the display of various emotions and dialogue delivery; and Yatra, which showed the different dialects and dictions used to express one’s thoughts.

Music: Thirty-seven students participated in the orchestra put up by this club. They showcased the “Young Musicians of Campus School in Action”. One could hear both English as well as Hindi songs along with the sounds of the electronic keyboard, mandolin, tabla, congo, dholak, miracus, khanjri, kartaal and bongo.
Dance: Fifteen students presented a dance, Baagad Bam Bam, in the Inaugural Function of the Open House. Apart from this, visitors to the Dance Station were entertained by 45 students showing the various dance moves learnt in this club.

Kindergarten: Being very young, the kindergarten kids (44 in total) do not participate in the clubs. But they, too, were a part of the Open House event. They displayed their knowledge of English and Hindi by using flash cards, plastic letters, wooden puzzles, alphabet matching boards, word and picture matching cards, and specially designed flashcards to show the starting letters of words. The children were also kept engaged playing with blocks, puzzles and toys. A highlight of this section was the students’ demonstration of how they ‘read’ by using pictures and text put up on the wall. Two stories have been put up this year: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Junior, and an adaptation of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

Open Air Theatre (Nukkad Natak): Two plays were staged - Andher Nagari Chaupat Raja, which demonstrated the necessity of having a sensible and capable leader in order to have good governance; and Bijli aur Pani ki Bachat, which emphasized the need to conserve electricity and water.

Sports and Games: Students from the Sports club volunteered to control the crowds during the Open House. They also put up a few stalls of various games such as Darts and Hoops.

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