Title - Biodiversity show on wheels

Expo to reach capital on August 12

Science Express, a mobile exhibition on a 16-coach air conditioned train, travelling across the country since October 2007, will reach the capital on August 12 on an eight-day visit to the State.After the successful tour across the country in four phases, the train is running now as ‘Science Express — Biodiversity Special (SEBS),’ a collaborative initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Environment and Forests.The ‘exhibition on wheels’ will reach Thiruvananthapuram Central on August 12 and will be here for four days. It will proceed to Alappuzha railway station on August 16 and will be there till 19.The SEBS 2013 edition is scheduled to travel to 62 locations during its journey from April 9 to October 28.As 2011-2020 has been declared as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity and United Nations Decade for Deserts and Fight against Desertification, the ‘Science Express’ primarily addresses the theme ‘biodiversity.’ The exhibition aims at creating awareness on India’s biodiversity, climate change, water, energy conservation and related issues among the public, especially students.

Themes

Trans-Himalaya and the Himalayas, the Gangetic plain, northeast India, the desert and semi-arid zone, the Western Ghats, the Deccan Peninsula, the coasts and islands are the themes. The exhibition also covers marine, coastal, forest, microbial, agro biodiversity and their linkage with livelihoods, besides challenges of conservation.

The train also has exhibits on safe, secure, and sustainable environment; a kids’ zone; Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre’s Joy of Science hands-on lab; and a teachers’ orientation facility.

Since its launch, the train has travelled over 86,000 km across the country. It has attracted over 87 lakh visitors at its 270 halts and 1000 exhibition days.