KOLLAM: The “science train” rolled into the railway station here on Thursday. Thousands of school students and science buffs rushed to see the Biodiversity-Special Science Express.
The exhibits inside eleven coaches of the train provide information on the unique biodiversity of India, climate change, water resources, energy conservation and related issues.
The train reached Kollam after a three-day halt in Thrissur. The train, on platform No 5 of the Kollam station, will be here for four days.
Eight out of eleven coaches are solely dedicated to showcasing the biodiversity of India, spread across the bio-geographical zones including trans-Himalaya and the Himalayas, the Gangetic Plain, North-East India, the Western Ghats, Indian Deserts, Semi-Arid Zone, Deccan Peninsula and the coasts and islands.
Two coaches were exclusively meant for science and mathematics laboratories. Volunteers also engaged the students with various science demonstrations.
It was the train’s third phase of journey as part of its schedule to cover 57 destinations in the country. The Science Express, chugging across India for the past six years, was flagged off by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2007.
The exhibition is being conducted by the Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
