The just-opened Human and Machine gallery at the Nehru Science Centre is a storehouse of information on all things you didn't know about your own body. Here's why walking through a heart 40 times the size of your own is fun even for a 30 year-old
The just-opened Human and Machine gallery at the Nehru Science Centre is a storehouse of information on all things you didn't know about your own body. Here's why walking through a heart 40 times the size of your own is fun even for a 30 year-old
Man is the best machine known to man. That's probably what the newly-opened Human and Machine gallery at the Nehru Science Centre is trying to showcase.
Spread over 565 square metres, the gallery includes 45 exhibits, and is a smart way to grab a quick biology lesson for kids during the last week of their summer vacations.
"We've compared each of the organs to machines that perform a similar function. The heart is a pump, the brain is a CPU, the kidney is a filter and so on," says curator Soma Mandal.
You can probe a simulated brain to see which part of your body reacts to what part of the brain, measure your reaction time against visuals and sounds, and see how quick your reflexes are.
One fascinating exhibit is a collection of red lights that begin blinking when you press the start button. The objective is to switch one light off before the other clicks on.
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At the end of the exercise, the number of lights you managed to switch off in time give you a reading of your reaction time. "The children have a ball doing this," smiles Mandal.
What makes the museum interactive is a plethora of participatory and interactive exhibits.
You can measure your lung capacity, cycle to figure out how much energy you are using and walk through a simulated heart that's 40 times the size of your own.
Red and blue lights flash in the left and right ventricle to depict the passage of oxygen-rich pure blood, and impure blood.
The section dedicated to genetics is one we liked best.
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The display screens ask you about qualities you posses, (curly hair or straight hair? light or dark eyes? can you roll your tongue?) before they tell you how many others share the same quirky traits as you.
At: Nehru Science Centre (National Council of Science Museums), Dr E Moses Road, Worli. Time: 10 am to 6pm Call: 24920482 / 24932667
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