Bengaluru: India’s space story comes alive on a wall

A ‘wall museum’ that captures the story of India’s space programme is set to double as an experiential STEM learning tool for school and college students.

India in Space, the wall museum from the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), is a 7x7 feet wooden cabinet with a toughened glass front. It is designed by Indic Inspirations — Isro’s registered merchandiser — and was unveiled at the Bangalore International Centre on Wednesday.

The museum has more than 25 scale models of Isro’s technology artefacts, made in aluminium, brass, stainless steel and MDF. It traces Isro’s history through satellites, rockets and launchers, engines, launchpads, ground segments and elements of its human space flight programme, Gaganyaan.

Inspired by the design of a moon lander, the wall museum comes with an 11-inch tablet with embedded information on the artefacts.

“The museum covers all aspects of Isro’s work and its technological components, depicted through artisanally engineered models,” Sunil Jalihal, founder and CEO, Indic Inspirations, said. The units are being installed in three schools in Maharashtra’s Osmanabad district. Jalihal said the company was building an order pipeline for the product from educational institutions.

Sudheer Kumar N, director, Capacity Building Programme Office, Isro, said the museum was part of the space agency’s outreach programme and aimed at communicating India’s achievements in space to youngsters.

“The museum talks to the students about the achievements and helps them prepare for technologies and challenges of the future. This is an attempt to introduce them to the technologies and their applications as problem-solvers,” he said.

Indic Inspirations has designed over 70 objects based on Isro’s stories, including scale models, DIY kits, jigsaw puzzles and board games. Artisans of Channapatna have created rocket models as part of the merchandise.