Not just spaced-out, make science go pop

If all things go space-shipshape, Shubhanshu Shukla will script history later this week as the second Indian to go to space. 41 years after Rakesh Sharma's 1984 mission as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme, Shukla's Axiom Mission-4 journey to International Space Station (ISS) has reignited public interest in science and space. This is an ideal moment to channel that curiosity and excitement, and turn it into a full-blown trend. Making science exciting - more 'geeky,' less 'syllabus-y' - is key to building generational 'STEM cells'. The newly revamped Hall of Nuclear Power at Delhi's National Science Centre, for instance, uses motion sensors, AI exhibits, 3D walkthroughs and interactive games to make complex ideas cool. India has only 26 science museums, a scandalous number for a country of its size. It's not just numbers. Sci-zones must be more interactive, immersive, seductive.

Some progress is visible. GoI-funded National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) is building science cities, digital planetariums and innovation hubs. But pace and focus need to quicken. States, too, must step up, expanding and modernising science cons and fests. Models such as the EuroScience Open Forum's 'Science in the City' offer valuable lessons in decentralising and democratising science communication. Not to mention well-produced, well-narrated science shows on streaming and cable TV that focus more on science than on Indian science per se.

Pop science must thrive in dynamic public spaces, segueing into incubation centres and knowledge zones. Both brick-and-mortar and online modes should nudge youngsters towards the sheer thrill of 'knowing-doing' science. That way, we can have more Shubhanshu Shuklas sent off 'up there' from our own backyard.