Khoj Shaala (Malsarai) - grade 6-10
Khoj Shaala is a lab-in-a-community integrated to do research-based projects linked to their curriculum using a theoretical framework. Thereafter the children build on their existing knowledge to apply in solving grass-root problems by making prototypes for their solutions. The children test these prototypes in their rural/urban context. The entire program has a curriculum that focuses on building the scientific temper of children and it demands the adults/community members to become facilitators who share their traditional knowledge to let the child get engaged then explore and thereafter feel empowered after its completion. Our Khoj Shaala has been actively operating in the Malsarai village in Mahmudabad, a few kilometers ahead of Lucknow. The lab engages 24 young people on a regular basis.
From the initial exploration to the completion of a project, children engage in multiple steps of inquiry, action, dialogue, and reflection. This process not only develops their critical thinking skills but also allows them to reflect on their experiences and the world around them, leading to informed actions that can bring about social change, as envisioned by Paulo Freire [1].
Khoj Shaala is a lab-in-a-community integrated to do research-based projects linked to their curriculum using a theoretical framework. Thereafter the children build on their existing knowledge to apply in solving grass-root problems by making prototypes for their solutions. The children test these prototypes in their rural/urban context. The entire program has a curriculum that focuses on building the scientific temper of children and it demands the adults/community members to become facilitators who share their traditional knowledge to let the child get engaged then explore and thereafter feel empowered after its completion. Our Khoj Shaala has been actively operating in the Malsarai village in Mahmudabad, a few kilometers ahead of Lucknow. The lab engages 24 young people on a regular basis.
From the initial exploration to the completion of a project, children engage in multiple steps of inquiry, action, dialogue, and reflection. This process not only develops their critical thinking skills but also allows them to reflect on their experiences and the world around them, leading to informed actions that can bring about social change, as envisioned by Paulo Freire [1].
When working with children, we always keep observation at the centre, because good observation is the beginning of everything great. It’s either a question we ask, a problem we notice, or a solution we figure post observing and understanding something deeply.
In a recent example, our young makers in Malsarai took observation and contextual making to new levels. From making puppets from materials around them, to understanding the botany behind sugarcane, it’s juice, the process of extracting it, and building the prototype of a machine that does the same - they have travelled to interesting creative lengths. After the extraction process, they also explored jaggery (gud). From sweet stories to sticky experiments, they’re proving that Gud isn’t just food; it’s a mood. And as for the bugs braving the cold? They’ve become the kids’ latest obsession. From observing their moves to decoding their tiny winter survival tricks, it’s like our own little National Geographic, just Malsarai edition.
In a recent example, our young makers in Malsarai took observation and contextual making to new levels. From making puppets from materials around them, to understanding the botany behind sugarcane, it’s juice, the process of extracting it, and building the prototype of a machine that does the same - they have travelled to interesting creative lengths. After the extraction process, they also explored jaggery (gud). From sweet stories to sticky experiments, they’re proving that Gud isn’t just food; it’s a mood. And as for the bugs braving the cold? They’ve become the kids’ latest obsession. From observing their moves to decoding their tiny winter survival tricks, it’s like our own little National Geographic, just Malsarai edition.
These little storytellers also keep turning their discoveries into comics, weaving their own tales, learning by the day - sometimes via observation, sometimes making, and sometimes simple listening!
Going ahead, we kept exploring many other elements that 'Gud' can be mixed with, and even dishes we can create with it. |
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Be it our recent summer camp in Malsarai, where our agenda was to simply get together, sit back, create AND present, or our classrooms of making and thinking - the idea is to always create, learn and engage with our hands, and not only through books.
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In one of our classes, children and young makers from the village looked around for contextual materials, along with some discarded so-called waste and created bags for themselves. Designed in their own signature styles, these bags are now proudly carried by them to the centre every day. Here is a sneak-peak into their creations and creativity. Any kind of art, making and creation finds a deeper meaning the day it meets purpose and solves a problem - big or small.
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Some of our other explorations, old and new have been around Sugarcane where we went onto ‘bagasse’ - which is a by product of sugarcane. And during that they’ve been looking at its materiality, and how the same material can be combined with different materials to come up with new combinations and forms. We then also roped in several stories while talking about it, and how everyone comes up with different permutations and combinations especially when it comes to creative projects like these.
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