A current issue facing individuals with disabilities in Sri Lanka is that they are excluded from constructive activities on account of their inherent disabilities. They may be excluded either because of physical disabilities or cognitive disabilities. This could lead to adverse outcomes for individuals with disabilities such as unemployment, depression and their overall absence from everyday life. The interactive science talks series was implemented to target children between the ages of 10 and 16 with learning disabilities and autism. Rather than the use of slides and computers, sessions are conducted with small groups where scientific principles are demonstrated using everyday items such as cardboard, tennis balls, paper, eggs, rubber bands, and many more.

The goal of the project is to simplify the distribution of information to a purely visual and interactive form, which can be easily managed and key to get children with disabilities interested and involved in scientific activities.

Activities

The Colombo Hub has currently conducted one interactive science session with the MJF institute in Moratuwa. The attendance for the session was 25 children between the ages of 8 and 16 who are students at the institution. The activities conducted included a demonstration of force transferring principles using a tennis ball and a basketball, a demonstration of momentum and Newton’s 2nd and 3rd laws using tennis balls, and a demonstration of force damping using an egg and soft items such as paper, cardboard and rubber bands.  The session lasted for nearly 2 hours.

Impact

One of the outcomes from this first interactive science session was that there was a clear enthusiasm from the children towards taking part in such an interactive activity.

Objectives

• The project team is looking to conduct at least two more sessions of this nature, and to get more students involved, to teach basic science principles using similar interactive activities as described above.


• The MJF institute is planning to conduct a science exhibition conducted by the students at the institute in October 2021.


• The long term goal is to ensure students with cognitive and learning disabilities are capable of demonstrating the knowledge they gained on their own, or with minimal supervision. A clear demonstration of what they learned would be an indicator that these children are capable of carrying out tasks that could make them employable in the future. It would also teach them to think critically and the important aspect of applying theoretical knowledge.