When the summer holidays began in Puducherry, the classrooms may have emptied — but curiosity found a new home. Through the month of May 2017, more than a hundred school students gathered at the Dr. Abdul Kalam Science Centre and Planetarium for a Summer Vacation Science Camp, and APSCC was there as a resource partner, turning long vacation days into a season of discovery.
A camp built on wonder
Held from 3 to 31 May 2017, the Summer Vacation Science Camp was organised by the Puducherry Council for Science and Technology (PECOST), under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Puducherry. The Dr. Abdul Kalam Science Centre and Planetarium — a fitting venue named for a scientist who devoted his life to inspiring young people — hosted the programme across the month.
Students drawn from various schools across the region came together not to sit through lectures, but to experiment, question and explore. The camp was designed around experiential learning: hands-on activities, live experiments and guided investigations that let children touch, test and reason their way toward scientific ideas.
APSCC as resource persons
APSCC contributed to the camp as resource persons, sharing expertise on sustainability and environmental science. Rather than presenting science as a set of facts to memorise, the sessions connected everyday phenomena — water, ecosystems, energy and the environment — to the larger story of how human choices shape the planet.
By framing sustainability in terms children could see and feel, APSCC volunteers helped the young participants understand why environmental science matters, and how their own habits and decisions ripple outward into the world around them.
“The best science camps don’t just answer questions — they teach children to keep asking them.”
What the students carried home
Over the course of the month, the camp nurtured far more than textbook knowledge. Students sharpened their problem-solving skills, exercised critical thinking, and — perhaps most importantly — rediscovered the plain joy of scientific curiosity. For some, the experience planted the first seeds of a future career in science and sustainability.
Programmes like this reflect APSCC’s conviction that sustainability education begins early. Reaching students during their formative years, in an informal and joyful setting, is one of the most powerful ways to build a generation that instinctively thinks about the environment.
Aligned with the Global Goals
The Summer Vacation Science Camp advanced several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals — from strengthening quality education, to building awareness of climate action and the value of life on land.
