Regional Science Centre, Bhopal

                                Fast view

Address                                   :-   Banganga Road, Shyamla Hills , Bhopal
Opened                             :-  12 January 1995
Distance from Bhopal Station     :-  6  KM
Famous for                                :-  Children's science museum, science park
Total Average visitor in A day    :-  380
Timing                                      :-   10.30  AM  to 6 PM
Entry Fee                                  :-  10/- (for school group 5/-) per head
Landscape                                 :-  5 acres

A model of the Indira Sagar Power Station

Visualizing Sound with a Guitar

Introduction

The regional science centre Bhopal was opened on 12^th January 1995 by the then president of India late Shankar Dayal Sharma. This center is one of the 25 constitute units of National Council of Science Museum(NCSM) which is an autonomous science organization under the ministry of culture, Govt. of India, engaged in popularizing Science and Technology amongst student in particular and the masses in General, through a wide range of activities and interactive programs.

The Centre has over 266 science exhibits spanning across a wide range of scientific disciplines. Most of the exhibits are interactive. The 5-acre RSCB campus includes a 3-acre Science Park, which contains over 60 exhibits such as pulley demonstrations, a windmill and solar-powered devices. The campus also houses a small Dinosaur Park and a zoo.

 this is describing facts of colour

The RSCB is open on all days, including weekends, except on Holi and Diwali. The visitor timings are from 10.30 am to 6pm. As of 1 April 2012, the entry fees is  5 for visitors who are part of a student group, and  10 for everybody else. There are extra charges for special shows such as the 3D Film Show (10 per person) and the Taramandal Show (introduction to astronomy,  2 per person).

A big engine 

The Centre has a 200-seater auditorium and a 25-seater conference hall (both air conditioned). These are also available to the external groups for organizing relevant events, at a small charge. There is also a 50-seater AC hall, where the 3D Science Show is organized. RSCB has a small portable planetarium with an inflatable dome, with a capacity of 25 people.

RSCB also has a Mobile Science Exhibition bus with 24 exhibits. This bus goes to the small towns and remote villages of Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh for creating scientific awareness through anti-superstition demonstrations, science-related films, sky observation and educational lectures.

some student trying to understand atmosphere

More   Attraction

• Models to understand our Atmosphere

scanning electron microscope

The Atmosphere is the mixture of gasses like nitrogen, Oxygen, hydrogen, helium, krypton, xenon etc. It’s also having a layer of Ozone which protects our life from unwanted radiations and UV rays and water vapors.

Here are many models that can tell all facts with fun; it’s very interesting to understand how our atmosphere works? , what’s it have? How it old? What are future of atmosphere and much more?

A visit to this gallery will also help you to understand the cycles of atmosphere, air as cushion, the power of air, resistance air pollution, ozone depletion, atmosphere and setup of a weather station.

•      Models to understand energy

Life of earth is driven by energy. Every action of any kinds needs energy to make it happen, sun is the primary source of energy in earth, it’s produced 77 billion megatons of energy every second.

  The exhibit “Sun the source of all energies” dwells into the fascinating energy facts of sun.

Science park

A series of interactive exhibits explain different forms of energy conversions, they also explains how energy is harnessed from the vast electromagnetic spectrum ranging from gamma to Radio rays emitted by sun. Interact with a working model of nuclear reactor and a hydroelectric turbine here. Explore how electricity is generated, transmitted and distributed to us.

•  Science park

Besides the indoor galleries, Science Centre is having a unique Science Park spread on a lush green land of 3 acres, which contains more than 60 nos. of interactive fun-filled working exhibits. Visitors while playing with them learn various scientific principles.

Pendulum waves are simply a series of pendulums that are pulled back, then released at some angle(s). If the lengths and angles are just right, then each pendulum will cycle back and forth between its release position at a slightly different frequency than its neighbor. This results in some pretty neat alternating waveforms. Wave pendulums make great desktop toys for your rich dads, and have even been known to keep children quiet for up to 60 seconds. In addition, the can make nice props in classroom settings for illustrating physics principles such as potential and kinetic energy, air resistance, aliasing, and more.

Van Vihar National Park, Bhopal

                       Fast view

Address                                   :-   Near Upper Lake , Bhopal
Opened                             :-  1983
Distance from Bhopal Station   :-  9  KM
Famous for                               :-  Zoological park, birding place, Natural attraction
Total Average visitor in A day  :-  200
Timing                                     :-   8 AM  to 6 PM
Entry Fee                                 :-  20/- 
Area                                                  :-  4.45 km²

A Langur mother with her baby

 INTRODUCTION

Van Vihar is National Park located adjacent to Upper Lake of Bhopal city at  Madhya Pradesh in Central India. It is spread over an area of 4.43 sq. km. area and was declared as a National Park in year 1983. Although it is a declared National Park, but on visit you will find it more a Zoological Park. It has been developed and managed as a zoological park in which wild animals were caged in a their natural surrounding. It is a important part of Bhopal local sightseeing. 

Tiger is main attraction on van vihar

This land is under strict protection, due to it has now transformed into an island full of greenery surrounded by habitation. Van Vihar serves as green lung for the capital town of Madhya Pradesh. It harbors herbivores like Chital, Sambar, and blue bull under free ranging condition and the animals like tiger, lion, leopard, hyena, crocodile and gharial under captive condition. The landscape of the area has led to the designing of enclosures in a fashion that serves the objective of fostering a positive man-animal relationship. Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has granted recognition to Van Vihar as medium size Zoo during q994. The adjoining upper lake adds immense beauty to the landscape of Van Vihar. The lake enlivens the park particularly when thousands of migratory birds land in the lake at the onset of winter.

Birds is going.......photo by Ajay Digarse

History

About two decades back, a number of illegal stone quarries were operational in the area and being in the serene and beautiful location on the bank of big lake, many commercial organizations were trying to take hold of this valuable piece of land. Realizing importance of both in-situ and ex-situ conservation of wild fauna, it was decided to provide this area a legal umbrella under the Wildlife (protection) Act, 1972. A committee of experts was constituted to decide the modalities for constitution of this area as a Protected Area. An area of 4.4521 km² was notified as National Park in the year 1983 as per the committee's recommendation.

whistling teal birds

Out of the 4.4521 km² of land, an area 3.8839 km² was government revenue land and rest belonged to the villagers of Prempura, Dharampuri and Amkheda. A compensation of Rs. 23.52 lakhs was paid to villagers to acquire 0.5692 km² of private holdings. After the constitution of National Park, such acquired area was enclosed in succession with stonewall and chain link fence. Efforts of protection and habitat improvement measures resulted in its enrichment in a very short period of time.

The degraded hillock of Shyamla Hill along with private village land was initiated in 1980 and finally notified as a national park in 1983. Funding from Central Zoo Authority started in 1993-94 and also granted Van Vihar as a medium sized zoo on the same year. With the dedicated efforts of the park management, this area has now been transformed into an oasis of greenery. The area today serves as the green lung for Bhopal City.

Birding

A separate area has been allocated in the park as bird's habitat that includes ponds, bushes and grasslands that attract birds. Many migratory birds arrive here during winters. Birding area of van vihar includes almost the entire area alongside the main road but prominently the bird sanctuary. 

Van vihars richness in avifauna lies in the fact that in a single day about 40-50 bird species can be spotted. Right from the gate you can start seeing wagtails, hoopoes, prinias and as you enter warblers, coucals and bulbuls welcome you. As we move further, water birds start appearing as you see herons, cormorants and waterhens. 

Pied kingfisher hovering above the water and Indian rollers with their fantastic courtship displays provide moments that are always cherished by the birders. A good binocular enables you to see birds on the other side of the lake or flying above. Terns can be seen covering a large area over the lake. 

FLORA

A beer

The vegetation was in highly degraded condition and belong to southern dry deciduous scrub forests. The main species found here are Bel (Aegle marmelos), Amaltas (Cassia fistula), Babul (Acacia nilotica), Reunjha (Acacia leucophloea), Doodhi (Writea tinctoria), Lendia (Lagerstromia parviflora), Saja (Terminalia alata), Amla (Emblica officinalis), 

and Tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon). In the closed areas of fodder farm and plantation, different palatable grasses like Chrysopogon fulvus, Themeda triandra, Heteropogon contortus, 

Dicanthium annulatum, Chloris dolichostachia, etc. are coming up. Hilly portion of Park is heavily infested with Lantana, whereas lower plains with Parthenium and Cassia tora weeds.

organismo

A Python is sleeping 

Van Vihar NP houses a variety of herbivores and carnivores. While the herbivores are free ranging, the carnivores are housed in large enclosures. The carnivores include tiger, lion (Panthera leo), panther (Panthera pardus), Hyena (Hyaena hyaena), and sloth bear (Melursus ursinus). The albino sloth bear and the white tiger are the star attraction of Van Vihar.

A rat snake

 The herbivores include sambar (Cervus unicolor), Chital (Axis axis), Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), Chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis), Common langur (Presbytis entellus) Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), Wild boar (Sus scrofa), Porcupine (Hystrix indica), Hare (Lepus nigricollis), etc. In addition, the park also houses gharial (Gavialis gangticus), crocodile (Crocodilus palustris), Turtle (Trionyx gangeticus), Star tortoise (Geochelone elegans), and python (Python molurus). Tiger, panther and crocodile have bred successfully under captive conditions in the park.

FAUNA

Till now, about two hundred species of birds have been listed in Van Vihar. Large numbers of birds frequent this park, especially during the winter. 

The migratory waterfowl alight in great numbers in the adjoining extensive wetland of big lake. The upper lake, on the southwestern 

boundary of Van Vihar is the abode of wide array of avian fauna. More than 40 species of migratory birds visit this area during the winter. 

A Siyar

The average count may be as much as 20, 000 water birds at a time. Some of the important winter visitors are pintail, spotbill, brahminy duck, gadwall, red crested pochard, barheaded goose, cotton teal, spoonbill, painted stork and purple heron. The aviary inside Van Vihar swarm during the winter with hundreds of winged creatures which is a great attraction for bird watchers. A solitary black necked stork has been regularly sighted for 

the last two winters. Rare sightings of brown headed stork and black capped kingfisher have also been reported. A pair of white stork, which had no previous sighting records in Bhopal, was seen during the summers of 2001. Apart from this, common pariah kite, great horned owl, Shikra, Marsh harrier, tawny eagle and kestrel are some of the important birds of prey. The scavenger vulture is common in the park especially during the summers. The upper lake of Bhopal has also been included in the IBA (Important Bird Areas) list of Birdlife International coordinated by BNHS.

 This video captured from Van vihar, Bhopal here a rat snake trying to hidden from camera.   Indian rat snakes are large snakes and their colour varies from pale browns in dry regions to nearly black in moist forest areas. They are frequently found in urban areas where rodents thrive.

Kerwa Dam, Bhopal

                             Fast view

Address                                      :- Near National Law institute, Ratibad , Bhopal
Made                                 :-  Unknown year
Distance from Bhopal Station     :-  20 KM
Famous for                                :-  Picnic and adventure spot
Total Average visitor  in A day   :-  500
Timing                                       :-   always open 
Entry Fee                                   :-  Free

Kerwa Dam is one of the most popular picnic spots of Bhopal.
Situated at a distance of about 10 kms, the reservoir has a catchment area of about 69 sq. km. Kaliasot and Kerwa reservoirs have been constructed to meet the water demands of Bhopal city during dry seasons. Kerwa eco-tourism site has one kilometer of walking area laden with trees, scrubs and flowering plants on both the sides.

falling water

While you can enjoy a lot of adventurous activity in and around the Dam area, bird watching can be done in the Nursery which is now an Eco-tourism spot. This place has a trail around the area that you can follow to view a lot of bird’s especially those found in wooded, semi-forest area. Kerwa has a wide variety of birds like parakeets, flycatchers, woodpeckers, owls, peacock, shrike, drongo, nightjars etc. Birding area includes road from dam to the nursery or the eco-tourism point and area around the flowing water. 

sun set at kerwa

Kerwa is home to mottled wood owl. Nightjars can be heard and their frequent calls are helpful to identify them. Area around nursery has woodpeckers and fantail flycatchers and a large eucalyptus tree provides resting place to Indian roller. During monsoon, peacocks call frequently around this place.

It's also very good place to see rising sun and sun set, when sun reach water at morning or evening it's look  like you are stands near sea.