A student tries out a device at the Regional Science Centre on Wednesday. Picture by Manas Paran

Guwahati, June 1: What is the best way to tickle young minds and arouse their interest in science? Give them a playroom with plenty of scientific ?toys? and chances are they will be hooked.

Based on the motto, ?Science is fun?, the Regional Science Centre at Khanapara in Guwahati is setting up a children?s gallery that will be open to kids below five years of age. The gallery, to be opened shortly, is the first of its kind in the Northeast.

Project co-ordinator R.S. Jeelani said the idea for the new gallery grew out of the oft-heard complaint from parents that ?there is hardly anything at the centre to attract youngsters?. He said the gallery would be brightly lit and contain 20 types of toys that unravel the basics of science in an interesting manner.

?Science and scientific temperament have to be drilled into kids by making the learning process an enjoyable one. That is the idea behind the children?s gallery,? Jeelani said.

There won?t be any entry fee for children below five years of age.

Schoolteacher Kalpana Sharma is one of those excited by the project. ?Young minds are the best learners and if we can give them the facilities, they will definitely shine.?

She rued the lack of scientific temperament among most students, blaming it on the drudgery of conventional education. ?Our education system does not make learning a joyful process. The children?s gallery at the science centre could, therefore, make a big difference to the way we teach our children.?

Silpa Kakoty, a parent, said her recent visit to the Nehru Children?s Museum in Calcutta along with her son was an eye-opener. ?I cannot tell you how good this one (the gallery) will be, but I am sure all children would love to have the kind of experience my son had.?

The science centre has a mock coal mine and galleries on life science, agriculture, petroleum and forests. It recently added a prehistoric life park, a butterfly park and a medicinal and aromatic plant garden to the list of attractions.