The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has rolled out its ‘Science on Wheels’ programme in Himachal Pradesh, taking hands-on science learning directly to school students in the state’s rural districts. The initiative, supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, aims to reach 50 schools across Mandi, Kullu, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Kangra.
The Himachal Pradesh leg was launched on 17 October at the IIT Mandi Campus School in the presence of the institute’s Director, Prof. Laxmidhar Behera. IIT Mandi is running the programme together with Plaksha University and the Igniting Dreams of Young Minds (IDYM) Foundation.
Six hours of learning by doing, in every school
Designed for students of Classes 6 to 12, the programme gives each participating school about six hours of interactive, experiment-led sessions built around four themes:
- Space technology
- Robotics
- Sustainability
- Water filtration
The idea is to help students, particularly those in rural and remote areas, see how concepts they read about in textbooks are tested, built and applied in the real world. After the launch, the team began with Government Senior Secondary Schools in Badog, Baggi (K), Bari Gumanu, Batheri and Deori in Mandi district.
Scaling a proven model
Himachal Pradesh is the programme’s next stop after Chhattisgarh and Punjab, where Science on Wheels has already reached more than 7,500 students across 70 schools. Taking the format into the hill state extends the model to districts where access to laboratories, robotics kits and live demonstrations is often limited.
“Science on Wheels is a great initiative. We need to develop an interest in science amongst our children as they are the future of an Atmanirbhar Bharat,” Prof. Behera said, adding that such exposure could inspire students to create the technologies of the future.
Why it matters
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 places experiential, inquiry-based learning at the centre of school reform, but many government schools still lack the equipment and expertise to deliver it. Mobile outreach led by premier institutions such as IIT Mandi offers a practical bridge, bringing robotics, space science and sustainability problem-solving to classrooms that would otherwise rarely see them.
The real measure of success will be continuity: whether short, high-energy sessions can be followed up through teacher engagement and school-level science clubs so that the curiosity they spark turns into sustained STEM learning across Himachal’s rural schools.
Source: PTI, The Indian Express (26–27 October 2026).
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