CSMVS has teamed up with a learning app for a series of informative classes for both kids and adults
CSMVS educator Meagan Vaz conducts a class for the series, which is geared at users from lower-income backgrounds
The minds at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) have extended the idea of education beyond traditional classrooms. They have teamed up with learning app Enguru to host a series of programmes that are aimed at both children and adults.
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The jewellery gallery at the museum
The collaboration is mutually beneficial, says Renuka Muthuswami, a lecturer with the education department at CSMVS. She tells us that Enguru is a platform that seeks to empower people from lower-income backgrounds with the knowledge of English. This series thus helps them engage with their users in a fun manner, while being informative as well. And as far as CSMVS is concerned, it’s a valuable outreach programme since they are connecting with a demographic that doesn’t usually pay a visit to the museum.
The series itself is divided into two parts - one specifically for children, which is held at 10 am on Saturdays, and the other for people over the age of 16, who log in at 3 pm on Wednesdays. The session for kids is titled Animal Chronicles, and Muthuswami tells us that the session this weekend will focus on animals and art. “We will explain how animals have been depicted in art, and how that has impacted the manner in which we interact with them,” she says. This will be followed by a session called Tree Trail the next week, where participants will be taken on a virtual tour of the trees in the museum and shown how they foster different species of butterflies, birds and squirrels.
All the people who conduct the classes work with the museum as educators and curators. “We get a specific person on board depending on what a particular session entails,” Muthuswami explains. She adds that the series for adults focuses on virtual tours covered thematically. These can cover a wide spectrum of topics, from the Indian sculpture gallery at the museum to the one on jewellery. The entire effort is in keeping with the digital route that CSMVS has taken over the past year, since the pandemic hit. So, even though physical visits to the premises have resumed, you can still choose to sit in the comfort of your home to soak up the knowledge.
On: Saturdays, 10 am
Log on to: Enguru on Google Play Store