KARACHI: Astronomy, geology, mineralogy, zoology ... Some 600 curious young students of various schools of the city lost themselves in the various branches of geography as they found access to the newly opened third floor of The Dawood Foundation’s (TDF) MagnifiScience Centre here on Wednesday.

The state-of-the-art ground-plus-three floor building of the country’s first modern interactive science centre housing hundreds of interactive science exhibits, demonstrations and educational activities for people of all ages, in particular children, built at a place behind I.I. Chundrigar Road in Railway Quarters. Just like the other two floors, the third floor beckons them into a new learning environment that is equally engaging.

There are the mysteries of the universe to be unlocked at ‘Cosmic Voyage’, the dark hall dedicated to the universe and our solar system where one finds interactive exhibits and captivating visuals educating about heavenly bodies ... the Earth and other planets, the moon, the sun, the stars, our entire galaxy and beyond.

Coming out of space one lands straight on the ‘Earth Rocks’ to explore the planet’s geological wonders. There are different kinds of rocks — sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic — to study along with other geographical features such as the rocky mountains, the volcanoes, etc.

The Dawood Foundation has added new attractions to third floor of the country’s first modern interactive science centre

The ‘Woodland Walkway’ is another area on the third floor that looks more closely at forests and the ecosystem, which includes the rivers, plants, trees, animals including birds and insects, the flora and fauna which thrive in our forests.

There is also Registaan, the desert region, with its own kind of plantation such as cacti and living creatures such as snakes, lizards, scorpions. Deserts may be referred to arid zones or barren land but they are not wastelands really. In fact, they are full of life that has adapted to harsh conditions and are also important for biodiversity. A big sandbox with buckets and spades there also offers a place for fun and play for little children, who might also try to adapt to the harsh desert conditions.

Another area right next to the desert region with a few benches and a green wall, offering contrast to the dryness of the desert, has a big screen for watching short informative films. For that matter, one can watch short documentaries in all the areas of the third floor.

The centre is open on weekdays (Monday to Thursday) from 9am to 5pm. It is closed on Fridays and the timing for Saturday and Sunday is 10am to 7.30pm. The ticket price is Rs1,300 per person on weekdays and Rs1,400 per person on weekends.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2023