Assam: Bodoland Brings ISRO Backed Space Labs To Schools

Tamulpur: The Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) in Assam is making space studies a part of classroom learning, with 15 schools across the area now equipped with dedicated space laboratories under the Bodoland Space Education Programme.

On August 23, Tamulpur Higher Secondary School became the latest to join the initiative when it inaugurated the Haladhar Ujir Memorial Space Laboratory, coinciding with the school’s first-ever National Space Day celebration. Established in 1953, the school had never before witnessed such an event.

“The first lab was set up in July 2024 at Sidli-Kashikotra Higher Secondary School in Chirang, the first in the Northeast to host a facility of this kind,” said Nilutpal Kashyap, Officer on Special Duty (Education), BTC. “We targeted six schools in the first phase and nine in the second, with Tamulpur being the most recent.”

The labs are equipped with optical telescopes for planetary observation, scale models of PSLV/GSLV launch vehicles, CanSat payload kits for simulated launches, and microcontroller-based experiments on sensors, propulsion, and telemetry. The programme is being implemented in partnership with the New Delhi-based Vyomika Space Academy, aligned with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Officials said more than 3,000 students in BTR have already engaged in hands-on activities from building water-propelled rockets to learning orbital mechanics helping them bridge the gap between theory and practice.

The initiative is a dream project of BTC Chief Executive Member Pramod Boro, aimed at fostering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning among rural students. “We want our children to catch up with the rest of the world through scientific curiosity and innovation,” he said earlier.

Each lab has been named after a local educator or community leader to foster a sense of pride and ownership. For example, Sidli-Kashikotra’s facility is named after late journalist Chino Basumatary, remembered for his campaign against witch-hunting in the region.

Teachers say the initiative is already shaping young minds. “Students who once had no clear career goals now speak about becoming space scientists and discuss black holes and supernovas,” said Manju Boro, principal of Sidli-Kashikotra Higher Secondary School.

Parents too are noticing the change. “I never thought much about space exploration until my daughter explained it to me,” said Rajen Brahma of Udalguri. “It feels like classrooms here are reaching the cosmos, a big leap from what we knew.”