Arvind Gupta is an Indian toy inventor, author, translator and scientist. He got the civilian award " Padma Shree" on the eve of Republic Day, 2018.

Career

A graduate from IIT Kanpur (1975 batch), Arvind Kumar Gupta took a year's study leave from TELCO (in 1978) to work with the grassroots village science teaching programme for children in the tribal district of Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh called Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme. While there, he developed many useful low-cost teaching/science teaching aids using locally available materials. The possibilities of using ordinary things for doing science and recycling modern junk into joyous products appealed immensely to children. Arvind Gupta's first book, Matchstick Models and other Science Experiments, was translated into 12 Indian languages by various Popular Science groups and sold more than half a million copies. Gupta has conducted workshops in over 2000 schools and has won many national and international awards. As a student in the 1970 s in

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...

, Gupta became a socialist in belief but eschewed action-less discourse; he stated that instead he "placed more faith in small positive action than empty rhetoric." Gupta began his social service by teaching the children of the mess staff who had no opportunities for formal education.

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

in outlook, Arvind Gupta participated in the Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme (HSTP) in

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

in 1978. While he was there he developed his idea of creating simple toys and educational experiments using locally available materials as well as items usually thrown as trash. These simple toys, he found, fascinated children and Gupta went on to make these as the hallmark of his movement of popularising science. His first book, "Matchstick Models and other Science Experiments" was reprinted in 12 languages. Gupta's website holds instructions, including short video clips on YouTube, in a number of languages, for making hundreds of improvised toys, which he makes available freely without copyright restrictions. Gupta draws inspiration from a number of people, including

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

, George Washington Carver and his mother. His popular TED Talk: Turning Trash into Toys for learning gives an insight into his work and philosophy. His talk was among the 10 best TED talks compiled by

Sir Ken Robinson Sir Ken Robinson (4 March 1950 – 21 August 2020) was a British author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts bodies. He was director of the Arts in Schools Project (1985 ...

and

Sugata Mitra Sugata Mitra (born 12 February 1952) is an Indian computer scientist and educational theorist. He is best known for his "Hole in the Wall" experiment, and widely cited in works on literacy and education. He is Professor Emeritus at NIIT Univers ...

's 5 favorite education talks.

Selected awards and recognition

He has won several awards for his lifelong efforts at popularizing science and in designing teaching aids for young children. These include: * ''Dr. Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Award'' by the Maharashtra Foundation (2018). * Distinguished Math Teacher's Award, Association of Maths Teachers of India (AMTI) (2016). * The Dadhichi Award given by The Education Society, Ambarnath, Maharashtra (2012). * ''Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati National Eminence Award'' conferred by the South Indian Education Society, Mumbai (2010). * The TWAS (

Third World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...

) Regional Prize for Public Understanding and Popularization of Science (2010). * The C. N. R. Rao Education Foundation Prize for Outstanding Science Teachers (2010). * One-India One-People Award, conferred by the One-India, One-People Foundation, Mumbai (2009). * The ''Indira Gandhi Award for Science Popularization'' conferred by

INSA The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) is a non-profit, nonpartisan 501(c)(6) professional organization based in Arlington Virginia for public and private sector members of the United States Intelligence Community. History ...

(2008). * Prof. G. D. Parikh Memorial Award, conferred by the M.N. Roy Humanist Center for distinguished contributions in education (2004). * The Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Kanpur in 2001 * National Association for the Blind Award, for designing appropriate teaching aids for pre-school visually impaired children (1991). * The inaugural National Award for Science Popularization among Children conferred by the DST, Government of India (1988).

Bibliography

* Wonders from toys (2015) - Scholastic, India. Illustrated by Reshma Barve. * Women on Wheels (2015) - Graphic Novel, Manovikas. Illustrated by Ishita Dharap. * Hands-On Maths (2014) - Scholastic, India. Illustrated by Reshma Barve. * Fun with Leaves (2014) - Scholastic, India. Illustrated by Dr. Vidula Mhaiskar. * Sci Fun (2013) - Scholastic, India. Illustrated by Reshma Barve. * Toys from Trash (2013) - Scholastic, India. Illustrated by Reshma Barve. * Thumbs Down (2012) - Scholastic, India. Fun with Thumbprints. Illustrated by Dr. Vidula Mhaiskar. * Amazing Activities (2012) - Scholastic, India. Illustrated by Reshma Barve. * The Story of Solar Energy (2011) - Scholastic, India. Illustrated by Reshma Barve. * Science from Scrap (2010) - Scholastic, India. Illustrated by Chinmayee Samant. * Bright Sparks (2009)- Illustrated by Dr. Karen Haydock. Published by (INSA) - Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. * Science Skills & Thrills (2008) - Published by Kerala State Institute of Children's Literature. * Quick Science (2009) - Scholastic India. * Odds & Ends (2009) - Scholastic India. * Aha! Activities (2006) - Published by Eklavya, Bhopal (www.eklavya.in) * Hands-On (2002) Published by Vigyan Prasar. * String Games (2002) - Illustrated by Avinash Deshpande. Published by National Book Trust. * Ten Little Fingers (2000) - Illustrated by Avinash Deshpande. Published by National Book Trust. * Little Toys (1996) - Illustrated by Avinash Deshpande. Published by National Book Trust. * Toy Treasures (1993) - Illustrated by Avinash Deshpande. Published by Eklavya (www.eklavya.in) * Toy Joy (1992) - Published by Vigyan Prasar. * Pumps from the Dump - (1992) Published by Vigyan Prasar. * Leaf Zoo (1992) - Published by Vigyan Prasar. * The Toy Bag (1991) - Illustrated by Avinash Deshpande. Published by Eklavya (www.eklavya.in) * Tangrams (1990) Published by Balsahiti, Hyderabad. * Little Science (1989) - Illustrated by Avinash Deshpande. Published by Eklavya (www.eklavya.in) * Matchstick Models & other Science Experiments (1987) - Illustrated by Avinash Deshpande. Translated into 13 Indian languages. Published by Eklavya (www.eklavya.in)

Translation in Hindi

Arvind Gupta has translated over 290 books to Hindi.

References

External links

Arvind Gupta's website
for popularizing science through children's toys
Book about Arvind Gupta
by Shobha Bhagwat published by Kaja Kaja Maru Publication (a publication o
Garware Balbhavan Pune

Citation for "Distinguished Alumnus Award"
from

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...

in 2001
Make Digital magazine's
feature "Toys from Trash" on Arvind Gupta and his wo

TED Talk given by Arvind Gupta
at The INK Conference
Why I write? Arvind Gupta plays with the words of science
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta, Arvind Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Indian inventors Indian popular science writers IIT Kanpur alumni 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers 20th-century Indian educators Indian children's writers 21st-century Indian inventors Indian social sciences writers Translators from Hindi 20th-century Indian translators 21st-century Indian translators Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education