Science ExpressClimate Action Special

Brief Note

Science Express is an innovative mobile science exhibition mounted on a 16 coach AC train which has been custom-builtfor Department of Science & Technology (DST) by Indian Railway. This unique mobile exhibition was first launched in October 2007 by DST and since then it has completed 7 phasesacross India of 6-7 months duration each and currently it is on its 8th phase journey. Till date Science Express has travelled over 1, 27,000 km with 412 halts, usually of 3-4 days duration each. So far, in 1467 exhibition days,more than 1.36crore (13.6 million) people, primarily students & teachers, have visited it. Science Express’ has thus become the largest, the longest running and the most visited mobile science exhibitionthat created several records in its wake, including six entries in the Limca Book of Records.

After 7 successful tours across India, ‘’Science Express’’has been redesigned on the theme ‘Climate Change’and is running on the Indian Rail Tracks as'Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS)'. It is a unique collaborative initiative of Department of Science & Technology (DST),Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Ministry of Railways, Government of India.

The SECAS was flagged off on 15 October 2015 from Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences; Shri Suresh PrabhakarPrabhu, Hon’bleMinister of Railways; ShriPrakashJavadekar, Hon’ble Minister ofEnvironment, Forest and Climate Change; Shri Y. S. Chowdary, Hon’ble Minister of State for Science & Technology and ShriManojSinha, Hon’bleMinister of State for Railways in presence of several other dignitaries and guests.

The SECAS in its current phase is scheduled to travel across the country for about seven months, halting at 64 locations in 20 States, covering19,800 km. The exhibition will convey a strong message about Climate Change and will also be a good opportunity to generate dialogue and discussion.

The state-of-the-art exhibition aboard the 'Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS)'aims to create awareness among various sections of society, especially students, as to how Climate Change can be combated through mitigation and adaptation.

Climate Change is the most important environmental issues, with short term as well as long term impacts. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are not just global in scope and unprecedented in scale but also more severely affect poor and marginalized people. However, there is very little understanding about Climate Change and its impacts.

For Climate Change, 2015 could be a decisive year, with leaders of 190 nationsgathering in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on Climate Change during the 21stsession of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11thsession of the Meeting of the Parties (CMP 11) to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Thus, “Science Express”, redesigned as SECAS, intends to contribute towards increasing understanding of the science of climate change, the observed and anticipated impacts, and different possible responses. The previous 3 phases/runs of ‘’Science Express’’ were rolled out as a joint initiative of DST and MoEFCCas Biodiversity Special and showcased the myriad ‘Biodiversity of India’. Thus it was rational to shift the focus to the theme ‘Climate Change’ as it will affect the biodiversity of not just India but the entire globe as well.

Of the 16 coaches of SECAS, exhibition in 8 coaches developed by Centre for Environment Education (CEE) on behalf of MoEFCC,is exclusively devoted to information, case studies and material related to various aspect of Climate change, the underlying science, impacts, adaptation activities, mitigation solutions and policy approaches in a manner that is easy to understand and interesting for not just school students but also the masses.

The broad theme covered in each exhibition coach is as follows:

  • Coach 1: Understanding Climate Change -Insights in the climate as a system, the greenhouse gas effect and the underlying reasons for climate change with key message that the current change in the climate is due to human activities.
  • Coach 2: Impact of Climate Change -How temperature rise, monsoon variations, sea level rise are predicted to affectvital sectors like water, agriculture, forests and biodiversity, and human health and ways to reduce these.
  • Coach 3 & 4: Adaptation -Concepts of adaptation and examples from day to day life, adaptation strategies and stories from field.Adaptation options in urban and rural contexts and the adaptation actions India is taking.
  • Coach 5 & 6: Mitigation -Concept and definition with examples, emphasis on restoring balance, enhancing sinks and reducing emission through Renewable Energy (RE) technologies.Various programmes implemented by India and low carbon strategies andambitious goal to increase RE footprint.
  • Coach 7: International Negotiations on Climate Change -Introduction to UNFCCC, IPCC and internationally agreed action & targets. Explaining concept of equity and common but differential responsibility, Kyoto protocol other key outcomes of major COP, etc.
  • Coach 8: Handprint -What can one do at school, on roads, at home and in offices and focus on concept of lifestyle choices with the key message ‘Increase your Handprint. Decrease your Footprint’.
  • Coach 910: Exhibition put up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt of India, covering themes like Biotechnology for bio-resources and nature conservationwith emphasis on Tiger Conservation and Chemical Ecologyand India’s research and development initiatives in field of Biotechnology.
  • Coach 11: Exhibition put up by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF)showcasing select innovations, demonstrating the ingenuity of common people and an innovative project which uses augmented reality techniques. Exhibition on themes like Innovations in S&T, Science Education, DST Scholarships & Schemes, Careers in S&T, etc.
  • Coach 12: A Kids Zone is set upfor children from Std. 4and below to participate in fun-filled activities, games and puzzles in science, mathematics and environment.
  • Coach 13: The Joy of Science (JOS) Hands-on Lab in this coach is a space where students from Std. 5-10 can perform experiments and activities to understand concepts in environment, science and mathematics in an interesting manner. A training facility is also set up for orientation of teachers here.
  • For the first time, solar panels have been installed on the rooftop of Science Express coaches 11-13, as a collaborative effort of DST and CEL, for harnessing solar enery.

At each halt of SECAS, activities are planned to engage visitors across different age groups to reinforce its message. An exciting and much sought-after Outreach Programme is also conducted in local schools/institutions along with activitieson the railway platforms. In addition, informative take-away material is made available for wider distribution amongst schools and visitors.

DST has entrusted Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC), Ahmedabad with the task of managing the SECAS across India. VASCSC’s team of qualified, trained and highly motivated Science Communicators travelling with the train explain and interpret the exhibition, answers queries, facilitate the visitors and conduct complementary activities.

The exhibition is open to all but primarily targets students and teachers. More information is available on the website

For visit to the exhibition or any queries, please send an email to or contact the team aboard the train on 09428405407. School students can participate in the JOS Lab in small batches of up to 20 students, by prior registration.

Team-SECAS solicits cooperation from all the concerned departments, media, institutions and individuals in giving wider publicity to this prestigious exhibition-on-wheels, so that a large number of visitors are benefited.

Please Note
  • The exhibition is open to all.
  • There is no entry fee for visiting the exhibition.
  • Not allowed on the Science Express: Items like mobiles, cameras, bags, match-boxes, cigarettes, beedis, tobacco, water bottles, any liquid, and any sharp/ pointed objects.
  • Venue: Railway station of the respective city
  • Timing: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
  • Refer schedule for the dates at respective halts.

Science Express – Climate Action Special

Schedule(15 Oct 2015 – 7 May 2016)

Sr. No. / Station / Exhibition Dates / Sr. No. / Station / Exhibition Dates
Delhi Safdarjung / 15 -17 Oct 2015 / 33. / Jhargram / 22 - 24 Jan 2016
SawaiMadhopur / 18 Oct 2015 / 34. / Digha F S / 25 & 27 Jan 2016
Ranapratapnagar(Udaipur) / 19 -23 Oct 2015 / 35. / Jharsuguda / 29 - 30 Jan 2016
BhagatKiKothi(Jodhpur) / 24 - 25 Oct 2015 / 36. / Bilaspur / 31 Jan - 02 Feb 2016
Jaisalmer / 26 - 29 Oct 2015 / 37. / Kumhari / 03 - 06 Feb 2016
Suratgarh / 30 Oct - 01 Nov 2015 / 38. / Koraput / 08 - 10 Feb 2016
Patiala / 02 - 04 Nov 2015 / 39. / Visakhapatnam / 11 - 13 Feb 2016
AmbalaCantt. / 05 - 08 Nov 2015 / 40. / Rajamundry / 14 - 16 Feb 2016
AmbAndaura / 09 - 10 Nov 2015 / 41. / Guntur / 17 - 19 Feb 2016
ChurarauTakarla / 12 - 13 Nov 2015 / 42. / Secunderabad / 20 - 23 Feb 2016
Hoshiarpur / 14 - 16 Nov 2015 / 43. / Adoni / 24 - 26 Feb 2016
Udhampur / 17 - 20 Nov 2015 / 44. / Kadiri / 27 - 29 Feb 2016
Samba / 21 - 23 Nov 2015 / 45. / Vellore / 01 - 03 Mar 2016
Pathankot / 24 - 27 Nov 2015 / 46. / Kumbakonam / 04 - 06 Mar 2016
Saharanpur / 28 - 29 Nov 2015 / 47. / Pudukkotai / 07 - 09 Mar 2016
Haridwar / 30 Nov - 02 Dec 2015 / 48. / Rameswaram / 10 - 12 Mar 2016
Lalkuan / 03 - 05 Dec 2015 / 49. / Tirunelveli / 13 - 16 Mar 2016
PragatiMaidan(Delhi) / 06 - 08 Dec 2015 / 50. / Changanaseri / 17 - 20 Mar 2016
Anajmandi (Rewari) / 09 - 11 Dec 2015 / 51. / Palakkad / 22 & 24 Mar 2016
Agra Cantt. / 12 - 14 Dec 2015 / 52. / Mangalore Jn. / 25 - 28 Mar 2016
Shivpuri / 15 - 17 Dec 2015 / 53. / Ashokapuram / 30 Mar - 02 Apr 2016
Khajuraho / 18 - 20 Dec 2015 / 54. / Hospet / 04 - 05 Apr 2016
Allahabad / 21 - 24 Dec 2015 / 55. / Wadi / 06 - 08 Apr 2016
Basti / 26 - 28 Dec 2015 / 56. / Nizamabad / 09 - 11 Apr 2016
New Jalpaiguri / 30 - 31 Dec 2015 / 57. / ButiBori / 13 - 15 Apr 2016
New Bongaigaon / 01 - 02 Jan 2016 / 58. / Jalamb / 16 - 18 Apr 2016
Mariani / 04 - 05 Jan 2016 / 59. / Valsad / 20 - 22 Apr 2016
New Tinsukia / 06 - 07 Jan 2016 / 60. / Anand / 23 - 25 Apr 2016
Lumding / 08 - 09 Jan 2016 / 61. / Patan / 26 - 28 Apr 2016
AlipurDuar / 11 - 12 Jan 2016 / 62. / Hapa / 29 Apr - 01 May 2016
AmbikaKalna / 14 - 17 Jan 2016 / 63. / Junagarh / 02 - 04 May 2016
Barrackpore / 18 - 21 Jan 2016 / 64. / Gandhinagar / 05 - 07 May 2016

(Schedule subject to change)

29 November 2015