E-Paper
History museum in constituent colleges soon
TEACHING AND learning ancient history will now become much more interesting and interactive for hundreds of undergraduate students of Allahabad University's constituent colleges too. The varsity is planning to set up a museum at all the colleges to display pre-stone age, stone age and post-stone age artefacts with an aim to help students gain first hand knowledge of the topics being taught to them and see for themselves the fossils about which they had been studying in their course books.
TEACHING AND learning ancient history will now become much more interesting and interactive for hundreds of undergraduate students of Allahabad University's constituent colleges too.
The varsity is planning to set up a museum at all the colleges to display pre-stone age, stone age and post-stone age artefacts with an aim to help students gain first hand knowledge of the topics being taught to them and see for themselves the fossils about which they had been studying in their course books.
A detailed proposal in this regard has been prepared by AU's Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology department and will now be put before the departmental committee for approval. This will be followed with a workshop that will be hosted in the department for all the ancient history teachers of the constituent colleges and the varsity to chalk out details about the proposed museums and short-list the artefacts that are to be put up for display.
"The syllabus of UG course in Ancient History being taught at the constituent colleges and the varsity are the same. In BA-I and BA-II, the students are being taught about Art and Archaeology of which practical demonstration is an integral part. However, at present, the students are forced to simply cram up and never get a chance to experience and witness evidences of the history they are studying," informed head of AU's Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology department Prof RP Tripathi.
He said that with an aim to make the teaching of the subject more effective and streamlined, his department has prepared a detailed proposal for setting up a museum at each of the constituent college to display ancient artefacts that have been unearthed and found by his department over the years during various excavations and surveys of different sites.
"If everything goes according to plan, we will lend those artefacts that are in surplus with us to our colleges for these museums. As for the rare ones, we plan to get their prototype made by experts in Plaster of Paris and make them available to the proposed museums for the students' benefit. Some of the other artefacts and statues could be given to them for display for limited period of time too," Prof Tripathi added.
He said that colleges will also be able to procure some copies of such rare artefacts from various museums of the country with which the varsity's Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology department has good relations.
"The move will help the students see for themselves how the 'Gaj Lakshami' and the 'Hariti' statues that they have read about really look like.
"Be it ancient stone and bone weapons or the tools that the man used hundreds of years back will all be available for the students to see and help them develop true love for the study of history and archaeology," Prof Tripathi said.
He said that a detailed proposal about the project has been prepared and will be put before the departmental committee for suggestions and approval soon.
"Then we will host a workshop with the college teachers and further improve upon the plan before getting the work started after due approval at the AU and the college level," he said.
An UG students' fully-equipped library is also being planned to be constructed at the AU's Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology department with plans to open it for the students of the Constituent colleges too.
