Karnataka proposes mobile museum to bring Western Ghats to schools
The 'Western Ghats on Wheels' project aims to reach students across 31 districts using a 15-metre multi-axle bus.
The Karnataka State Western Ghats Conservation Task Force has proposed a mobile museum called ‘Western Ghats on Wheels’ to provide rainforest education to schools across all 31 districts in the state, according to Urban Acres.
The project involves converting a 15-metre multi-axle bus into an immersive biodiversity museum. The vehicle is being designed to navigate narrow ghat roads and will feature a 5.2 kW solar-panel system to power Internet of Things-based forest camera feeds.
The interior is planned to include living terrariums, waterfalls, and shola vegetation representations alongside augmented reality and three-dimensional holographic displays. Live camera feeds from forests will also be used to show biodiversity in natural habitats.
Task force chairperson Tabrez Alam Shariff said the initiative was developed with guidance from Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy, and Additional Chief Secretary for Forest, Environment and Ecology Anjum Parvez.
Shariff noted that discussions are currently underway with Volvo Group India to provide the bus. Once a vehicle is secured, the task force expects the transformation of the bus to take approximately six months through a corporate social responsibility partnership.
The proposal aims to make environmental education more inclusive for rural schools, though details regarding the operating calendar, total costs, and long-term maintenance framework have not yet been provided.