Subscribe toDiscover Programme
Use household and simple materials, refer our digital content, engage with our educator and cohort to make, observe, learn, explore and have fun with science.
Subscriber talk
Thanks a lot to the ThinkTac team for the wonderful and inspiring course. My kids have started thinking and doing newer experiments on their own!
Chetna Vardhan
Parent of unLab participantI would like to thank ThinkTac for putting the thinking hat in my son's mind. As exciting as the experiments are, the interactive class sessions held by Vishal sir and the team are equally engaging. The teachers are very helpful and innovative in suggesting alternative materials during the lockdown stage. You really inspire a student to think with a scientist's mindset with your suggested variations in the experiments. The observation table, recording, followup are very systematic.
Lakshmi Santhanam
Parent of unLab participantMy two children, aged 8 years and 6 years, attended the Kitchen Chemistry unLab programme. Our home instantly became a laboratory of exploration for the next few days! The kids discovered how simple, everyday items in the house, and especially items used for cooking, can be used to explore acid-base chemistry. The experiments were holistic in nature, allowing my children to explore questions in biology (how are baking soda and yeast similar?), physics (what are atoms and molecules? How do batteries work?), maths (how do I measure/alter the ratios of the materials being mixed?) and so much more! Learning science in this way helped them see how everything is inter-related and they really enjoyed the programme. Needless to say, as an adult and physicist myself, I learnt a lot too! We look forward to attending many more such workshops, curated and led by the excellent team at ThinkTac.
Proteep Mallik
Faculty, Azim Premji UniversityI had a wonderful time in this course 🙂 Thanks for this wonderful opportunity and I truly learnt a lot and loved what I learnt! These experiments were lovely. Thanks so much
SK Jain
Parent of unLab participantThank you to all the teachers of unlab for providing such a wonderful journey. It was such a nice experience to be a part of it and kudos to your thought process of seeing every child as a child and not a diagnosis. I think I came more near to my creative side than before. Tactivities are a perfect example of "learn with fun" concept. I never knew that experiments could be this much fun too. It kept me engrossed the whole day, and I was like so eager to know the possibilities of different outcomes. All thanks to you. Thank you very much...
Drashti Dixit
Participant in unLabI enjoyed all the unlab workshop that I attended. The experiment which I enjoyed the most are Fire Extinguisher, DIY Base, Acid & Bases, Parachute, Catapult. Apart from enjoying the experiements, I also learnt to predict the outcome and compare the actual results. These experiements helped me to understand how things work.
Shoubhik
Participant of unLabOur son (Shoubhik) enjoyed all the sessions and used to eagerly wait for the sessions. These sessions helped him to observe and analyze the outcome. Though it was online classes, Teachers took extra effort to guide the kids. Teachers focussed on simple concepts and explanations which kids can related and enjoy. Looking forward for unlab to expand their reach to many more kids. Quite a noble effort from the ThinkTac Leadership to bring such activites during lockdown period. Wishing that such activites continue to happen in future.
Deepshikha and Mrinmoy
Parent of unLab participant
Plans to choose from
Discover
Make & Learn-
1, 7 & 14 TACtivity PlansThe Annual Academic Programme runs for 7 months and excludes the holidays and exam time, with one TACtivity each fortnight. Learners also get access to digital content of 10 Bouquet TACtivities, that can be explored at any time (not mapped to curriculum).
-
14 Guided TACtivitiesGuided tracks offer a structured process for learning science with a TACtivity, facilitated by a ThinkTac educator. Guided tracks include a 40 minute live webinars to help learners understand related concepts from the curriculum.
-
Large CohortLarge cohorts will support an average of 150 learners.
-
Household MaterialsThe TACtivities will only need simple household materials that are generally available at home or can be purchased at a neighbourhood store
-
Guides, Videos & WorksheetsThe content will be provided on a Google Classroom, and will need a Google ID to access.
-
Educator SupportRelevant Questions will be answered by ThinkTac educators and a vibrant learner community.
-
One Progress ReportThe progress report, available online, is designed to provide an overview of the learner’s activities and progress during the programme.
Pioneer
Make & Learn-
7 & 14 TACtivity Plans
-
14 Guided TACtivities
-
Large Cohort
-
14 TACtivity Material Kit with VariationsThe Material Kit will contain materials for all primary TACtivities in the programme, together with 2-3 variations for each TACtivity
-
Discover Content + Variation Guides2-3 extensions of TACtivities, needing additional material, may need changes to the construction and observables parameters. The variations are designed to provide additional opportunities to explore the concepts further.
-
Educator FeedbackThinkTac educators will review the TACtivity photos and worksheets and provide feedback to each Learner.
-
Two Progress Reports
Explore
Make, Explore & Learn-
14 & 28 TACtivity Plans
-
14 Guided TACtivities
-
Small CohortEach small cohort will have up to 30 learners of the same age group and studying the same curriculum with similar academic calendars to the extent feasible
-
14 TACtivity Material Kit with Variations
-
Pioneer Content + Exploration Pathway
-
Exploration SupportIn addition to providing feedback, the Educator will provide an exploration pathway to the learner.
-
Two Progress Reports
About unLab
The ThinkTac pedagogy has been developed over the last 5 years and used by over 50,000 students who have experienced over half a million activities hands-on.
unLab is ThinkTac’s Science as a Service platform that delivers exceptional conceptual clarity and cognitive skill development with the learner having fun all through the process, all from the comfort of your home.
unLab follows a Kolb’s Experiential Learning Pedagogy: Concrete Experience commences with hands-on activities using simple materials followed by Reflective Observation using observation sheets, facilitated by a ThinkTac Educator in Guided Tracks. Children are provided a scaffold for active experimentation with variation and innovation pathways culminating in showcasing opportunities.
Different elements of the process described below are enabled, based on your subscription plan.
Cohorts - Learning Together
We believe that learning is a team-sport and a learner is always part of an age group based cohort where making, exploration and learning happens together. On signing up, each learner is assigned a cohort that is based on the programme and the board and standard in which the learner is studying. Further, to the extent possible, children who are following the same academic calendar will be together in a cohort.
Once you get your access credentials, you can immediately start making the 10 TACtivities that you will get instant access to.
Make - TACtivities with Simple Materials
unLab activities are specially designed to be made with simple, unprocessed materials and many of them can be entirely made with household materials. The use of these simple materials encourages the learner to experiment with different ideas and innovate along the way.
Prepare
Collect the material needed and understand the process by reviewing the DIY guides and videos. Reach out to us on Forums or WhatsApp if you don’t find a material you need and we will suggest alternatives.
Make, Play, Observe & Share
Make the TACtivity referring to the steps prescribed. Make it a family event. Cut, tie, snip, pierce, glue and make your activity. Ask on the forum or reach out to us in case you need any clarifications. You will need to keep common measuring instruments like a kitchen weighing scale, protractor etc., that are needed for the observations, handy.
Share your completed TACtivity and innovations with your cohort and learn from what they have done. Participate in contests and have fun with your TACtivities.
Guided Track - Learning Expanded
Make TACtivities a habit and don’t miss the fun each week, under the motivating influence of our Educators. Children who are eligible will be automatically enrolled to a guided track each week / fortnight depending on their subscription. You and your Cohort will first make and submit photos of your TACtivity and the observation tables.
Guided Making
Guided making following the same process of making described above, with hand-holding from your ThinkTac educator. Once completed, upload a photo of your TACtivity and the Observation to get personal feedback.
Guided Learning and Innovation
A weekly scheduled Group Discussion is a key learning opportunity, when our educator will help you understand the key concepts behind your TACtivity. Get your questions answered and learn what more you can do. In case you miss a session, you can always watch a recorded video of the discussion.
If you are in the innovation plan, make variations, explore them and make additional observations. Get feedback from your Educator and find ways to explore further. Access additional resources and teach your friends a thing or two on the topic.
About ThinkTac
ThinkTac is a social enterprise offering curriculum aligned, hands-on, experiential science programmes, face-to-face & online, providing materials & resources to create, experiment, tinker, innovate and learn science, inculcating scientific temper & improving cognitive skills. ThinkTac offers extensive digital content ensuring deep conceptual understanding while children have fun and engage with science. Programmes cover Physics, Chemistry and Biology for I – X Standards across CBSE, ICSE and several state boards.
ThinkTac currently works with over 35,000 children across schools in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra. Some of India’s premier schools including the Valley School (KFI), Ekya Schools, Shiv Nadar Schools, Sishu Griha and the Delhi Public School have incorporated our programme into their pedagogy.
The activities, addressing specific concepts, are designed using simple, generally repurposed material. Each child makes 10-54 working models and experiments in an academic year, with each session lasting about 90 minutes. The child continues the exploration by making observations and building variations that are leveraged to achieve a deep conceptual understanding. The material selection and processes are designed to improve hand skills in the 5-9 year age-group and develop problem solving and creative thinking in older children.
The programme is supported by comprehensive content that includes printed guides, worksheets, making videos, digital manipulatives* and concept specific resources. ThinkTac offers extensive support for the implementation by school teachers including training, lesson plans and associated content like ice breakers and connecting the dots. A selection of the content can be seen at www.tactivity.in, www.youtube.com/thinktac and www.diksha.gov.in.
Teacher empowerment is central to the ThinkTac programme delivery. The empowerment commences with a structured training programme, followed by personalised support and mentorship from a virtual coach. Technology and extensive digital content ensure effective preparation before a session. Back-office processing of the worksheets sheets offers actionable analytics and individualised remedial support to teachers. Content co-creation, showcasing opportunities and recognition motivates teachers.
ThinkTac has been recognised by the Government of Karnataka amongst the top 100 innovative start-ups. We work closely with several partners including the RRI Trust (founded by Sir C.V.Raman) on various outreach initiatives like the Raman Young Science Innovator Award that has seen over 13,000 participants registering for the 2019 edition.