PERIYAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE, CHENNAI

PERIYAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE, CHENNAI

Periyar Science and Technology Centre is one of the premier institutions in the city of Chennai. The centre is located in the premises of Kotturpuram region of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state. The complex lies a little distance away from the Gandhi Mandappam Road and is accessible to public transport. The Kotturpuram Railway Station and Kotturpuram Bus Stop are in located nearby.

Periyar Science and Technology Centre was started in the year 1983. The centre has been named after a great revolutionary leader and visonary from South India, Thanthai Periyar. The visionary was among the earliest advocates who supported modern scientific approaches in understanding various phenomena. The centre exists as a multi purpose science and technological centre aimed to bring awareness as well developments in the said field. The ubiquitous Birla Planetarium forms one of the parts of the centre.

At the Periyar Science and Technology Centre on Monday morning, students bustled around, setting up innovative exhibits with ideas on how to “Save our Mother Earth” for the centre’s annual inter-school contest.

Thermocol, cardboard and small plants were everywhere as the students depicted their ideas in various forms — from a melting globe perched on an ice cream cone and disaster warning systems to a miniature biodiversity reserve and working models for rainwater harvesting.

Halls of Science & Technology

Periyar Gallery

Transport Gallery

Energy Gallery

Materials Science Gallery

Life Science Gallery

Model Meteorological Observatory

Innovation Gallery Electronics & Communication Galley Physical Science Galley Children's

Corner

Outdoor Parks

Energy Park

Science Park

Traffic Park

Eco Park

Marina Beach

Marina Beach

Welcome to the longest beach of India, Marina Beach, comprising of golden sand, good surf and a shimmering clean blue sea. This beach is counted among one of the longest beaches in Asia. Its 12-km long stretch was made beautiful by the wonderful facelift given by Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff in the early 1880's, and is Chennai's major tourist attraction today.

In early 1880's, the natural beauty of the beach was enhanced by a facelift given by the then Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff. Some of the most beautiful buildings in Chennai such as the Fort St. George complex established by the East India company in 1641, University of Madras, Senate-House, Chepauk Palace (now P.W.D office), 19th century Presidency College

building etc are located on the beach drive.

On the beach itself there is the Anna Park, named after C.N. Anna Durai, the founder of D.M.K (Dravida Munnetta Kazhakam) and a former chief minister of Tamil Nadu. The park is adorned with statues of famous Tamil writers and sages, flanked at either end by memorials of Annadurai and M. G. Ramachandran, a former matinee idol turned the charismatic Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Further south there is a swimming pool

,an aquarium located opposite to the Presidency college and two splendid bits of sculpture- that of the Victory of Labour and Mahatma Gandhi. At the other end of the beach is the new lighthouse.

St. Thomas Mount

St. Thomas Mount

St. Thomas Mount is a small hillock located in Chennai Tamil Nadu, India. Located a little off Guindy and close to the flying range in Chennai, St. Thomas Mount is associated with St. Thomas, the apostle of Christ, who is believed to have been martyred here. The mount is known locally as "Peria Malai" (Big Mount—in Tamil language) or "Parangi Malai". A small relic-filled Church built in 1523 by the Portuguese stands at the summit of the 300 foot high St. Thomas Mount. The place was visited by Pope John Paul II during his visit to India on 5th February 1986. The Indian Army operates an Officers training Academy (OTA) on the mount. The South line of the Chennai suburban railway has a station named after St. Thomas Mount here.

St. Thomas Garrison Church is a 175 years old Church located at the foothills of the Mount. Built by the British it is a magnificient Church.

In 1972, to commemorate the nineteenth centenary of the martyrdom, the Government of India Department of Post and Telegraphs released a postage stamp depicting the picture of the bleeding cross of St. Thomas Mount. Earlier, in 1964, the Post and Telegraph department of India had released a stamp depicting the Ortona silver bust of St. Thomas located in Italy.

Kapaleashwarar temple

Kapaleashwarar temple

Kapaleashwarar temple is a Hindu temple located in Mylapore, Chennai, India. The original 8th century Shiva temple was built by the Pallavas and located on the shore but it was destroyed by the Portuguese and was re-built as a church 300 years later.

Parvati (Karpakambal) in the form of a peacock, Mayil is said to have worshipped Shiva (in a legend similar to that at Mayiladuturai, hence the name Mylapore. There are several literary works associated with this hoary shrine, which remains today, a seat of Tamil culture. The Poompaavai Patikam composed by Sambandar is associated with this temple & he is said to have brought back to life, Poompavai the daughter of a devotee of Shiva - Sivanesa Chettiar.

The presiding deity of this temple is a form of Shiva called Kapaleashwarar. The form of Shiva's wife Parvati at this temple is called Karpagambal. Legend has it that Lord Shiva was once telling Lord Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, about the creation of the three lokas but Lord Brahma did not agree with what Shiva said. Shiva got angry and plucked out one of Brahma's four heads. Brahma begged for forgiveness and was asked to perform penance at Mayilai (Mylapore) and then he asked Lord Shiva to take the name of Kapaleashwarar as Lord Shiva (eswarar) was wearing a necklace of skulls(kapala).

Government Museum

Government Museum

The Government Museum at Chennai is situated at bustling area of Egmore in Chennai. It is considered to be one of the foremost museums in India and has a unique collection of Amaravati sculptures and Bronzes, apart from ancient artifacts and archeological remains of the Chola, Vijayanagar, Hoysala and Chalukya dynasties. The Government Museum of Chennai is one of the best museums of India and the prime attraction of tourism, next to the popular temples and monuments. The Chennai's Government Museum is divided into many sections.

 Geology

 Archeology

 Zoology

 Anthropology

 Numismatics

 Botany

 Sculpture

Art collections

The Chennai Museum has a good collection of paintings and sculptures, both traditional and modern. The traditional paintings of Tanjore, Rajput, Moghul, Kangra, Deccani schools and modern paintings in Oil, Tempera, Water Colour, Graphics and Acrylic mediums. Graphics and modern style metal sculptures are also in the collections. Tanjore paintings depict the figures of Tanjore Maratha Kings and Queens and Puranic (mythological) scenes from Tamil Literature. Rajput paintings belong to 16th and 17th centuries AD.

Anthropology

The Madras Government Museum began as a Museum of Geology in 1851 AD. Its scope was soon extended to cover other fields such as Archaeology, Ethnology, Pre-history and Natural History. In 1878 AD, Surgeon General Dr.E.George Bidie, the then Superintendent of the Museum, made Ethnology as one of the subjects to be illustrated by Museum collections The Chennai Museum has a collection of one thousand and two hundred objects including metal sculptures, paintings such as oil on canvas, tempera, water colour, textiles etc. Paintings of famous artists in India from various Art Schools are represented in the collection. The traditional paintings consist of Rajput, Moghul, Kangra, Tanjore, Deccan and South Indian School of Art. Bidriwaree, Metalware, Ivory and Sandalwood objects are also in the collection. The modern paintings consist of works of well-known artists namely Raja Ravi Varma, D.P. Roy Chowdhury, Nandalal Bose, Jaimini Roy and artists from Tamil Nadu. The Government Museum, Chennai has a very rich collection of the ancient, medieval and modern Indian coins made of gold, silver, copper, lead, potin and billon. Besides these there is a representative collection of foreign currency.

Museum - Fort, St. George (Chennai)

Museum - Fort, St. George (Chennai)

The Fort St. George Museum was organized and opened to the public from 31st January 1948. The museum began with a small collection of objects of the British Raj donated by the then Madras Presidency Government, the St. Mary's Church authorities, the disbanded army units and others.

It is under the management of Archeological Survey of India (ASI). The Museum showcases collections of archeologically valued materials. The Fort Museum has a fascinating collection of memorabilia from the British and French East India companies as well as the Raj and Muslim period. The museum showcases arms, uniforms, medals, porcelains, coins, manuscripts, paintings, prints and textiles of East India Company, Indo French and Odeyars of Mysore.

The building housing the museum is one of the oldest surviving buildings built within the fort. The building was completed in 1795 and served as the location for Madras Bank. The museum building has a history of its own.

Timings of visit: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
Closed on - Friday
Entrance Fee:
For Indians: Rs. 5/-
For Others: Rs. 100/-
(Children up to 15 years free)

Birla Planetarium

Birla Planetarium

The Chennai Birla Planetarium at Kotturpuram boasts of a modern fully computerized planetarium that is of special interest to students and public alike, Birla Planetarium is located between Adyar and Guindy at Kotturpuram. Birla Planetarium was built in the memory of B.M. Birla, the famous industrialist and visionary and is therefore known as B.M. Birla Planetarium

The main attraction of Birla Planetarium includes the sophisticated and versatile GM II projector. The accompanying special effects projector , recreates some of the most awe inspiring heavenly phenomena on the specially perforated aluminium inner dome. A truly magnificent experience! Another feather in its cap, the planetarium is fully computerized with a comfortable seating capacity of 236 at any given time.

An excellent opportunity for kids to explore the magical world of science and astronomy, the Birla planetarium and the Periyar science and technology institute offer interactive experiments to whet the curiosity of young minds. The mystery of the solar system and cosmic space are unfolded. There are courses in astronomy and night sky observations.

The Science and Technology Centre is open on all days except on national holidays, from 10 a.m. to 5.45 p.m. Timings for cosmic shows in the planetarium (English) are 10.45 a.m., 1.15 p.m. and 3.45 p.m. In Tamil, the show timings are 12 noon and 2.30 p.m.