Toys from trash

For over four decades now,Arvind Gupta, has been reimagining science for children by transforming junk from garbage bins into joyful learning tools

Arvind Gupta folds a sheet of paper to the right and then to the left, and comes up with a design that shows the rhombus, diagonals, and the mathematical rules hidden within it.

For the Padma Shri awardee and educator, the tetra packs, toothpaste tubes, matchboxes, and every other object we label trash are treasures that can ignite the spark of curiosity and scientific temper in young minds. For more than four decades, he has been converting everyday trash into magical toys for children. It is his way of making science interesting and accessible to every child in India and beyond, he says. 

After graduating from IIT Kanpur, Gupta started working at TELCO where he found the monotonous work in the mass production line suffocating . He took a break and went to work at the Hoshangabad Science teaching program and later worked with architect Laurie Baker.

Travelling across India, writing books, 24 so far, and posting tutorial videos on YouTube, he says, it is his calling to ensure books and toys are easily accessible to children and tutors anywhere.

“Children from poor backgrounds do not have access to expensive materials like glassware, burettes, pipettes; it made me think about toys for them,” says Gupta, who was at the Ashoka University recently for the Lodha Genius program, an initiative that brings together children between 14 and 17 years for guidance in science and technology by eminent people.

Over 12 crore children have watched Gupta’s videos available in Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu, Hindi, and English. It has helped to create an inclusive space for children, parents, and tutors.

Gupta believes toys are meant to be brokenby kids. “A good toy design is one that .can be dissembled and rearranged to its original form,” he says. He recalls his childhood when his mother let him be and he began collecting cigarette packets, bottle caps, and matchboxes for experiments.