BANGALORE: Taking every visitor to the world of wood, city-based Institute of Wood Science and Technology (IWST) inaugurated the first-of-its-kind Wood Museum Interpretation Centre here on Wednesday. Those interested in knowing more about the history of wood, can visit the museum.
Information from the origin of earth to evolution of forests and trees, vast diversity of woods, different properties and features of wood like the density, colour and the knots, the story of wood along with man from pre-historic era and also a gallery of various indigenous trees of the country have been demonstrated here.
Inaugurating the museum, Dr P J Dilip Kumar, director general of Forests (DGF) and special secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) appreciated the initiative of the Institute. Speaking on the occasion, Dr V K Bahuguna, DG ICFRE, “Unlike other material, wood cannot be replaced. Here, one can enjoy the variety of wood and also get a lot of information.”
Meanwhile, explaining the unique features of the museum, Pankaj Agarwal, scientist said, “This museum is not merely a storehouse of artifacts like the traditional ones. It also aims at educating the common man on the science of wood.”
“Visitors also get an opportunity to learn how to count tree rings. Among the many artifacts, one of the large discs of teak displayed traces the time since British came to India till India achieved independence” he added. He said, setting up the museum did not involve huge costs.
He said, “Unlike other museums, which require at least Rs 2 crore for its establishment, this museum was created at an approximate cost of Rs 13 lakh. In addition, in a total of 2,400 working days, the museum has been created almost entirely by the in-house team of scientists from the Institute itself.” The museum is open for public on weekdays.
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