The Sanskaar Valley School Sopaan Field Trip – 2017 Date: 1st-2nd April 2017

Place: Ujjain Grade – 8

Field trips offer opportunities to students that they may not have known existed, and expose them to learning experiences that cannot be duplicated inside the classroom.

Ujjain enjoyed a position of considerable importance in the field of astronomy. Great works on astronomy such as the Surya Siddhanta and the Panch Siddhanta were written in Ujjain. According to Indian astronomers, the Tropic of Cancer is supposed to pass through Ujjain. It is also the fist meridian of longitude of the Hindu geographers. From about the 4th century BC, Ujjain enjoyed the reputation of being India's Greenwich.

Other than Ancient and modern geographical attractions, we can explore few more attractions in and around the city too.

Learning objectives of the trip:

By the end of the trip students will be able to;

• Acquire useful application of the “inquiry based learning approach”, information is converted into useful knowledge – developing a case study of modern planetarium.

• Develop “technical competency” by observing, collecting, interpreting, recording and evaluating geographic information from primary sources through fieldwork. E.g. Old observatory (Ved Shala) and Modern Planetarium.

• To be exposed to the cultures and way of life of different groups of people and to be humble and respectful their interaction. E.g. visiting different places of Ujjain city.

• Foster strong bonds of friendship and camaraderie among students and with teachers of The Sanskaar Valley School.

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Field Trip Itinerary: The students will travel by an Air-conditioned bus. They will be accompanied by teacher escorts.

Day 1(1 st April): Boarding point and time – The Sanskaar Valley School, Bhopal at 6:00 am.

Arrival at Ujjain- 11am

Days plan- Jantar Mantar, Planetarium, Varahmihir Astronomical Observatory, Dongla, Ujjain

Day 2 (2 nd April): Ujjain and Chokhi Dhani, Indore Departure from Ujjain at 9.30am Arrival at Chokhi Dhani Village at 11.30 am Departure to Bhopal- 2pm The cost for this trip will be Rs 4200/- . Kindly send a draft or at par cheque in favour of “The Sanskaar Valley School” along with the signed consent form as conformation by Saturday, 11 March 2017. School policy will apply for all cancellations. We have requested for early confirmations & payment to be able to book hotels. We look forward to a positive response from you.

------Consent Form

I ______father / mother/guardian of ______do hereby permit my child studying in Grade 8 ______to go for the educational trip to Ujjain. I am aware of the programme and am willing to send my child as per arrangements made by the School. I hereby confirm that I will have the payment deposited by Saturday, 11 March and request the School to confirm the Booking for my child.

Student ID ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Student’s Name ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Phone numbers ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Signature :

Ujjain – Proposed places

1. Vedh Shala or Jantar Mantar

This observatory was constructed by Savai Raja JaySingh between 1725 and 1730 AD. Similar observatories were constructed by Raja Jaysingh at four other places-Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura and Varanasi. Samrat Yantra, Nadivalaya Yantra, Digansha Yantra, Shanku Yantra and Yamyottarabhitti yantra are the main instruments constructed in this observatory. Motions and orbits of the planets are studied through these instruments. On this count, people call it yantra- mahal also. This observatory was renovated by Madhav Rao Scindia. The Then Maharaja of erstwhile Gwalior state in 1923 AD. Astronomical studies of the planetary motions are still conducted in this observatory and an ephemeris (i.e journal showing daily speed and position of planets) is published of every year. In this way this is the only observatory among the observatories of Jaysingh where Masonic instruments are even today utilized for astronomical studies.

Shanku Yantra Sun Dial

Transit Instrument Digyansa Yantra

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2. Planetarium

Government of Madhya Pradesh has established this unique facility for astronomical observation and research. This planetarium is being created to provide hands-on training to students. This is State’s first Hybrid (Combination of Optomechanical and Digital) planetarium.

3. Varahmihir Astronomical Observatory, Dongla, Ujjain

The place is situated exactly on the tropic of cancer (longitude 75o45’ 45.5”E and longitude 23o26’43.2”N), and was a center of ancient Indian astronomy over several hundreds of years. Observatory site is relatively dark, having moderate seeing and found to have a large number of clear nights during September-April months. Observatory has a medium size robotic Optical Telescope equipped with a large format advanced CCD imaging camera. The dome and dome building are made of steel and telescope is installed on the top of 10-m high concrete pier. Inside the observatory campus, guest house, auditorium, Library and computing facilities have also been created.

4. Chokhi Dhani INDORE

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