Meet Arvind Gupta, Who Built Toys Out Of Waste To Teach Science In Over 2000 Schools

Kids love toys. Whether it's their looks or some unique functionality that fascinates a child, toys are a sure shot way to bring curiosity and amazement in the eyes of children of all ages -- including many adults we know.

However, not all families can afford buying toys for their kids, especially in rural areas.

Arvind Gupta

But one genius didn't want money to be a barrier to bring happiness as well as knowledge in a child's life. His vision was to bring a fun way to teach science to kids in the rural areas. So he discovered and developed ways of making innovative toys from inexpensive materials. That person is none other than Arvind Gupta.

Born on December 4. 1953, (65 Years) Padma Shri Arvind Gupta is a graduate from IIT Kanpur. After completing his studies, around the 1970s, he got an opportunity to work with TELCO that used to manufacture trucks in Pune.

But when he started working, he realised that he didn't want to make trucks. He wanted to do something but definitely not make trucks.

Arvind Gupta

He took a year off and participated in Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme in Madhya Pradesh in 1978. There he developed simple toys and educational experiments using locally available inexpensive materials.

With these toys he taught kids at schools the basic principles of science, in a rather innovative and fun way to not only intrigue and make kids understand but also inspire them. These toys, not only fascinated the kids but it also proved to be helpful in popularising science.

From making shapes out of matchsticks and small pieces of a cycle valve tube to using waste paper and making beautiful origami-based toys, he instilled the idea of 'best-out-of-waste' among the kids.

Arvind Gupta

His tutorials on making various kinds of toys are easily accessible online, for free on his website arvindguptatoys.com. He has taught kids to make toys in over 2000 schools ranging from small rural village schools to even Ivy league institutions. He wanted to introduce a way of teaching science to kids that didn't involve teachers blurting out mugged definitions to kids.

He has also been featured on Gyandarshan's show 'Tarang' where he taught kids to make these science-inspired toys. In 2018, he was awarded with Padma Shri, the highest civilian award for his contributions to the nation. He continues to remain an inspiration to this day.