The Science Festival: Biology

It is the first day of the science festival and the fairground is filled with exhibitions of all kinds. An old man talks about the main points of interest of the city.

Old man: The Gass Forest Museum was founded in the year 1902 by the forests conservator Horace Archibald Gass. It houses rare species of birds and butterflies. There are also non-human animals embalmed, a frequent source of controversy. There you can see cultivation methods and model houses. Time ago there were also armour of soldiers and hunting equipment on display. Its maintenance is the responsibility of Mr. Pransukh Tamboliand and the ministry Living Beings or Rural Affairs. You can enter with a nominal fee during normal office hours. The botanical gardens of Coimbatore were established in 1925. They are administered by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). They are spread over 300 hectares and have many varieties of flowers, plants and trees.

At the other end of the room an old woman talks about behavioural genetics and bioethics:

Old woman: Do you know that is possible to create a non-fierce tiger? Well, also a baby from two eggs… and a lab burger!

A young boy explains the latest developments in biotechnology.

Young boy: Some mushrooms are capable of decomposing plastic. They can survive without oxygen and we are trying to cultivate them on a broad scale but we also need microorganisms to do so in the sea. That is why genetic engineering is so important. Remember that without genetic engineering the Green Revolution would have impossible.

Finally, a young girl smiles and delivers some pamphlets to visitors from Chostea and Chinese Confederacy.

Young girl: Please, visit the Valliappan Olaganathan Chidambaram park and zoo! There are an aquarium and a mini zoo. It also has models of dinosaurs.