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‘Chakmak’ (चकमक) is a popular children’s science monthly magazine to support critical and creative thinking in schools. is published by Eklavya, a not for profit organisation since 1985.

History
Chakmak’ (चकमक) is a popular children’s science monthly magazine to support critical and creative thinking in schools. Chakmak was launched in July 1985 and is published by Eklavya, a not for profit organisation which was established in 1982 to conduct research and evolve curriculum for school education in India. The motivating force to launch Chakmak was to provide children studying in middle schools with supplementary reading material in science so that their school learning could be suitably reinforced. Chakmak was refurbished into a new and attractive coloured format in November 2007 by the eminent children’s illustrator Atanu Roy and now there are many columns by eminent writers, scientists and painters like Jayant Narlikar, Gulzar, Nida Fazli, Ashok Vajpai, Dilip Chinchalkar, Asgar Wajahat Shah, Abid Surti and many more. October 2011 issue of Chakmak was its 300th issue - a landmark effort initiated by a non-profit organisation in India. Journey of almost 30 years cannot be expressed in words, but impact of Chakmak can be seen in the form of thousands of stories, poems, illustrations, children’s expressions and our subscriber base as well. CHAKMAK is a true tale of one idea, a thousand contributors, a million children and a billion dreams.

Objective
Chakmak had a wider objective from the time of its launch – to reach out into the Hindi speaking belt of central and north India as a definitive children’s magazine, biased heavily towards science, that could spur the creativity and curiosity of children entering the teenage years, encourage and inculcate in them a reading habit and make learning and the acquisition of knowledge a process of fun and enjoyment. Science and ‘scientific thinking’ was the edifice around which the content was structured. So there were articles on science and on the history of science, all seeking to change children’s perception of science as a subject. In addition, many experiments that children could perform at home with available materials gleaned from their surroundings were also published in the hope of encouraging them to take up experiment-based learning. In the same vein, there were puzzles and brain teasers and many do-it-yourself columns for making toys and gadgets, origami and art, again based on home-made dyes and materials. It was felt that such content would awaken the creativity and problem solving abilities of children. Children were also encouraged to send in their poems, writings and drawings and several pages were devoted to publishing their contributions, again to encourage creativity in writing and art and to give them a sense of ownership and closeness with the magazine.

Region of Impact
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan.

Other Impact
NCERT and Delhi SCERT reproduced a lot of material from Chakmak in school text books Pitara, Spectrum, Navduniya, Dainik Hindustan, Indradhanush regularly carry material from Chakmak. Encourages children’s original writing and illustration. Four books published from children’s contribution and sold over 2, 50,000 copies. In recognition of its contribution to popularising science among children, Chakmak even won an award from the National Council for Science and Technology Communication in the mid-’80s.

Reader’s Profile
Children 7 to 15 years, School Teachers, Educators, NGOs, B.Ed., B. El. Ed, D. El. Ed, MA education students.

Dissemination and Subscription
Disseminated by Eklavya Pitara

Chakmak can be subscribed online at www.pitarakart.in or www.eklavya.in. Chakmak’s PDF versions in form of flip books are freely available on Eklavya’s website http://www.eklavya.in/magazine-activity/chakmak-magazine, http://www.chakmak.eklavya.in Bound volumes of Chakmak are preserved for future references and can also be purchased separately. Monthly issues of Chakmak are compiled together to create a bound Volume for each year.