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S4F Workshop Session II

What a great way to end the session today! All the participants were amazingly engaged with experiments and the demos as well as pop the balloon project. We experimented with Magnetism (especially electromagnetism) today. Also the Curious George group and the Young Frankenstein group interacted to demo how persistence of vision works. The kids were engaged more today. I think it’s because they are comfortable as well as they see this as a valuable activity. Here are some videos & pictures.

Today’s session could not have been easy without support from our volunteers. Please give them a big hand. Tipnis Kaka, Eva, Subodh, Makaranda, Devendra, Shukla did a terrific job of monitoring the activities and keeping the kids engaged.

It was Abhishek’s last session today for this summer and he will he missed a lot for rest of the sessions. We wish him well. He will continue to be on the director board and design experiments for next sessions.

We had a new addition of Aditya on the team today. Aditya has been key player in designing magnetism experiments and we will see him more & more engaged in the rest of the sessions.

All picture credits to Mitesh!

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SURGE 2019 Session 1

June 8th 2019

Having fun & learning couldn’t have been so refreshing!

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Frequently Asked Questions – FAQ!

What does OREXIAN FOUNDATION do?

Orexian Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in state of IA and pursuing it’s IRS 501(c3) status. The main purpose of this foundation is to make human life more engaging and involved. To promote innovation, systems thinking at any age (preferably at an early age). We help kids enjoy life through loving science. Kids learn without having to compete and win. This helps them focus on learning rather than winning.

At Orexian foundation we have programs and activities that will help an all-round development of the mind-body-spirit. Our initial start up activities are Sur-Sargam: Music4Fun Vocal Music Class and SURGE- Science4 Fun Science Summer Workshop.

Here is some addition information on how Orexian Foundation is different in its offering: https://orexian.org/how-is-orexian-foundation-different-in-its-s-offering/

What is Sur-Sargam?

Sur-Sargam is the first activity in the Music4Fun area. Kids and adults learn to sing and enjoy the nuances of semi-classical music from India. We will soon be adding other ethnic music varieties. Our instructors are professional as well as hobbyists.

Sur-Sargam also has a recital events periodically and creative remix videos of class participants.

What is SURGE?

SURGE is a Science4Fun Activity. You can find more details about SURGE by following this link: https://science4fun.orexian.org/surge/

How does Science4Fun affect/impact my kid?

The Science4Fun activities are devised to help the kids build deeper understanding of the things by doing hands-on activities (projects and experiments). These projects and experiements are carefully chosen to impart basic and advanced principles, team work, innovation, integration and impact of any learning really depends on how much the kids invest in it, essentially time investment. Studies have shown that the investment in learning depends on personal inclination and liking as well as engagement. Studies have shown that engagement is highest when kids are involved in hands-on activities. The whole body and mind are working in a coordinated fashion. During the workshop, the kids are doing projects and experiments, interacting with other kids, activities themselves and have fun through them. This will ensure highest engagement and learning.

Here is some more information on this topic. https://orexian.org/information-knowledge-skill-presence-of-mind/

What age group kids can enroll?

Any kid older than 5 years of age can enroll.

Can the younger kids sit through 4 a hour session?

This is a question we get a lot. There is enough data (and experience by parents) to show that the average span of attention by kids is approximately 2 to 5 times their age. So attention span of a 5 year old is 10-25 mins. Within this the kids can ignore distractions. So obviously even a 15 year old kid won’t be able to sit through a 4 hour session. However, the attention span is counted based on one activity being performed at a stretch. So if we were to keep a kid of any age engaged; there needs to be a strategy. We have several activities for each age group and even then our facilitators are experienced parents themselves. Additionally our “Roll & Stroll” strategy will make sure that the younger kids not only are doing their own activity but are adequately mobile and be associated with older kids to help them in their projects. This sense of being “useful” and “contributing” will increase their participation.

Of course, that doesn’t mean each kid will be engaged to the same degree. However we have confidence that with our “Roll & Stroll” strategy, we will be able to keep the young participants engaged.

What topics would be covered in the workshops?

Orexian Foundation’s main purpose is to develop deeper understanding of things. Science is the basis we have chosen. Science and arts are in yin-yang. At times the lines between science and arts get blurred. With this thinking; our workshops will contain basic sciences, application of the learning of basic and advanced principles and artistically thinking outside of the box, meaning innovating without fear of failure. Winning is not the goal but developing deeper understanding and developing an art of systems thinking are the key goals of these workshops.

The sciences projects will include Physics (Sound, Light, Magnetism, Electricity, Electronics, Mechanics, Gravity etc…), Biology (Cell Biology, DNA, Organ functions etc…), Chemistry (Solutions, Colors, Chemistry in cooking etc….), Day To Day Sciences (Innovating solutions of day to day activities…. just for fun).

Additional information can also be found here: https://science4fun.orexian.org/project-ideas/

Don’t the kids learn these fundamentals in schools?

Yes and no both. What we learn in schools is a lot of useful information but the workshops help convert this information to knowledge by applying it and experimenting with it to develop skills. So schools are very important but at same times the workshops complement the learning in schools to develop additional skills.

Please find an interesting article on this topic on our website: https://orexian.org/can-we-learn-without-learning-err-education/

What if my kid misses a session or two?

Obviously we want to make sure that no one misses learning even though one a couple of sessions are missed. We are working on securing facilities to hold 6 workshops so that kids can attend all six, even though the donation will cover only 4. Our main goal is to make sure kids learn & enjoy.

How do we register and pay?

For Science4Fun SURGE Summer Workshops, you can register and pay here: https://orexian.org/enrollment-form/

For Music4Fun Sur-Sargam weekly class, you can register and pay here: https://orexian.org/sursargam-music4fun-vocal-weekly-activity-enrollment/

Are you covering only science in SURGE?

Not really. Although the basic is science, the projects and experiments are day to day projects. An example would be Book Binding. How was a book bound in the past? This covers physics, chemistry and integrating the learning from both. Or when doctors listen to our chest (or heart) what exactly are they doing… see and hear heart beats by learning light, electricity, sensors etc. See the Project Sheet here: Heart-O-Scope Picture!

Are there other activities for an overall development?

Currently Orexian Foundation is conducting Science4Fun and Music4Fun activities. We are soon introducing our Writing4Fun. The board of directors are also working to develop some strategies to work with community leaders to tackle community problems to develop innovative solutions and give back to community.

Can a parent attend with their kid?

Of course the parents can attend. However, we have seen that kids typically get distracted when parents are present. If you are going to be there, you will be asked to work with other groups and not with your kid’s group. The workshop sessions will be conducted mostly in facilities where parents can leave their kid(s) with us and spend their time productively within the facility.

Does attending science workshop improve my kid’s GPA?

GPA is a measure of what you learn in schools. It’s a measure of how much information one has & one can recall. However, even if one has the information (or one remembers it), doesn’t necessarily mean that one has knowledge of applying it or has developed skill.

While GPA is important for college admissions, it doesn’t necessarily give one a successful career and satisfaction of having that information.

The workshops certainly develop the information in to knowledge and skill thereby strengthening the basic information. So, although, improving GPA isn’t the goal of these workshops; it will certainly help improving it. Moreover, it will help develop affinity towards science in a subtle way by connecting science to daily life.

What experience do you have in teaching or training?

Some of our coaches and facilitators have experience in teaching middle school to engineering students and have served on university examination boards.

But moreover we are parents who have and are actively involved in teaching and training our kids. We also have a high school and graduate students on our board to help us develop workshop structure.

Where are the activities held?

SUR-SARGAM- The weekly classes are held in two locations. One in Bettendorf on Tuesday evenings and one in Moline on Wednesday evenings.

SURGE ACTIVITIES: We have been working with area libraries and area community centers to hold these activities. Although we have 6 locations reserved for our workshops and before each workshop session, the location for that session will be shared with registered participants. This is the reason we would like you to register in advance!

Is Orexian Foundation non-profit?

Yes Orexian Foundation is registered as a non-profit organization in state of IA. We have applied for our tax exempt status with IRS (501(c3)) and as soon as we get it, you will be able to claim the tax benefit for our donations.

Can I claim tax benefits by donating to Orexian Foundation?

Yes Orexian Foundation is registered as a non-profit organization in state of IA.

We have applied for our tax exempt status with IRS (501(c3)) and as soon as we get it, you will be able to claim the tax benefit for our donations.

Are there any year around activities of the foundation?

SURGE Science Workshops: We have been requested to conduct year around activities. For now, there is no plan as kids are very busy during the school year in several activities. We don’t want to burden them with one more. However, we are working on developing strategies to address this.

Sur-Sargam Music Vocal Class: Is a weekly year around activity. Held in 5 batches. 3 in Bettendorf on Tuesdays and 2 in Moline on Wednesdays.

Can I volunteer?

Yes. The prerequisite is that you should be registered as a participant for our Music4Fun or Science4Fun activity.

Yes, of course anyone can volunteer. We would like to see anyone that wants to volunteer attend the workshop so they can better understand Orexian Foundation’s mission and methods. This will also gives us an ability to learn more about one who wants to volunteer. Based on the kids’ desire, passion and ability we will offer them volunteering opportunities.

Can my kid volunteer? Can he/she get a certificate of volunteering?

Anyone that’s accepted as volunteer, will get certificate should they need one.

How will the kids be grouped for the workshops?

Initially the kids will be grouped on the age group criteria and closeness of relationships. It’s seen that friends working together, learn quickly.

My kids has enrolled in to other summer activities; would enrolling for SURGE be too much?

Of course not. SURGE is for fun while learning science. If nothing else, this will provide recreation.

Is there any kind of exam or test at the end of Summer Workshop sessions?

No there will be no exam nor any test. However, the kids will proudly share their learnings with class and parents towards the end.

Would there be a certificate at the end of these sessions?

Each participant will get the certificate of participation.

How would I see the benefits of the workshop?

It’s a tough question to answer. Not because its difficult but because every participant is going to see the benefits differently. However one thing that will common is having fun with science. Anything that participants will learn, will learn deeply and will feel satisfied. They will have fun!

I can’t find my question here! How do I contact you?

You can send your question to info@orexian.org.

Or send us a WhatsApp message on +1 563 663 9139 and ask your question.

Or use our General Interest Form by clicking the link: https://orexian.org/general-interest-form/ and enter your question in the comment field.

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Preview Seminar Pictures

Science4Fun Preview Seminar Pictures

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How are novel ideas generated?

Anyone who knows an answer to this question should have a great deal of everything … fame, money, respect, or whatever. Such a person might be able to write such articles & we all may pay for it! It would be gorgeous life for him or her!

Let me tell you, I am not “that” person. Else I wouldn’t be spending my time to write this article. Instead I would be working on my “novel” ideas. Well the first part is certainly true but the later is only partially true. I do generate novel ideas; probably a lot more than I can follow up on. But that would be a subject for another article.

So “How do you generate novel ideas?” I do not have a recipe or a guaranteed solution that I can share. But I do have an answer to “how can we try to generate novel ideas?” And “what could be considered as some of the ingredients needed to generate novel ideas?”

Let’s start with a story that I had read as a kid. I was always; always fascinated by great scientists, leaders & historic figures. And of course, even today, I still am.

I was reading a story about Einstein’s childhood. Not sure if it’s true but it goes like this. When Einstein was a small kid, his uncle or someone gave him a flash light or a torch. Einstein was very fascinated by it. He played with it all the time. He had fun pressing the button and see a beam of light coming out and shining on the wall. Sometimes in the night he would try to shine it to the sky and he would see a beam of light disappearing in the darkness and in the vast expanse of the universe. That’s when it occurred to him, the story said, that if he was sitting at the top of the beam, what would he see or where would he go? Such a seemingly simple question but gave him an idea to explore the light, time & space etc. Such a simple yet transformational question!

That’s when it occurred to him. “If I was sitting at the top of a beam of light, what would I see & what would I pass along the way or where would I go?” Little Einstein might have wondered!

I was amazed by the story. I remember telling this story to everyone I could meet. Even after decades; I am still amazed by this story but in a different way. If the story is true then surely little Einstein had a lot of fun with the flash light alright. Hundreds of ideas & questions might have come to his mind. He might have generated a question or an idea each time he pressed the button or just at the plain sight of the flash light. But after a while his questions might have got deeper and deeper and more & more difficult to answer. And then might have come “THE” transformational question. He might have played with that question and who knows might have decided to save it for a rainy day. Well… I don’t know what really happened and the story didn’t elaborate on it either.

Why am I telling you this? Please hang on to this thought for a minute until you read the next story.

Recently I came across an article on listening. The author argued that in order for someone to start listening one needs to listen a whole lot. If you are expecting something substantial to come out of someone, you need to give that person a chance to express anything before you can actually hear something valuable.

It’s like finding a gem stone; tons of ugly coal needs to be unearthed. Well the ugly coal too is useful in some other ways as we all know.

Now coming back to my story on Einstein and why I shared that with you.

I strongly believe that in order to get “that” millennium idea (or question) he must have had to generate a tons of ideas. And as a matter of fact, in my personal experience it certainly works for me.

I generally get ideas when I am quietly having my early in the morning tea. I just let the ideas come out without being judgmental about them. But then sometimes, suddenly, a strange idea comes out and just sticks. I can’t move away from it and that’s when I realize that, that’s the idea I need to follow. And I normally do. When I realized this, I have made a habit to get up early and have a cup of tea quietly. I have been doing this for several years. Whether its a weekend of weekday, vacation or busy schedule, I still, to date, get up early and have a cup of tea quietly. Its fun to sit in the dark sipping hot tea and just let your mind wander. Try it sometime.

There is another technique I practice. I try to think of problems. It doesn’t matter if those problems are small or large, simple or complex, local or global, personal or social, technical or not. And sometimes one problem stands out and just grabs me until I have saved it in my memory box. Yes, I do have a list of such problems in my savings.

I think, creating a surrounding or atmosphere that let’s you wander your mind, is more important than a specific recipe I described above. Which comes down to a personal experience after all. Being curious, asking questions (to yourself rather than others) and trying to think of answers is the automatic next step.

Wandering thoughts to ideas and questions to more powerful ideas and then comes the idea of the day or idea of the life. Unless you let “the ugly coal” out of your mind, you wont be able to get “a gem of an idea”.

It’s a game and one needs to play it. I play it all the time and not that I get prize winning ideas or anything but sometimes a seemingly simple idea makes my day.

I feel an Einstein for that day. And to me that is THE reward!

If scientists are the modern day Gods, could this be a way of worshiping? Or is that why they say “God helps those who help themselves”.

So are you helping yourself and playing the game of idea generation?

Picture Credits: Original pictures from https://newvitruvian.com/

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Can we learn without “Learning?”…..err “Education?”

Is this a trick question? Certainly not… at least for me. Let me explain what does the question really mean to me! May be the learning in the question needs to be replaced with education. So the question really is “Can we still learn without getting formal education?”

In a traditional sense, to learn or to be educated, someone needs to go to school, study books, practice, take tests, take exams & finally get a degree.

So to become an engineer, you study engineering and so is true for a doctor or lawyer or teacher etc.

Let’s take an example …something common so we all can relate to it.

When I have cold & flu; I normally don’t go to a doctor. It’s an established fact that the body will recover from a common cold & flu in 5-7 days.

Now I would like to do a thought experiment… say Mogli (Or substitute it with Tarzan if you like) gets flu. Knowing that he was raised by wolves (or gorillas in case of Tarzan), he doesn’t know what flu is and so Mogli panics. He runs a high fever, body aches, soar throat etc. Since he has never experienced it before he finds himself helpless (the wolves or gorillas don’t know what to do either). So not knowing what to do, he just lies down. And so the flu runs its course and eventually Mogli recovers. Next year the same thing happens. We know Mogli is a smart young kid, so Mogli starts thinking. He says, if this happens again the 3rd time, then I know I don’t need to worry. I will feel better in a week anyway. I just need to rest. (or may be he says after 7 nights or something). But you get the point.

So what did Mogli do? He had no one to learn it from other than himself. He wasn’t being taught but as Yoda would say “Learning he was!”

The point is that “One can learn just by observation & thinking.”

Remember the classic thought experiment by Einstein that started the theory of relativity….or the Schrodinger’s cat that was pivotal in discussions on quantum mechanics?

What I am getting at is; we are always learning as long as we observe facts, ask ourselves questions and try to answer those by experimenting.

In my opinion developing the skill to observe the facts & try to device the thought experiments and answer those questions is difficult but not impossible. I am not sure how one can cultivate it other than just doing it.

The aim is not to find a right answer but find “answers” to try to move the needle on developing deeper understanding. Cultivating this habit is an essential part of critical systems thinking. And more over it’s fun. Doesn’t cost anything other than time. It could be done alone or in group, it could be done while exercising or lying down.

Thinking can be a fun activity and is often rewarding!

So learning while not learning for me is answered. What do you think?

PC:(Original Pic)https://newvitruvian.com/image//765836.html PC:(Original Pic)https://newvitruvian.com/image/1372110.html
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Thinking on a hunch!

A few weeks ago I took my wife to an emergency room as her seemingly simple looking flu became somewhat scary in the wee hours of the morning. She had just come back from an overseas trip. Well, just to be safe than sorry, I took her to the ER. After waiting in the room for a doctor, and answering several questions of the nurse… so they can complete their questionnaire, my wife was already feeling alright. Where as I was feeling helpless & hopeless. Then after about 45-50mins, the doctor appeared and told us it’s a case of viral infection & nothing needs to be done. He said, “We will test her for flu. After that you can go home, take rest & drink plenary of fluids.” Sure, as if we didn’t know any of this, we came home after causing a few hundred dollars worth of dent to our plastic cards.

Wish the story ended here. The very next day she developed high fever and severe cough and in-spite of our son telling her to go back to see a doctor, we both resisted the urge as we knew what new (?) we will learn. Which is go home… take rest… drink etc etc.

The next two days she waited and finally went to our primary care who then prescribed her antibiotics. Almost a week had gone by and I had seen her condition had gotten worse. After the antibiotics, she started getting better and now after 3 weeks she is getting back to normal.

I am no doctor but does it really have to be this way?

Then there was another story! Last year, I had come from an overseas trip and thought I am coming over by flu, went to an urgent care (walk-in clinic) where I was seen by a nurse practitioner. She checked my vitals and prescribed a course of antibiotics right away and had ordered tests. A couple days of rest & I was fine. The tests did come back positive with bacterial infection. So she was right prescribing me the antibiotics on a hunch. Or was it just a hunch?

So…. Was the doctor who saw my wife in ER right or was the nurse practitioner who used the hunch to prescribe antibiotics? Or is my question wrong?

Well, it could be all the above (Including all possible combinations of the words in above sentence); as we can’t really go back and verify the conditions under which those decisions were made.

Recently, I read a book and the author mentioned how the decisions based on hunches are really the decisions based on a long brewed logic of varied experiences one has collected. In the story, a team of firefighters go in to the house on fire and as they enter the house, don’t really see a sign of fire. The chief, on a hunch (?), at once orders everyone out and as they are just get out of the house the floor collapses and is engulfed in to flames. Luckily (?) no one is hurt. Now; we can argue that the chief was lucky & it could have been just a case of fluke or not; but really was that just the hunch?

The author argued that what we consider a decision based on the gut feel, is a solid logic based on years of experience or what I call a “deeper understanding” that one developes without even knowing it.

I have several examples that I can list in support of my argument for deeper understanding. Whether my theory is correct or not; one can’t deny that there is something beyond understanding. Some call it hunch or gut feeling, others may call it an intuition or whatever. For me, I call it “deep understanding”. The understanding of the things you develop by collecting information, gaining experience by using it and teaching your brain “more” without you even know you are developing a “Deep Understanding“….. as I call it.

What do you call it as?

PC:https://newvitruvian.com
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Information, Knowledge, Skill & Presence Of Mind!

What’s most important? Frankly, I don’t know the answer!

I do tend to think it really depends on what you are up to. I remember a story read as a child.

The story writer started the story with a question “what is the best weapon?” Of course there are multiple answers, but he had a point to make. The story read something like this.

Somewhere in a small town in south India, people were celebrating a festival. During a procession, as the crowd started getting loud an elephant in the close proximity went wild. The elephant couldn’t be controlled by the “mahout”, the rider. The elephant started towards the crowd and it was a disaster in making.

Now the question is, how do you control such a beast when the best weapon (or tool) to control is the harpoon that the mahout has failed to control it?

As the story goes, as the wild elephant charges towards the crowd, a by stander watching & realizing the problem ahead, looks around and sees a dog. He quickly gets an idea. He picks up the dog and throws towards the elephant. The dog hits the elephant on his eye and the elephant is startled for a moment. The mahout seizes the moment and uses his harpoon to divert the elephant away from crowd. The disaster is averted.

The story writer provided the moral of story as “presence of mind” is the best weapon or tool.

I was impressed with the moral. As I grew up this story used to make me think if there needs to be more to it.

As I gained more & more perspective on the knowledge, information & skill topic, I pondered on the outcome. One of the thing that comes to mind related to story above is, how do you control such a beast with any amount of knowledge?

It didn’t occur to me until I was in a dire situation of life & death (or may be similar). I was learning to fly a plane and had practiced several hours with my instructor in a Single Engine Land plane. A neat little Cessna 172. I also passed the written test with 100% score. A perfect score that the guy at the exam center told me was a rare occasion. So I thought, I am one of the best students. Hang on… I was to learn a lesson of life time. One day my instructor told me I was good at the things and can fly solo and practice more. So he signed me off for a solo flight.

I was excited, nervous a little bit but surely confident. This was my 1st solo flight. Every thing went okay as planned, nice take off and good pattern, however on my approach I realized there was a little more crosswind but I was fine. I came down nicely & steadily and not sure what exactly happened (well I know now) but the plane porpoised. It touched & bounced back and touched again and bounced again. As a reflex action I just increased the speed got the plane slightly up and let it come down on its own.

Now looking back, I realized two things. I had the information but had not practiced for this situation. So didn’t have knowledge. Or did I? I surely showed a presence of mind. But where did it come from?

I don’t know if I have a correct answer till date but I certainly have a theory. The presence of mind is not something that you have as a skill, it’s the knowledge you have developed by using the information you had collected and used in situations to develop a deeper understanding. In my situation, while practicing with my instructor, somehow this deeper understanding was being developed without my awareness. This deeper understanding created the actions which one could call presence of mind.

So for me, I have answered the question. Develop a deeper understanding by collecting information, using it to turn it in to knowledge and develop a skill by practicing at it.

What do you think?

Picture Credit: https://newvitruvian.com

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Learning By Trial & Error!

Several years ago as I was a growing kid, I used to build science toys at home. The concepts that I used to learn in school may or may not used to be part of those but that’s what used to excite my friends. Just as an example, I build my first electric motor at the age of 11 using a horse-shoe magnet, an enameled wire and few other parts from trash. It was so exciting when I could get it to turn a few times. But this success didn’t come right away… it was only after several attempts and even though I had a small book of instructions to make the motor. I never follow instructions exactly when I am assembling something. And most of the time I end up spending more time to get it right than getting it right the first time. But I have realized that this way I could develop a deeper understanding of the things. Because when something doesn’t work, you try another thing and you try again and again until you get it working. This self-teaching or learning albeit takes time. But one could consider it as a complementary education to what we learn in schools. As a matter of fact, it should be a “MUST” in my opinion.

An then later after several years as I was teaching my son and at times getting frustrated that why can’t he listen to me on how to do things, I realized my own mistake. I was not letting him learn by trial and error or not letting him fail at what he was doing. Once I corrected my mistake, he just started having fun at it. And like me, he started developing deeper understanding about the things.

Then I came across Suagata Mitra’s TED talk and his experiments with Computer in Hole. This fortified my believes and since then I have been a big fan of “let them fail, let them play” with science. No force, no competition, no end game other than let’s make something.

I have been a happy father of a happy son since then 🙂

Picture Credit: Sugata Mitra’s Computer in Wall! picture from web!

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Hello S4Fers

Today is the day of great pride to introduce our new site to you all. It’s the result of several months of thinking and churning of new ideas and vetting them with peers and experts in the area. We at Orexian Foundation are excited to offer a range of activities for kids and families alike. Our ideas are based on a simple assumption that “Every mind is curious.. you need to trigger it and offer an opportunity”. In the offerings you will find a fun way to learn and spend time and get a fulfilling experience.