Making science fun with Komal

By

Fanny Laemmel

How can you do science if your high school doesn't have science labs? That was no problem for Komal Dadlani in Chile. She's designed an app that lets kids do hands-on experiments using only a telephone.

In Chile and lots of other countries many schools lack the money to provide proper science laboratories for children to learn in. As a result, they have to study chemistry, biology, physics and so on, just from textbooks. That's a pity because doing experiments really helps our understanding of these subjects. After all, you didn't learn to ride a bike by reading a book, did you!

That bugged Komal Dadlani, a young scientist who wanted other young Chileans to be able to follow in her footsteps. When she was just 24, not long out of school herself, she worked with a software designer to produce a smartphone app called Lab4U. Ten years later, it's being used by 100,000 schoolchildren in about 2 countries to study science, helping a new generation of budding Einsteins and Marie Curies.

Smartphone = smart solution

"We turn telephones into laboratory equipment," Komal tells WoW! News. "Did you know that smartphones have several sensors built into them? The camera that I use to take a selfie, the microphone I use to send sounds. We take advantage of these sensors to design experiments in physics, chemistry and biology that make science more fun."

The app allows users to, for example, measure the "frequency" of someone's whistling, or the speed at which they move their hand, and then to study these experiences. And you don't have to be at school to try it. Parts of the app are free, so you could ask a parent or teacher to let you have a go on it.

A passion for science

We asked Komal what made her want to study science. After all, you might know that there are many fewer girls than boys around the world who choose scientific subjects. Komal told us: "When I was a girl, I was always really curious. I wanted to do research. I said to myself: 'I'd like to solve a problem for human beings. And seeing the example of other scientists made me want to do it."

So how about you? Science can provide us all sorts of solutions to problems like disease or climate change. Do you think you'd like to give it a go?