National Statistics Day & Inauguration of the exhibition ‘Statistics at Work’

30 June,2014

Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM) celebrated National Statistics Day on 30th June 2014 by inaugurating a travelling exhibition on “Statistics at Work” followed by a popular lecture on “ P. C. Mahalanobis & Indian Statistics” by Prof Bimal K. Roy, Director, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata . Around 250 school students from Ballygunj Siksha Sadan, Mahadevi BirlaSishu VIhar, Gems Academia, DPS Newtown, Modern High School, Sushila Birla Girls High School, Army Public School and National High School for Girls were present on the occasion.


Statistics as a planning and decision making tool plays a vital role in almost all areas of governance and business activities in a country. The travelling exhibition “Statistics at Work” presently on display at Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM), Kolkata attempts to focus on some of the key areas in the social and business sectors that influence people’s lives. The exhibition contains informative panels, short videos, and interactive exhibits to highlight the importance of Statistics in our daily life.


The exhibition begins with “A Historical Perspective” that looks into our Vedas, mythologies, Jain sutras and early historical texts where statistical references are highlighted. Application of Statistics in different fields like “Census”, “Public Health”, “Banking and Insurance”, “Water Resource” “GDP”, “Crime Control”, “TRP”, “Opinion Poll”, “Weather Forecast” were elaborated.


A number of interactive exhibits are added attractions of the exhibition. One can play a dice game by rolling a pair of dice in the exhibit “Probability with Two Dice” and understand the logic behind the chance of getting a specific score.


The exhibit ‘Gambling: Your Chance of Winning’ is another interactive game where visitors can try their chances of winning a gambling game by rotating the wheel of fortune & placing their bets.


In the exhibit “Probability Distribution” one can tilt a frame of liquid and see how a bell shaped curve is formed with the liquid.


“Toss a Coin” showcases the outcome of tossing a coin & verify whether the outcome is head or tail.


In the ‘Pillar of Statistics’ exhibit depicts the fundame works done by scientists/mathematician that has shaped the subject of statistics.


The exhibit “World as 100 People” presents a set of statistics of our world in an interesting way.


The exhibition pays a rightful homage to Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, The great statistician & founder of Indian Statistical Institute, an institute of national importance. Contributions of Indians in the field of Statistics were also displayed.


This interactive travelling exhibition will be displayed in BITM till 30th September and will be open from 10 AM to 5.30 PM