American Center's first open house a hit

The American Center's first-ever weekend open house on Saturday was a hit with Delhiites, who flocked to the Center to participate in hackathons, start-up introductions, and a book sale that saw titles fly off the shelves.

While the Center is known largely for its library, the weekend 'Mela' (fair) was geared at inviting new and seasoned visitors into the expanded range of activities that it has taken on to foster innovation.

The Center's programming partner, MakersBox, showcased an exposition on "makerspaces" that had innovative learning activities like a working 3D printer and an electrical circuit-based piano that played musical notes.

The Nexus Start-up Hub, an in-house incubator programme by the US Embassy, was also on display in the open house.

Fertility Dost is one such health-based start-up selected for the programme's long-term mentoring. "We aim to build a safe space for women to talk about fertility issues, so we target fertility issues at the prevention stage," its founder and JNU alumna Gitanjali Banerjee told IANS here.

Interacting with Mela visitors, the entrepreneur said that every such touchpoint enriches a start-up.

But, it was the book clearance sale that stole the show at the day-long event. It sold books -- law, history, geography, fiction, religion, and educational resources -- from the American Library, priced at just Rs 30 a book, and was one of the busiest spaces of the Mela.

An exhibition about women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), movie screenings, and an educational programme for aspirants of US education, were among the other highlights at the event.

--IANS

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