Hyderabad: Seventeen-year-old Rishab Jain, a Hyderabad-based student and passionate speedcuber, has crafted two interactive educational kits aimed at sparking interest in maths and physics among underprivileged high school students.
The kits include a maths learning module featuring Rubik’s Cubes and a mechanical gear system, which aim to simplify key concepts in mathematics and physics.
Jain, who recently won the Telangana state speedcubing championship, has been dedicated to the sport for several years, actively participating in seven to eight World Cube Association (WCA) competitions.
His community engagement began in Class 11 when he volunteered at a nearby NGO to teach children how to solve Rubik’s Cubes. However, he observed a general disinterest among them in maths and physics, which inspired his idea: “I thought, why not use Rubik’s cubes as a fun, hands-on tool to teach geometry, probability, and sequences?”
The maths learning module helps students visualise geometric shapes and patterns, while the mechanical gear kit introduces them to fundamental physics concepts like rotational mechanics, angular velocity, and gear ratios.
“The gear kit,” Jain explained, “is designed for teachers to use in classrooms, allowing students to experience the practical applications of these concepts through interactive models.”
Despite a demanding school schedule, Jain developed these kits during his Class 11, completing the bulk of the work over his summer vacation before reaching out to Teach for India (TFI). Since then, he has distributed approximately 50 kits across 20 schools in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Pune, providing virtual sessions to explain the modules and even conducting an in-person demo in Hyderabad.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive. “The kids were genuinely interested in learning science and maths through the Rubik’s Cube approach,” he shared. Each kit serves as a valuable classroom resource, empowering teachers to integrate interactive maths and physics lessons into their curriculum.
