All teaching aides have a science and educational background.

For more on Vinisha’s professional background see her

In brief, she has a PhD in Cell & Molecular Biology (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi) and several years of academic, science managerial (Tata institute of Fundamental Research, TIFR /National Centre for Biological Sciences, NCBS; Bangalore) & industrial research experience (InSilico Sciences/e4e Labs, Bangalore, USA; Eli Lilly & Company, Singapore) in the life sciences, oncology, bioinformatics & pharmaceuticals.

Some of her notable published & presented scientific work is in the Ann.NY.Acad of Sciences, at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) conferences 2006, 2007, the IBC 2007 Clinical Development Conference & InCoB 2008. She also has preinvestigational and investigational new drug (preIND & IND) submissions to the US-FDA to her credit, during her 5.5 year stint with the Lilly Singapore Centre for Drug Discovery (LSCDD).

In parallel to pursuing her scientific career , Vinisha has kept her interests alive as a keen educator. She has informally & formally been a mentor & coach to children & young adults across age brackets and through numerous platforms & organizations. She conducted a University Grants Commission (UGC) program on television (“The Science of Smell”, Doordarshan, 1994) while doing her doctoral studies in India, as well as volunteered as a teacher through Child, Relief & You (CRY) when at Hyderabad. As a science manager at the TIFR-NCBS she taught graduate students cell biology, organized scientific conferences, did technology transfer for local hospitals such as the Bangalore Children’s Hospital and reached out to schools & colleges through scientific outreach events. She developed curriculum based interactive quiz games for primary and secondary school students to make learning fun as a freelance consultant with Leo Mattel in Bangalore.

In Singapore over the past 5+ years, she has been the creative lead and an involved teacher-volunteer for art & craft activities with Very Special Arts (VSA). She is also an active, well regarded volunteer on art appreciation programs through Art Outreach (AO), having introduced these to both primary and secondary, local school children (Fairfield Methodist, Pei Tong Primary, Methodist Girls, Jurongville Secondary, Balestier Primary, etc).

Her prior stint as an entrepreneur has been covered in the media (see http://www.india-today.com/itoday/20020415/uk-diary2.shtml). She has been conferred the Young Entrepreneur award from the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) by Tony Blair in 2001-2002, for her pioneering work in the area of life sciences knowledge management (as Co-Founder of InSilico Sciences & Technical Lead – Bioinformatics at e4e Labs).

The "Green Dots" Name:

It’s a take on the little red dot…what Singapore is colloquially called and from where Green Dots has embarked on its journey.

Dots rhymes with tots and sets off a visual imagery of happy and alive faces ….yet this is not a kindergarten nor a childcare centre…it is a learning forum for young and fertile minds…a place where pre-teens can continue on with sensory play while engaging in immersive ‘learn as you do’ activities…thus learn SEAMlessly while having fun!

Green – besides being smack in the middle of the visible spectrum and the most soothing to the human eye, innately alludes to one of the 3R principles.

Green also alludes to the green environs and to the fresh minds of the youngsters.

The "Green Dots" Brand, viz: Learning SEAMlessly

It’s about

(a) Being green in one's daily lifestyle

(b) Learning SEAMlessly with S=Science, E=Education, A=Art, M=Media blended seamlessly

There is always an underlying theme of science to the programmes as also at least one art & craft activity and/or an experiential game.

The belief in the learning methodologies being practiced is that, modern disciplinary boundaries hinder the questioning process and create artificial & non-natural hurdles to the spirit of inquiry.

Hence combining what children associate as enjoyable such as drawing or then making something functional (by definition applied and useful) through an art & craft activity, while encouraging them to extend their minds through a scientific process of observation & analysis…can offer meaningful memories and trajectories for life.

Devised and conducted by an experienced science educator; these unique weekend, holiday camp, and birthday party programmes allow small groups of 10-20 children the opportunity to discover and develop their spirit of inquiry.

Each session of 2hr spans multiple disciplines…ranging from naturalism to gardening & environmental friendly practices.

Exposure to formal school subjects (like Science, Math and English) is enhanced while disciplines traditionally missing in some primary school curricula (geography, history, nutrition, cooking, genetics, physics, chemistry) are introduced in imaginative formats incorporating art & craft, treasure hunts and experiential games.

Encourage your child to explore science with fun as a…Little Linnaeus, Little Leeuwenhoek, Little Lavoisier, Little Newton, Little Mendel or Little Darwin !