The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Everyday science made interesting for students

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Sunday, Feb 10, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Everyday science made interesting for students

Deepa H. Ramakrishnan

Children throng exhibition at Birla Planetarium

— Photo: M. Karunakaran

HEAVY METAL: Visitors at the Chennai Science Fair cheer the dancing robot display at the Science City stall.

CHENNAI: A black and silver robot that can walk around, pick up things and even make dance-like movements got the maximum applause from children who visited the Chennai Science Fair – 2008 at the Birla Planetarium.

The robot was the most popular attraction at the Science City stall. The dinosaur doll that shook its tail and moved around was also appreciated.

The moon scale on which one could check one’s weight on the moon was another display that many students enjoyed at the exhibition on ‘Science in Everyday life’, that began on February 6 and will conclude on February 10.

G. Murugan, a Standard IX student of the Life Help Centre for the Handicapped, did not mind walking around a bit to have a good look at the exhibition.

“The more I walked the more I was able to grasp interesting facts about everyday science, which is good,” said the boy. He and his friends, Amulraj, D. Ranjith, Elliyas, L. Edison, were impressed by the exhibits on herbal plants, effluent treatment, wind energy, mechanical gadgets and process of food digestion.

Anna University’s Chemical Department students cracked R. Deepa’s number tricks. A student of Zigma Matric Higher Secondary School, Medavakkam, she had put up interactive number tricks and a calendar trick. Centre for Leather Apparels and Accessories Development from Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) had leather products made with Kashmiri wood, cotton and banana fibre. Preetha T., Afia Allapitchai and Shruthi B, first year students of Anna University, had video shows for school students on global warming and e-waste management.

The topics covered at the exhibition included mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, medicine, food and agriculture, electronics, fabrics, space, environment and energy. Organisations including Exnora International and Eco Science Foundation have put up stalls.

According to V. Varaprasada Rao, Vice-Chairman of Science City, students belonging to over 150 schools and colleges visited the festival, which is being sponsored by the State government. The fair, he said, was aimed at showcasing the principles, applications and laws of science to students and the general public.

Anna University, IIT Madras, CLRI, Madras University, Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Cancer Institute, Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology and Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centres and Science City, organised the fair.

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