More than 100 science projects of students and teachers from schools across Tamil Nadu will be on display till Monday at the OCPM Girls High Secondary School as part of 44th Jawaharlal Nehru National Science, Mathematical and Environment Exhibition which was inaugurated here on Saturday.
A total of 122 projects were on display, which included 26 projects done by teachers. “All these projects were winners in the district-level exhibitions held in all the 32 districts in the State,” J. Angelo Irudayasamy, Chief Educational Officer, said.
Though the theme for the exhibition revolved around various aspects of using science and mathematics for nation building, majority of the projects aimed at controlling pollution and use of renewable energy sources.
One of the projects done by G. Manoharan, a science teacher of Government High School in Thavarapattu in Thanjavur district, was a prototype of a tower, which can absorb polluted air and pump out fresh air removed of all particulate matter by using easily available materials such as coconut shell charcoal, calcium carbonate and a solar-powered exhaust fan.
“At a time when we are reading about breathing becoming difficult in cities like Delhi, scaling up this technology for wider use can be immensely helpful,” Mr. Manoharan said.
Simple solutions
Some of the projects were also about finding simple, cost-effective and environment-friendly solutions for frequently faced problems.
For instance, G. Narmada, a Class 8 student from Government High School in Vasigoundanur in Dharmapuri district, exhibited a small tower with a lamp mounted on top, which can be installed in agricultural fields to capture small flying insects. “Presently, farmers use lot of pesticides to address the problem. However, this model can help in reducing pesticide use to a great extent,” she said.
As an attraction to the visiting students, an inflated balloon planetarium was also set up by Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre.
Earlier, the exhibition was inaugurated by Minister for Cooperation ‘Sellur’ K. Raju in the presence of Director of School Education S. Kannappan and Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao.
Officials said that best projects from this exhibition will be selected for the national-level exhibition to be held early next year.
