Scindia School Science Fest -2015

On 7th August 15, five students of class XI accompanied by Vice-principal, Dr. Anu Singh, left for Gwalior to attend the Science Fest-2015 held in the historical setting of The Scindia School.

DAY 1: On 8th August, the students attended the opening ceremony of the three-day event, based on chemistry. There were fourteen schools enrolled to participate. Many of the schools were from Gwalior, but schools of Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab had also joined the event. There was a workshop conducted by Dr. Prabodh Chobe, former head of R&D at BASF. He was chief guest of the first day. The workshop was divided into 3 sections. The first section was dedicated to the various famous scientists, the reasons for their fame, as well as the factors behind their success. The second section focused on innovations made by children from across India. The young minds were put to test in an interactive and innovative session. After the test, they had to tackle a quiz in chemistry during the third and final session of the abundantly informative workshop.

Later that evening, esteemed guest Dr. Arindam Rana, professor, City College, Kolkata, demonstrated certain chemical experiments which students had previously only read about in textbooks. He used simple apparatus to explain the complex phenomena of chemistry. The students watched the demonstrations in rapt attention and were deeply absorbed in the process.

The host school organised a poolside DJ evening for the visitors and expectedly everyone let their hair down! The day ended there and the students departed for their respective lodgings.

Day 2 began with the Science Exhibition which required the participants to demonstrate projects they had prepared on the topic Disaster-Resistant Building. Every school had put in effort in pitching their models to win! Next, the aspiring young scientists were to display their detective skills as it was time for a Treasure Hunt. Five groups, each group having a member from each school, scattered across the 122 acre campus to spot clues. After a couple of hours of tough toil, the treasure was recovered! Exhausted, but content, the students left for their hostels.

Later, the students assembled again for dinner and to play the Memory Game. The students were invited one-by-one to the projection room where they were shown slides relating to concepts of chemistry. They were expected to memorise the matter projected on the slides and then jot it down. The fourteenth round provided a deviation from the main topic, a chemical sudoku, something no one had attempted before!

Day 3 of the Science Fest began with two events, Origami and Chembola. Origami required the students to create structures of certain molecules using paper-folding techniques. In Chembola, the participants were to identify and mark the elements they thought possessed the properties which were announced by the host. Upon completion of all the above events, everyone moved to the assembly hall for the closing ceremony and the results.

Our group- member, Prakhar Gupta won the first prize for origami while Sriraag Av and Alisamar Hussain took the third prize for the science exhibition. The students exchanged pleasantries with their new friends made during the event as they set out for the Gwalior Railway Station.

Overall it was a wonderful effort by the hosts and the teams that participated in the grand event.

By Pulkit Goyal and Divyaanshu Panwar, XIA.