Students win science exhibition, earn ticket to international event

Shubham Gupta and Himadri Mishra, class 12 students from a private school in Delhi are basking in joy after winning the 10th National Science Exhibition organised by the CBSE.

Their ‘hybrid car model’ also fetched them a direct entry to an international competition — Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) being organised by Intel in November in Bangalore.

“Our hybrid car runs on both LPG and CNG and it is the first-of-its-kind model which does not require a conversion kit. The car can also be turned into a boat. It gives a mileage of 72 km per kg of gas and the maximum speed goes up to 40 km per hour,” Shubham told Deccan Herald.

“I am so excited to be a part of the international Science competition. It’s a dream come true,” said the teenager, student of Delhi Public School in Vasant Kunj.
The three-day exhibition, organised by the Central Board of Secondary Education at Salwan Public School in Rajendra Nagar, came to an end on
Sunday.

A total of 20 projects from six themes won the competition and 24 participants were presented with merit certificates and a cash prize of Rs 3,000 at the valediction ceremony. Of these, six projects got a direct entry to IRIS.

Tapping talent

“This mega event fosters learning by doing among budding scientists representing the diverse cultures of India. The exhibition also gave the participants an opportunity to apply scientific principles to communicate their ideas innovatively,” said Indu Khetrapal, Salwan Public School principal.

The exhibition saw the participation of around 270 schools from across the
country.

The selected exhibits will be forwarded to National Council of Educational Research And Training and shortlisted for the Jawaharlal Nehru Science Exhibition that will be organised in Sikkim during November this year.

Under the umbrella-theme Science and Society, the exhibits by the different schools were an extension of the diverse sub- themes — industry, natural resources and their conservation, transport and communication, information and education technology, community health, environment and mathematical modelling.

“The initiative undertaken by the CBSE underlines the importance of learning outside the classroom,” said a CBSE spokesperson.

S Natesh, former adviser, department of biotechnology, Shipra Verma, the CBSE coordinator for the exhibition were also present.