JOIN USThe students of Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College sure know how to mix academics with fun.
The college recently hosted a science carnival — and true to its name, the event had plenty of both ‘science’ as well as a carnival-like feel that made the students all the more enthusiastic about it.
Twenty teams participated in the event this year, and showcased a host of complicated models and projects which belied their inexperience. The event was anything but drab; to lend a carnival atmosphere to the proceedings, the event was kicked off with some high-energy rock numbers and also had quite a few cultural programmes, each infused with a science-related theme. For instance, the students could take part in events like ‘Science Rangoli’ and ‘Science Collage’.
The centre of attention, however, were clearly the models. Many of them were quite advanced — such as a Ruben’s Tube, which is an antique piece of equipment that demonstrates acoustic standing waves in a tube. A space rover was also presented — that is, a space exploration vehicle which is designed to move across the surface of another planet. Some students even created a dam to trap water, which is then channeled to turn turbines and drive generators, producing hydro-electric power. In short, it was an enlightening experience.
Tejas, who was part of the team which put up the Ruben’s Tube, was clearly delighted that his project was such a success. He says, “Actually, our team — which had five people in total — was planning to do an entirely different project. But then, we were browsing the internet and suddenly came across a model of this tube. So, we decided to do it.”
Executing this project, however, was anything but easy. “Basically, a Ruben’s Tube is designed to show different types of stationary waves. We connected one end of the tube to a gas supply and the other end to a sound system. We then lit the inside of the tube. When we applied the sound, the fire inside the tube appeared in a wave. It was quite a success,” adds Tejas.