As culmination of a state-level science model making competition, a science exhibition titled Jignyasa 2018 took place at IISER Pune on 14th and 15th of December. The competition was organised by Agastya International Foundation, while the exhibition was hosted by the Seience Activity Centre at IISER Pune in collaboration with Agastya and Sakal NIE. About 12,844 students, teachers and citizens visited the exhibition over two days.
From over 2000 entries, a total of 130 exhibits were selected for the final round in three categories - primary, secondary and teachers. The event was inaugurated by chief guest Padma Shri Mrs. Lila Poonawalla (Lila Poonawalla Foundation) and guest of honor Mr. Shripadraj Ponskhe (Tata Motors). Encouraging words from the guests inspired students and the exhibition started on a very enthusiastic note. The models in all categories were application oriented and explained various scientific concepts. Apart from the competition, many scientific exhibits were kept for display which were explained to visitors by school students.
Padma Shri Lila Poonawalla at the Inauguration
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Visitors Get Hands-on Experience of the Models
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In addition to the exhibits, there was an Innovation corner for learning about new technology and an Art corner for exploration and expression of creativity. Make your own lab was a continuous session which took workshops for teachers to create a lab from simple tools. Public talks by scientists, students-scientist interactions, demonstrations for various science activities and display of jumbo science models was ongoing for both days. Other science popularization organisations such as Pimpri-Chinchwad Science Centre and Kalpana Chawla Science Centre, Karad also took part in demonstration of experiments. There was a night-sky watching session organized in collaboration with IUCAA where visitors could learn more about celestial bodies.
The guests for valedictory function, which tool place on the afternoon of December 15th were Mrs. Shivanjali Gaikwad (Raintree Foundation), Mr. Pushkaraj Kaulgud (Tata Technologies) and Mr. Abhishek Jain (Cognizant Tech.) who shared their views and expressed great satisfaction and happiness on going through competition's models. Winners in each category received a certificate, trophy and cash prizes.
Participants explaining their exhibits
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Large crowds at the exhibition
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The registration desk reported 4291 visitors on the first day which jumped to 8553 visitors on the second. Over the two days, school & college students and individual science enthusiasts visited the IISER Pune campus to see these exhibits. Over all, Jignyasa 2018 was a celebration of science by the students and a feast for the scientifically inclined public in and around Pune.
