It was a big-bang day at Bala Vidya Mandir, Adyar, as the 16th Annual Science Exhibition was conducted on Friday, the 8th August 2008. The school has been conducting the expo since 1994 and the popularity of this Science Expo has been increasing over the past 16 years with more and more schools participating every year. This year, the number of schools that participated in this event touched 27.
There were even schools from places far away from Adyar like Modern SSS from Nanganallur and Lady Andal School from Chetpet had come all the way. Some schools who are otherwise more confined to their campus like St. Britto’s Academy and the Reserve Bank of India Quarters School also participated in this prestigious event.
Every year, the Science Expo is organised by the students of Class 9, of the school and this year too, the students handled everything from the initial registration and the compering to the refreshments, with guidance from the teachers. The Volunteers took care of trivial activities like arranging tables and guiding the visiting teams to their respective classrooms allotted for Quiz, Crossword and Collage.
It is a day-long event for students to exhibit their scientific aptitude in a challenging manner. They showcase their understanding and application of projects through models and charts.
The day’s events commenced with the registration of the participating schools. The Principal, Mr. S.S. Nathan declared the 16th Science Expo for the year 2008-2009 open. The primary goal of the Science Exhibition is to capture and sustain the interests of students in Science through creating and thought-provoking activities. The Science Club, which is the moving force behind the Exhibition, aims to train the children to think like scientists and have confidence in their abilities.
This year, the events in the Science Exhibition comprised of the Physical Sciences, the Life Sciences, The Science Crossword, the Quiz, and Collage. Some innovative projects included the demerits of the Carbon Monoxide, emitted from vehicles right into the atmosphere, for which E-Biking was an interesting solution. Reactions of bases and salts were well explained by students. There were also charts depicting the history of mankind over numerous millennia.
The Valedictory Function commenced around 2 p.m. The Chief Guest, Mr. P. Navaneethakrishnan, Professor, Anna University, insisted that students must understand scientific concepts well so that they can put it to good application.
The Annual Science Club Report gave the audience an idea of what the BVM school students did over the year, namely educational trips to places like aquariums and museums.
The Chief Guest gave away prizes to the top 3 groups in each event. A very enthusiastic Chettinad Vidyashram team bagged the overall Rolling Shield.
The Vice-Principal, Ms. Sasikala Sriram congratulating the organizing team said, “Every year, our Class 9 students handle the day extremely efficiently, but this year, they really exceeded all our expectations.”
Finally, after the Vote of Thanks, this extremely eventful day ended with the National Anthem. The students unanimously felt that the event was interesting, enjoyable and educative.