The Union Territory of Puducherry made a mark at the recently concluded National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) held in Bengalaru from December 27 to 31, with two student scientists walking away with top honours.
The project, ‘A study on the effect of weather in plant growth in barren soil using different soil amendments’ represented by team leader Amritha Monica V of St. Joseph of Cluny Girls Higher Secondary School in Puducherry was selected among the 20 Best Outstanding Projects at the National level. Her teammates were Madhumitha Nithyasree, Hemavathy K. and Janani P. with Athira A. as guide teacher.
Ms. Amritha recalled the friendships she struck with fellow child scientists from Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andhra Pradesh and other States. The organic manure which was examined in the project, ‘Synthetic Terra preta’ is a new kind of manure which only a few companies are currently producing, said Ms. Amritha. The project has provided encouragement to study this manure further, she added.
Aparna Madhusoodanan of the C.E. Bharathan Govt. Higher Secondary School, Mahe, who led her team to win the Best Poster Presentation in the State category has interests as varied as dance, drama and oratory, says her proud father. The project, ‘Impact of season on butterfly abundance and species diversity in five localities in Mahe region’ evolved out of an earlier school project, said Ms. Aparna. She credits success to her guide teacher Minija Janardhanan, team members and the school.
The NCSC is organised annually under the Ministry of Science and Technology. This year’s event had the focal theme: Understanding Weather and Climate, with 6 sub-themes.
The NCSC saw the participation of around 650 child scientists from across India, including delegations from United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh, said a release from the Pondicherry Science Forum.
Six team leaders from the UT had attended the NCSC in Bengaluru after winning in district and State level competitions held in the last few months.
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