The 14th Science and Engineering Fair for college-goers from 6-10 January was reason for cheer. Staged by the Birla Industrial and Technological Museum in Kolkata, a component of the National Council of Science Museums under the aegis of the Union ministry of culture, it provided the opportunity for students in eastern and North-eastern to flaunt innovative skills.

Reputedly the oldest science fair in the region, it marked the participation of 236 students from 183 schools across 10 states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura, Manipur and Bengal and there were as many as 182 models on display. Begun back in 2000, the fair also recorded the paricipation of 14 colleges from across Bengal, with 85 students and 30 projects on display.

Some of the interesting models showcased by students of Bengal were on conservation and waste management, alternative and non-conventional means of cultivation and an energy-minimising cooker. There were innovative on pisciculture in paddy fields that would result in healthy living with an abundance of animal proteins, thus inducing a chemical-free ambience and a 15 per cent hike in paddy cultivation. Participants from Jharkhand demonstrated the use of a biological mosquito repellent device.

BITM director Sheikh E Islam said, “The models on display at the Eastern India Science Fair were by students who had all topped in their home states. The fair comprises a multi-tier competition in which students have to compete at the block, district and state level. The selected models are finally exhibited at the inter-state exhibition. The fair had more projects and models presented by school students this year although there was no such significant change in terms of projects and models. There were 40 per cent more models displayed this time.”

Significant projects included the application of solar energy in generating automatic streetlights and developing solar mobile chargers. There were even projects on developing agriculture without soil, thus avoiding an excessive use of inorganic fertilisers.

The Central government&’s Department of Science and Technology, the Confederation of Indian Industry and Intel organises an annual national science fair and, as Islam added, “It was decided sometime last year that students selected in each zonal science fair across the country would get the chance to showcase their innovative skills at the national level and, later, they could catch up with the global scene.”