Bengaluru, Jan 4 (IANS): Rashtriya Kishore Vaigyanik Sammelan, the two-day children's science congress of the 107th Indian Science Congress (ISC), kicked off here on Saturday, aimed at encouraging school children to take up science education.
"The main objective is to motivate children to take science and technology education and encourage a sense of discovery," said ISC organising committee Chairman and University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Vice Chancellor S. Rajendra Prasad.
Prasad said the Children's Science Congress targeted students in the age bracket of 10-17 years.
Thousands of students from across the country and Bengaluru attended the event where Israeli Chemistry Nobel Laureate Ada Yonath and Bharat Ratna C.N.R. Rao also spoke.
Tanisha Rajothia, a Class IX student from Chandigarh's Carmel Convent School said the Children's Science Congress has inspired her about science education, dispelling fears and creating confidence that anybody can take it up.
"Science Congress enabled us to listen to many great scientists. Now we think that we can become a scientist as well," said Rajothia.
As students, Rajothia felt that they were very small entities but meeting scientific authorities at the congress boosted their morale and confidence to become a scientist.
Shruti, a student from Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Chattarpur, New Delhi, said, "I am very happy to come here. I learnt that there should be dedication do take up science."
Aiming to stimulate the students' interest in Science, Yonath, 2009 Chemistry Nobel laureate, told the students that she assumed they all loved science.
She shared the Nobel prize with Indian scientist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas A. Steitz.
"How I became a scientist? When I was 5, I made my own experiments," she said, recounting that she came from a very poor family which shared the same apartment with another two more.
Yonath advised the students to be curious and love their work.
National Research Professor and honorary president of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) Rao made the students to shout aWe all love science' in his address as the chief guest.
"We love science. I enjoyed doing science. Science is a wonderful hobby," said 86-year-old Rao with 71 years of research experience and who has been a professor for 61 years.
He said the future of India depends on science, calling the students as the future of the country who need to take up science education with dedication and sincerity.