14-11-2012, 02:53 PM
20th & 21st National Children’s Science Congress (2012-13)
20th & 21st National Children’s.pdf (Size: 1.62 MB / Downloads: 97)
CSC – the beginning
The seeds of the programme of children’s science congress (CSC), in the way of an exercise to carry
out small research activities at micro-level were planted in Madhya Pradesh by an NGO called
Gwalior Science Center. It was later adopted by National Council for Science and Technology
Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India for
carrying out national level activities through NCSTC-Network (a network of Non-Government and
Government organizations working in the field of science popularization) as national organiser. It was
a time when many of the country’s crusaders of science communication were experienced with
massive science communication exercise of Bharat Jana Bigyan Jatha and Bharat Jana Gyan
Bigyan Jatha. It was felt that the large scale activities for developing scientific awareness among the
masses are to be continued as regular activity, so, this programme was launched nationwide in
1993, under the nomenclature of National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC), with an expectation
that it would generate scientific temperament among the teachers and students, and spread among
various stakeholders of the society. The programme of NCSC has been fruitfully conducted for the
last 19 years.
CSC – An Overview
Children’s Science Congress is targeted to spread the concept of the method of science among the
children through their project activities adopting the principle of ‘Learning through doing’. The
mandate of participation is that, the children will carry out a project on a particular topic in relation to
theme and sub-theme decided for the year. The study is to be carried out in the neighborhood of the
children where they live in. For this, the students form a group with their like-minded
friends/classmates and the study is carried out under the supervision of a guide. It is noteworthy that,
CSC programme is not only for the school going children but is also open for the children outside the
formal boundary of schools, in the age group of 10 to 17 years (where 10 to 14 years is considered
as junior group and 14 to 17 years as senior group). Further, it is not mandatory that a guide must be
a school teacher; any person with fair knowledge of dealing with children and method of science is
considered eligible to guide the children.
Objectives
The primary objectives of the Children’s Science Congress is to make a forum available to
children of the age-group of 10-17 years, both from formal school system as well as from out of
school, to exhibit their creativity and innovativeness and more particularly their ability to solve a
societal problem experienced locally using the method of-science.
By implication, the CSC prompts children to think of some significant societal problem, ponder
over its causes and subsequently try and solve the same using the scientific process. This
involves close and keen observation, raising pertinent questions, building models, predicting
solutions on the basis of a model, trying out various possible alternatives and arriving at an
optimum solution using experimentation, field work, research and innovative ideas. The
Children’s Science Congress encourages a sense of discovery. It emboldens the participants to
question many aspects of our progress and development and express their findings in
vernacular.
Relevance of CSC in the light of contemporary educational initiatives
The basic approach of CSC on the principle of learning through doing on the issues of
children’s immediate environment significantly caries the sprit and mandate of Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD) of UNESCO, National Curriculum Framework (NCF,2005)
and Right to Education(RTE,2009).