Author: hargunsinghtikku January 14, 2016 1 Comment

On 22^nd Nov 2015, a STEM Symposium was held in my school, Sri Venkateshwar International School, Dwarka.

STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering Math.

I was also selected for the Times NIE Think and Learn quiz on the same date in Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium which our school would take us to at 12:00 p.m. in school buses but due to the sad demise of Mr. Ashok Singhal, who was the former president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the quiz was cancelled.  So the students who were selected for the quiz could enjoy a full day STEM Symposium.

I quickly got ready on the morning and took Rs. 300 for the sessions and then went to my school bus stop and boarded the bus. After an hour we reached the school.

I first went to my class, but on reaching there, I found that the classes were locked. After some time, some of my classmates arrived and we went down to the basketball court where the chairs were arranged for students and parents.

On the sides, there were different stalls like Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee, and where the school buses usually are, there was a stall for 3D Printing, one for Coding and another one for buying the Robotics Kits. We all assembled on the chairs and ate some snacks. Then the lamp which welcomes the guests was lighted. The event was graced by -:

• Henry Throop from NASA
• Makarand Hastak from Purdue University
• AS Kiran Kumar, Chairman ISRO
• Prabir K. Bagchi, Vice chancellor of SRM University
• Pratiush Tiwari, Pilot Indigo Airlines
• Praveen Mohanty, Parendi Capitals
• Note – Chairman ISRO couldn’t attend the event due to some reason, so Dr. V.N. Krishnamurthy, Secretary ISRO, represented him.

There were 4 workshops –

• Coding and Gaming for Rs. 150
• Robotics for Free
• Aerodynamics for Rs. 150
• Multiple Intelligence for Rs. 150

First, Dr. Prabir K. Bagchi gave a lecture on the different types of universities, how you should chose a university, the different courses of SRM University, etc.

Then Dr. V. N. Krishnamurthy gave his lecture about Rockets, the science behind them, etc. and how schools can adopt a village each and develop the villages.
Then we got a break for workshops and eating food.

I and all my classmates went straight to the senior computer lab for the Coding and Gaming Workshop and one of my good friends, Yajur went down to buy a pizza and a Pepsi. Just a moment before the session started Yajur returned with the food and kept it outside the computer lab with his bag.

Then we all went in and we were told to open a computer application called Scratch 2 on the computers. I already had scratch installed on my own PC, so I was familiar with it. It is a drag and drop programming software for kids where we can chose different backgrounds and sprites and make them move.  Here is the game which we made.

<INSERT GAME>

We have to keep the ball from falling to the bottom by the paddle, the more times the ball touches the paddle, the higher the score.

Then we ate the pizza and on the way back to our seats, I, Yajur, Anshul and Jyotin bought tickets for aerodynamics which was to start after 15 minutes and 2 bottles of Pepsi. We kept our bags at our seats and went to the 3D Printing and Robotics canopies. In the 3D printing one, they showed a 3D printer printing a whistle which was only done halfway. This is how 3D Printing is done

• A 3D File is created using CAD or Google Sketchup Software.
• A reel of plastic wire is put in the 3D printer.
• The 3D printer heats and melts the wire.
• The melted wire is poured onto the tray as per the model into layers.
• The 3D Model is ready!

Then the ones who had paid for Aerodynamics quickly went to the specified room. I met my father in the way who had come to pick me up and told him about the sessions and he gave me an extra Rs. 500 to spend. We quickly went outside the room and made a line. Only 10 students could go at a time so we arranged ourselves quickly. After 10 minutes our turn came and everyone who came out of the room had a wooden plane in their hand. We went in and there were 2 teachers who were cutting large pieces of wood into small pieces. We sat down on the carpet and we all were given a long and thick but small piece of wood. It was the base of the plane on which all, the other parts were to be pasted. Then we got a long, big and thin piece of wood which were the wings. We rounded the corners, so that the plane could have a more aerodynamic design. Then we got a short, big and thin piece which was the tail wing. We first pasted the wings near the front of the base. Then we pasted the tail wing so that its back end and the base’s back end ended at the same place. Then we formed a line so that the teachers could put clay for balancing the plane on the front side. When my turn came the teacher flew my plane and it flew the best and also did a back flip. We then went outside the room and at the same time, another one of our classmates came out from robotics which was just beside the aerodynamics room. He told us that robotics was free and it was a 1- hour session, so we all registered our names for the next session which was after 30 minutes. Then in one of the foyers, a teacher who was in aerodynamics flew a remote controlled drone which was very big and our principal was standing beside the teacher. The drone had so much pressure that everyone’s hair stood up when it flew over their heads. Till the time we were waiting for Robotics, we explored the different science models for a competition which was to be judged by Dr. Henry Throop and Dr. Makarand Hastak and which was the main attraction of the event. One of our classmates also had a model which was about saving ourselves from floods. There were many different schools participating in the competitton from different states of India. There were many different models like –

• A model car controlled with Bluetooth.
• A glove which could sense finger movements and say things from that.
• A metallic hand which could be controlled by some simple levers.
• A model to depict growing crops on Mars.
• A moving model of human DNA.
• A solar boat, etc.

We then went to the Robotics room. They first showed a video on how a boy took and old toy car and made a drone from it. Then they explained us about robotics, different types of robots and uses of robots. They then showed us a video of a Table Tennis match of the world’s fastest robot, Kuka KR Agilus against the No.1 table tennis player of the world, Timo Boll.

<INSERT VIDEO>

Timo Boll couldn’t win against the robot first but then he discovered the weaknesses of the robot and won the game.

Then the session ended and I went back home with my dad.

It was a really fun day and I hope that EHI organizes more STEM Symposiums at our school.