Bengaluru: Five city schools joined 19 others from the country to compete in the ‘National Aerolympics 2014’ conducted by the Bengaluru branch of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) on Thursday.
While the maximum number of participants were in 10 and 11 grade, there were a few ninth grade students who deftly challenged the older students in various competitions. One such student, S Pranavi, a ninth grader from Sri Sai Krishna School, Kadapa enthused, “More than anything, it is an interesting learning experience for us. I got to learn many new scientific concepts after coming here and even got to listen to an insightful talk by D P Sabharwal.”
P Mueen Ahamadulla Khan, Hon Secretary, AeSI said, “We are very happy to see a good response from schools in the city as last year we had only two city-based schools. Next year, we hope that not only more number of schools from Bengaluru take part, but also reach out to those in small villages in the state as well.”
On the first day of the three-day event, 72 students, of which 19 were girls, took part in competitions like quiz on aviation, honours and awards quiz, mathematics puzzle solving, innovation and physical skills. Day 2 will have general knowledge and current affairs quiz, collage making and a visit to the HAL museum. Winners will be taken to Aero India-2015 show at Yelahanka.
Of the 600 schools approached before Phase I of the competition, only 40 schools applied. These 40 had to submit a report on ‘Eyes and Arms in the Sky: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’, out of which the 24 best were selected. Patrick Joseph, a teacher from Air Force School, Kanpur said, “Our students have put in a lot of hard work to come this far. I am optimistic that the boys will do well.”