IISF Fest Experience

About IISF:

India International Science Festival (IISF) is a science-related event held annually in India. This event is organized to promote awareness about science and technology among people of all ages and backgrounds. The main focus of this event is to cultivate curiosity about science in the young minds of our country.

In this article, I am going to share my experience of the IISF(India International Science Festival) which I have attended in 2019. This is one of the best experiences I had in my school life. Through this article I want to encourage school students to take part in such events.

My selection into IISF:

In 2019, when I was in class 11^th, I got to know about IISF through my school. I always wanted to be a part of such events. So, without any second thought I went to my teacher to ask more info about it. From her, I got to know that students will get selected into this event on the basis of their overall performance. I was a bit underconfident but after some days, I was informed that I was one among the 30 students who were selected from my school. I was very happy and excited upon hearing this.

IISF Experience:

On 4^th November, I went to my school and from there we(students) went to the railway experience. From Ranchi, I boarded my train. It was my first train journey without my parents. I was happy, nervous and excited,all at the same time. It was an 8-hour long journey, but I enjoyed it so much that it didn’t feel that long. We arrived at Kolkata at around 3 Pm. Then, we all went to a 4 star hotel, that was booked for us. It was my first ever stay at such a luxurious hotel. I still remember, that night none of us slept because of excitement.

1^st Day at IISF(5^th Nov):-

The next day, we were taken to the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in Kolkata, which was the main venue for IISF. After we reached there, we were given the IISF kit which consisted of 2 IISF t-shirts, a bottle having the IISF logo, a diary, a pen, and some IISF logo stickers. We all wore those T-shirts and then headed towards to the main hall to attend the inauguration ceremony. The hall was filled with students from almost all states. The festival was inaugurated virtually by our honorable PM Narendra Modi. He spoke about the importance of scientists in our society. Also, he encouraged us to do scientific inventions. Then, many prominent scientists gave some really interesting lectures on various topics. Then after the session was over, I interacted with many students who were from different schools of different states. I got to learn about their culture. It was an amazing experience filled with lot of learning. Then, we(our school group) went to our hotel.

2^nd day at IISF (6^th Nov):-

On the 2^nd day at IISF, we were taken to the Science City of Kolkata. In the science city, first, we went to the space Odyssey section. There I saw a laser show which was based on celestial phenomena, astronomy, and space missions. I got to learn about the solar system, galaxies, and the universe’s mysteries. It was indeed a great experience. Then, we went to the evolution park in where I saw life-size models of dinosaurs. Seeing those huge models was such an enriching experience. Then, we visited some other places such as Earth Exploration Hall, Science Exploration Hall, and Science show theatre and at last, we sat on the toy train and enjoyed that ride to the fullest.

3^rd day at IISF(7^th Nov):-

On the 3^rd day at IISF, many cool science experiments were conducted. I did many experiments such as blood color experiments, paper cutting experiment, friction games, etc. Also, I participated in dumb charades and also I gave a short speech on stage on the topic “Science & Technology”. The day was full of fun and exciting activities. The 3^rd day ended on a good note.

4^th Day at IISF(8^th Nov):-

This was the last day at IISF. In this day, a Guinness World Record was made for the largest astrophysics lesson (45 minutes) and assembly of spectroscopes. I was proud and thrilled to be a part of the world record. After that, many more fun activities and workshops were conducted. That day we went to see various famous monuments of Kolkata such as The Victoria  Memorial, Indian Museum, Zoological Garden, etc. Then, we came back and the IISF ended with a  speech by prominent personality in the field of science.

5^th Day at Kolkata(9^th Nov):-

This was my last day at Kolkata. Our train was scheduled on 6 PM. So, our school group decided watch a movie at the theatre. Then, we went to theatre and watched the movie-“The Life of Pi”. It was a great movie. This was the first time in my life , I visited a cinema hall. It was an amazing experience. Then, we boarded our train. During the return journey, we shared our personal experiences with each other and talked the whole night.

Summary:-

IISF 2019 is a memory that I will cherish forever in my life. It gave me new experiences. Also, I got to know so much about science and innovation. It taught me how to adjust with people, how to perform in a team and how to shine as an individual. In one word, I describe it as an “Incredible Experience of my life”.