LAHORE: A two-day Lahore Science Mela for children kicked off on Saturday at the Ali Institute of Education to encourage children and adults to explore and celebrate scientific discoveries in Pakistan.

The festival was organised by Khwarizmi Science Society in collaboration with the Ali Institute of Education.

Around 8,000 students from different government and private educational institutions were seen visiting the stalls of different projects.

The students exhibited more than 70 models and displayed their passion for science and technology and introduced innovative concepts to the visitors. The stalls had displayed individual and group projects including mathematical games, astronomy, biology, robotics and physics.

Iran’s Isfahan Mathematics House representatives were excited to come to Pakistan for the first time and expressed confidence in the ability of the children who were enjoying solving complex mathematical problems at their stall.

A seventh grader, Moiz Mudassar, and his sister Esha were busy in extracting DNA from fruits.

Talking to Dawn, Moiz said he wanted to be an astronaut but also attracted to biology. “I have seen a number of videos on Youtube and learnt to extract DNA from fruits.”

Another student, Abdul Rehman, said he came to know about the science mela from his teachers who asked him to visit it. “I enjoyed drone operations, Hydraulic Robot and 3D printing.”

Ali Institute Chairman Syed Babar Ali said he wanted children to take part in scientific activities. A number of scientists from different parts of Pakistan and other countries visited the event that will remain open today (Sunday).

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2018