Students participate in the camp aimed at popularising science at BJB (Junior) College in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 10: For Himani Chatterjee, a Plus Two student of S.V. Vidyalaya, Sunabeda, pouring chemicals into test tubes and watching them react beats everything, including Durga Puja.

She spent her entire Puja vacation attending a chemistry camp in Bhubaneswar, away from the festivities.

“It would have been a mistake had I missed this camp. Interacting with other students and eminent teachers of chemistry was a great learning experience. I had my share of fun when we went pandal-hopping in a bus arranged by the authorities last Wednesday,” she said.

Himani was participating in the “Eighth Advanced Training Camp for Olympiads and Other Exams”, which concluded today. Organised by Orissa Chemical Society (OCS) at BJB (Junior) College, the camp aimed at popularising science, especially chemistry, among youngsters. Fifty participants from 12 higher secondary schools and colleges were selected on the basis of a state-level screening test called “Olychem” held earlier.

“The edifice of professional courses is built on the foundation of basic sciences. The primary objective of the camp was to enable students realise the significance of basic sciences in the 21st century and generate interest among students for research work,” said S.N. Mohanty, principal of the host college and camp coordinator.

Around 15 chemistry teachers including retired professors and researchers from Utkal University, Berhampur University, Sambalpur University, Central University (Hyderabad) and other institutions from across the state acted as resource persons. The 10-day camp mostly involved theory classes lasting for more than 12 hours a day.

Last evening, a “merit evaluation test” was conducted for all participants in which they had to answer multiple-choice questions on chemistry. Sabyasachi Behera of F.M. (Junior) College, Balasore, Chittaranjan Pradhan and Nihal Panigrahi, both from Khalikote College, Berhampur, who topped the test, received cash awards and certificates.

“Our mentors were very patient and it was amazing to see their passion for chemistry. Even after classes, we used to discuss more chemistry. We slept so little but did not feel drowsy in class even for a minute,” said Chittaranjan.

Commissioner-cum-secretary of higher education department Chandra Shekhar Kumar inaugurated the camp on October 1. During the inaugural function, members of the OCS requested Kumar to take up similar activities in future.

“He (Kumar) has assured us that the state government would extend its helping hand to foster academics-related activities in association with the OCS and other organisations to popularise science,” said OCS secretary A.K. Behera.

The OCS, which is celebrating its silver jubilee this year, has been organising this camp for the past eight years. The first camp was held in 2004 with 35 participants at BJB (Junior) College, which continued for a week.

“Following the suggestion of participants, the duration of the camp was since then extended to 10 days,” Mohanty said.