National Science Day is celebrated at Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore, every year on the last Saturday of the month of February. This year it was celebrated on 22^nd February, 2014. About 1600 students and teachers from 116 schools from Indore and from surrounding places came to visit the scientific facilities at RRCAT. The staff members of RRCAT had prepared a number of exhibits at 16 different laboratories to explain the scientific and technical activities of the Centre and to demonstrate a few concepts in basic sciences.

Photographs:   [1]  [2]  [3]  [4]  [5]  [6]  [7]

The programme started at 8.30 hrs with an address by Dr. P.D. Gupta, Director, RRCAT. He informed the students that the National Science Day is celebrated to commemorate the path-breaking discovery of Raman Effect which led to the winning of Nobel Prize by Prof. C.V. Raman. Dr. Gupta lucidly explained several complex aspects of science and technology by giving day to day life examples. He also described the growth of Indian science in the last few decades and the contribution of the Department of Atomic Energy in the enhancement of Science and Technology capabilities of our country. He also gave an overview of the laser and accelerator activities at RRCAT and explained their applications. His simple and easy to understand explanations had a stimulating effect on the students and teachers. He also indicated the future prospects for students wishing to make a career in scientific research. This address was simultaneously shown to six different locations within the RRCAT campus to accommodate such a large number of students and teachers.

After Director's address, all the students were taken to different laboratories in organized groups under the guidance of volunteers from RRCAT. The students and teachers found the exhibits to be very interesting. There were working exhibits on lasers like xenon chloride excimer laser, CO₂ laser, tunable dye laser and demonstrations on applications of lasers like : laser cutting, laser marking, use of light and lasers for biomedical application, analog and digital signal transmission on optical fiber with laser etc. There were interesting experiments with liquid nitrogen; demonstration on glass blowing, plasma cutting, piezoelectric effect; working models on : magnetic levitation, persistence of vision, laws of motion, simple electric motor, magnetic hysteresis, induction heating etc. A video on Indus Synchrotrons and their uses was shown. RRCAT fire station had arranged live demonstrations of fire fighting equipments and techniques, which were also highly appreciated.

Snacks and lunch were served to all the students and accompanying faculty members. The overall response of the students was extremely enthusiastic as demonstrated by the number of queries they put in during the visits to the exhibits, and during the "Open House" session, when senior scientists gave replies to their queries in an interactive manner. They went back full of admiration for the scientific activities being pursued by DAE in general, and RRCAT in particular.

In the afternoon, the exhibits were open to the family members and relatives of RRCAT staff, who visited the laboratories in a large number (~2,000) and proudly showed the exhibits and their labs to their friends and relatives.