Tamilnadu Science Forum – One Day Guide Teacher Training Programme for School Teachers organised by Bioscience and NSS on 27th August 2005 in Dr. G.R. Damodaran College of Science, GRDSCIB Hall Coordinated by National Children’s Science Congress – 2005 Focal theme on “Harness Water Resources for a better future” participants (Teachers) from different Schools of Coimbatore District, Guest Speakers from different Institutions. The Children’s Science Congress had its modest beginning as an experiment in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh in the early nineties. It became a nationwide activity since 1993 with the holding of first National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) in Delhi. Since 1993 NCSC is held during the last five days (27-31) of December every year. The qualitative and quantitative expansion of NCSC has drawn attention of different countries. NCSC in previous years was attended by observers from Germany, Bangladesh etc. Objectives The primary objective of the Children’s Science Congress is to make a forum available to children of the age-group of 10 –17 years, both from formal school system as well as from out of school to exhibit their creativity and innovativeness and more particularly their ability to solve a societal problem experienced locally using the method-of-science. By implication, the CSC prompts children to think of some significant societal problem, ponder over its causes and subsequently try and solve the same using the scientific process. This involves close and keen observation, raising pertinent questions, building models, predicting solutions on the basis of a model, trying out various possible alternatives and arriving at an optimum solution using experimentation, field work, research and innovative ideas. The Children’s Science Congress encourages a sense of discovery. It emboldens the participants to question many aspects of our progress and development and express their findings in vernacular. Features of the Congress The projects should be : • Innovative, simple and practical ; • Represent teamwork ; • Are based on exploration of everyday life situations ; • Involve field based data collection ; • Have definite outputs, arrived through scientific methodology; • Are related directly to community work in the local community • Have definite follow-up plans. Introduction to the focal theme Water is the fountainhead of life on earth. Without it, no life form can exist. It sustains life by satisfying basic needs of most human activities. For the growth and development of human societies, it is absolutely essential to make water available in the acceptable quantity, quality and at the required time and place. Water is, undoubtedly, the elixir of life. The Earth appeared like a precious blue stone set in the blackness of outer space to astronauts for the first time. No other planet looked so beautiful. Recognising water as the fundamental life support base on this planet, and the growing perception of a crisis in the not-too-distant future, Harness Water Resources for a Better - Future has been chosen as the focal theme for 2004-2005 Children’s Science Congress (CSC). The general theme further encapsulates several sub-themes for project selection and execution during the period viz. • Understanding the Hydrological Cycle in the Local Context • Water harvesting, Conservation and Storage • Water, Ecosystems and Biodiversity • Water Needs, Efficient Use and Economy • Water and Health • Water for Transportation and Recreation