YATS-2014 for school students takes off

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, Sep 23: Nurturing the minds and imagination of budding talents of Odisha to explore the mysteries beyond earth’s horizon, 8th edition of Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) took off here on Monday.Organised by Pathani Samanta Planetarium in collaboration with Tata Steel this competition, conducted in three stages, is open for high school students of the State.To participate in the competition students can contact their schools, district education office, Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar or log on to the website http://www.valueabled.com/yats.aspx.In the first stage, the students have to prepare a write-up on ‘My Manned Mission to Space’ which should be submitted to the planetarium by September 30.On the basis of their entries they will be invited to eight different zones – Belpahar, Keonjhar, Balasore, Joda, Jajpur, Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Jeypore from October 12 to November 16 to display models.Students nominated in zonal camps will be invited for final round out of which the top 20 Young Astronomers will be selected at the state level event scheduled to be held on December 12 and 13 at Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar.The top 20 young scientists are awarded on the Birthday of Pathani Samanta and Tata Steel organises their exposure visit to Centres of Excellence like Indian Space Research Organisation, Bengaluru or Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Ahmedabad.During the Zonal Competitions of YATS, Inter School Quiz and Art competitions will also be organised for exploring hidden and aspiring talents of the state.The top 20 finalists of YATS -2013 were sent by Tata Steel in an exposure visit to Indian Space Research Organisation, Indian Institute of Science, HAL Aeronautical Museum, and Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru where they interacted with renowned scientists of the respective institutes, making it an unforgettable experience of the students.