Bhubaneswar/Baliapal: With the aim to find and promote the talent of school children in the field of space science and astronomy, Tata Steel Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) program was organized in Basta and Baliapal blocks of Balasore district in collaboration with the Pathani Samanta Planetarium.
Quiz and essay contests were held in Sambhunath High School, Basta, Subarnarekha High School, Baliapal and Sidheswar High School, Amarda where 470 students participated in it. Alka Bindhani, Sanjay Jena, Rajesh Kumar Sethy, Headmistress and Headmasters of the respective schools along with Pramod Kumar, Senior Divisional Manager, Administration Subarnarekha Port were present on the occasion. Similar competitions have been organised in 11 schools of Balasore so far covering 2080 students who enthusiastically participated in YATS.
This year YATS is being conducted in a hybrid mode where students are participating physically in their schools or virtually through the YATS website. Theme for YATS 2022 is “Time to unravel the universe”. Top two participants from each district of Odisha will be selected and invited to the grand finale scheduled to be held on December 13, 2022 in Bhubaneswar. After further evaluation based on personal interactions, top 20 winners will be awarded on the occasion.
YATS has completed 15 years of opening young minds to the wonders of space science. It is aimed at educating the school students of Odisha about the contributions of the legendary Odia astronomer, Pathani Samanta, in the field of astronomy. All students of Odisha studying class 9th and 10th can participated in the program.
