Mangaluru : ‘Missile Man’ Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, who grew up in a poor family and later developed intercontinental ballistic missiles, is a great role model for children. He taught children to dream big and think about their roles in the development of nation, said Legislator Capt Ganesh Karnik.

He was speaking during the inauguration of INSPIRE (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research), a district-level exhibition and competition of science models for higher primary and high school students at Scouts Bhavana in Lalbagh in the city on Tuesday.

“Kalam did not have a pair of footwear till Class 10, yet, he dreamt of becoming a pilot. He had to sell newspapers to earn money, but managed to become a missile man, people’s president, and further still, a pet teacher for students,” he said.

In her inaugural address, Zilla Panchayat president Asha Timmappa Gowda said children should fill the place of Kalam in the days to come and represent India at international-level in the field of science.

Dr A P J Abdul Kalam had dreamt of making India a super power by 2020. To make this reality, children should show their talent. Children who dream can design the future of the country. To express their true talent, children should dream big and work hard to make it a reality, said MLC Ivan D’Souza.

Canara High School Association president S S Kamath opined that science was not about obtaining degrees but about passion. Thomas Alva Edison, who didn’t even complete his school education, had great interest towards science. He had patents for 481 innovations at the end of his life.

Presiding over the function, MLA J R Lobo suggested students to observe nature closely which may teach a lot of things to them. “But, one should have spirit of inquiry. All of them might not become scientists in future, but interest in science helps in every field,” he said.

Talent explores
Around 529 students from various schools of the district including 282 primary schools students and 247 high schools students participated in the exhibition-cum-competition which is being held at Canara High School, Urwa. On the first day, students exhibited science models like solar water heater from plastic bottle, electricity from wind, automatic speed control system using radio frequency, mobile call detector, electric cloth washing machine, rain-water harvesting, solar fencing and others.

Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim, Primary School Teachers’ Association president Shivashankar Bhat, Corporator Jayanti Achar, B.Ed College Principal S Nagendra Madhyastha, DDPI Walter H D’Mello, District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) Deputy Director and Principal Cyprian Montero, Pilikula Regional Science Centre Director Prof K V Rao were present among others.