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The National Children's Science Congress (NCSC) is not a quiz and not a model exhibition. Children pick a real problem near them, collect data, and present what they found. The focal theme changes every two years, and many teams lose time by starting before they read it. This post explains the 2026 and 2027 theme, how entry works, and walks through a small project with numbers.
What is NCSC?
NCSC is a programme of the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science and Technology. According to DST's Activity Guidebook for NCSC 2026-27, it began in 1993, grew from an idea started by the Gwalior Science Centre, and is organised at district and state level before selected projects go to the national event. The guidebook says about 658 students take part at the national level.
A note on the source: the guidebook was on DST's website in late 2025, but the original link now returns an error after a site change, so the link above is an archived copy of the same PDF.
What is the focal theme for 2026 and 2027?
The guidebook states that the theme of NCSC-2026 and 2027 is Science and Innovation for Sustainability. Its sub-themes are:
R5 for Waste Management (Reduce, Reuse, Retrieve, Redesign and Recycle)
E4 for Energy (Explore, Experiment, Enhance and Evolve)
Water: Harvesting, Harnessing, Recycling and Conservation
Food, Agriculture and Health
Application of Indian Knowledge Systems for Sustainability
The guidebook links the theme to Mission LiFE and gives model projects under each sub-theme. It describes these as suggestions that children should take further, not copy.
Who can take part?
The guidebook says NCSC welcomes children from Class 6 to Class 12, including out-of-school learners and children with special needs. The older NCSC portal eligibility page describes the age range as 10 to 17 years, in a lower and an upper age group, with a group of up to two children working under a guide teacher. That portal has not been updated for some years, so confirm the current age groups, team size and deadlines with your district coordinator before you start.
Worked example: a household water audit
The guidebook's water sub-theme includes a water audit and gives two conversions: 1 bucket = 15 litres, and 1 minute of tap flow = 6 litres. Here is how a child might use them, with sample numbers for one household on one day:
Bathing: 5 buckets × 15 litres = 75 litres
Tap running for brushing, washing and cooking: 14 minutes × 6 litres = 84 litres
Total: 75 + 84 = 159 litres a day, or 159 × 7 = 1,113 litres a week
Suppose the family agrees to turn the tap off while brushing and washing vegetables in a bowl, and tap time drops to 9 minutes. That is 9 × 6 = 54 litres, a saving of 84 − 54 = 30 litres a day, or 210 litres a week.
A good NCSC project does not stop there. It repeats the measurement for at least a week, notes days that were unusual, checks the bucket and tap figures against a measured bucket and a timed jug at home, and asks whether the change lasted after the first week.
Which mistakes do teams make?
Choosing a topic outside the theme. Read the sub-themes first.
Copying a model project. The guidebook offers them as starting points.
Rewriting data neatly afterwards. Only real-time hand-written records count.
Throwing out awkward readings. The guidebook warns against discarding data "because I had a hunch".
Reading slides aloud. Practise explaining the work in your own words.
A practice routine for a team
Week 1: read the theme chapter and list five local problems that fit it.
Week 2: pick one, write a testable question, and start the logbook.
Weeks 3 to 8: collect data on a fixed schedule; repeat measurements.
Week 9: make tables and graphs, and write what the data does and does not show.
Week 10: write the report in the guidebook's order, with an abstract of 150 to 250 words, and practise a 3 to 5 minute explanation.
If a science idea behind your project is unclear, such as why evaporation cools or how compost heats up, the Fermi Concept Library covers every concept in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and computing, so you can check the idea before explaining it to judges.
For other formats, see our posts on NCERT's Rashtriya Bal Vaigyanik Pradarshani and the IRIS National Fair.
Ask your school today who the NCSC district coordinator is, and start a logbook with the date on the first page.
