How Did Aswatha Biju Develop An Interest In Paleontology?

Most of the kids love to play with soil but only because of fun. The young girl, Aswatha Biju, also played with soil & fossils and became the youngest paleontologist in India. She is a 13-years-old girl from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. I study at Sri Chaitanya Techno School Palavakkam, Chennai. Aswatha is truly an inspiration for the youth as she is creating awareness about paleontology at such a young age.

In a candid talk with Global Child Prodigy, Aswatha Biju talks about how she developed an interest in paleontology. Here is what she says:

How Did Aswatha Biju Get Interested In Paleontology?

Aswatha has loved collecting shells since the age of two years only. She also has a good amount of shell collections. When Aswatha was five, her father gave her an encyclopedia. She didn’t know how to read at that time, but she used to love the pictures in different books. So, once while looking at the images in the encyclopedia, Aswatha suddenly stopped on one page. That page had a view of a giant fossilized ammonite. It was the organism that increased her curiosity towards the field of paleontology.

Aswatha didn’t know that it was a fossil as she was too young at that time. She didn’t have any knowledge about what is paleontology. But still, she wanted to know and explore the field, and she also wanted to know about that giant organism. Aswatha only knew that the particular organism lives in the ocean. The child prodigy didn’t lose hope towards that, and she asked her mother if she could collect this specimen. Her mother said that she could not collect it as it was under government property. But as Aswatha was too interested in these kinds of fossils, her mom took her to Egmore Government’s Museum. They found the fossilized ammonite at the entrance only. The area of paleontology is endangered in India. When Aswatha knew it, she started creating awareness about this field.

What Is Paleontology?

Aswatha says that Paleontologists are the people who research the field of paleontology. Paleontology is a type of science under both geological and biological branches. It includes the study of the earth’s history with the help of fossils. Paleontologists collect the fossil evidence to describe the earth’s history. 

A Global Child Prodigy Awardee | Aswatha Biju

The young paleontologist, Aswatha Biju, won the Global Child Prodigy Award in January 2020. She was also one of the TOP 100 child prodigies of the world. 

Global Child Prodigy is a one of its kind organization that recognizes young talents worldwide. It brings skilled children from different backgrounds into the spotlight. If you know any such child prodigy, don’t forget to register them for GCPA 2021.

Also Read: Aswatha Biju, The Young Paleontologist Wants To Make People Aware Of Paleontology