| BASF FINA and Sabina Petrochemicals
donate $10,000 to Jason Project
Thousands of southeast Texas teachers and students participate in
science program
PORT ARTHUR, Texas, February 23, 2006 -- BASF FINA Petrochemicals
LP and Sabina Petrochemicals LLC have contributed $5,000 each to
the Jason Project, a highly-acclaimed education program designed
to train teachers and interest students in science and math.
“This is a fantastic program that has exposed thousands
of students in our community to science and math in a very interesting
way,” said Ted Moor, President of the Jason Alliance of Southeast
Texas. “These generous donations from BASF FINA Petrochemicals
and Sabina Petrochemicals will go a long way toward financing the
Jason Project for area students in the next school year.”
The Jason Project includes a science and math-based curriculum
that annually serves nearly 1.7 million students and approximately
33,000 teachers in the United States and abroad. The project derives
its name from the Greek myth of the “Argonauts,” a
group of adventurers who traveled with a hero named Jason to explore
the far reaches of the ancient world.
The program trains teachers in the “Jason” curriculum
for students in grades four through seven. As part of the program,
students and teachers form “Team Jason” expeditions
that expand students’ interest and knowledge of science.
In southeast Texas, the program includes field trips to Lamar
University, where students participate in video presentations about
various science-related issues.
Moor said 8,000 to 9,000 students from more than a dozen area
school districts participate in the Jason Project each year. However,
because Hurricane Rita impacted so many area families and schools,
participation fell to about half the usual number in 2005.
“The program is really popular with the students and teachers
and we expect participation to be up to customary levels next school
year,” Moor said.
The Jason Project is free to students in southeast Texas and is
funded through private donations.
Mark Viator, Public Affairs Manager for the BASF FINA Petrochemicals
and Sabina Petrochemicals sites in Port Arthur, said contributing
to the Jason Project is part of the companies’ commitments
to the community.
“As technology and science-based companies, BASF FINA Petrochemicals
and Sabina Petrochemicals are very interested in helping educate
our community’s children in science and math,” Viator
said. “The Jason Project curriculum teaches the importance
of these subjects in a way in which the students have fun while
they learn.”
Founded in 1989 by noted explorer and oceanographer Robert D.
Ballard, the Jason Project teaches students through real-time,
multimedia expeditions and other lessons. Ballard is widely known
as the explorer who discovered the wreck of the RMS Titanic.
BASF FINA Petrochemicals LP is a joint venture between BASF Corporation
and Total Petrochemicals USA Inc. The Port Arthur facility operates
the largest steam cracker of its type in the world, turning naphtha
and light hydrocarbons into ethylene, propylene, and other chemical
raw materials. The products from the cracker are in turn used to
manufacture hundreds of consumer products.
Sabina Petrochemicals LLC in Port Arthur is a joint venture between
BASF, Total and Shell Chemical LP.
For more information, contact:
Mark Viator
BASF FINA Petrochemicals
Tel: (409) 960-5201
E-mail: viatorm@basf.com
Marshall Williams
BASF FINA Petrochemicals
Tel: (409) 960-5206
E-mail: william5@basf.com
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