BASF Kids’ Lab to spark scientific curiosity in Mandurah students 

• Popular BASF Kids’ Lab program will visit Mandurah Primary School on 14 September
• 90 students will become scientists for a day with interesting and hands-on experiments
• Kids’ Lab to be hosted in Mandurah Primary’s new science room

Perth, Western Australia – 13 September 2021 – BASF will give Mandurah Primary School students the opportunity to become scientists for a day with the latest edition of the popular BASF Kids’ Lab program. Held over three sessions in the school’s brand-new science room, approximately 90 students will embark on a journey of scientific discovery under the tutelage of qualified BASF colleagues and Mandurah Primary School educators.

“For over 15 years we’ve been running the BASF Kids’ Lab program in Australia and New Zealand as a creative way to ignite an interest in science amongst primary school children. Through a range of exciting experiments, our hope is that participating kids will discover an affinity for sciences and consider furthering that passion with a career in STEM,” said David Hawkins, Chairman and Managing Director, BASF Australia and New Zealand. “I am very pleased we’re able to bring Kids’ Lab to Mandurah Primary School for the first time and look forward to engaging the next generation of scientists, inventors and engineers.”

“Mandurah Primary School’s shared commitment and dedication is essential to delivering improved outcomes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. The partnership with BASF is important in building our students knowledge of, and engagement in, STEM by giving them access to leaders in the STEM industry and real-world contexts. Our students are very excited to showcase their new science room and use this space to engage in the experiments and activities from BASF,” said Benjamin Garrett, Associate Principal of Mandurah Primary School.

Over the course of the day, participating children will conduct three engaging and safe experiments to cultivate their interest in STEM topics. The experiments are:

Superabsorber: kids will experiment with superabsorber polymers to discover that some chemicals are able to hold several times their weight in water.

Heat sensitive worms: children will introduce an alginate gel to a calcium solution that causes it to go from liquid to solid form, making the eponymous ‘worm’. Students will also find out how a component thermochromic dye allows the ‘worm’ to change colours in response to temperature.

A balloon without air: by understanding the role each ingredient plays, children will observe how combining baking soda with a weak acid causes a chemical reaction that releases gases, inflating a balloon.

BASF’s electric vehicle, an Audi e-tron, will also be on display at the school, to prompt interest and conversation around the importance of technology and chemistry in driving innovation. 

BASF Kids’ Lab is a free and interactive chemistry education program designed for children to discover the world of chemistry through simple and safe hands-on experiments and help them understand the ubiquity of chemistry in our daily lives. Since its launch in 1997, the program has been brought to more than 30 countries and regions across the globe. This program has been running in Australia for over 15 years.

About BASF in Australia and New Zealand
BASF serves key industries in the agriculture, coatings, manufacturing and mining sectors, and posted sales of about €348 million in Australia and New Zealand in 2020. As of the end of 2020, the company had 394 employees and operated 6 production sites across agricultural solutions, performance products and functional materials and solutions. BASF has been active in Australia for more than 90 years, and for about 60 years in New Zealand. Further information is available on the internet at www.basf.com/au.

About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. More than 110,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organised into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €59 billion in 2020. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. Further information at www.basf.com/.

About Mandurah Primary School
Mandurah Primary School is an Independent Public School located less than a kilometre away from the picturesque Mandurah estuary. Founded in 1872, our school caters for children from Kindergarten to Year 6 and provides them with a caring and nurturing learning environment.

We are a learning community committed to the continuous support and improvement of all students in a high-care, high-achievement environment which celebrates and embraces our diversity. At Mandurah Primary School, we offer quality education along with state of the art technology in our classrooms.