BASF and Shanghai Science & Technology Museum expand strategic cooperation to promote science education for teens and kids

• Latest initiative builds on long-term science education partnership
• BASF supports design of new Materials Exhibition Area at Shanghai Science & Technology Museum to bring experiential learning to students
• Customized experiments for teenagers help spark interest in chemistry

Shanghai, China – August 8, 2018 – BASF and Shanghai Science & Technology Museum (SSTM) today entered a strategic partnership marking a significant step in the expansion of their strategic cooperation. By further integrating their strengths, the two parties aim to create an interactive, state-of-the-art chemistry experience to promote science education for young people in China.

BASF and Shanghai Science & Technology Museum initiated their partnership in 2005, when BASF Kids’ Lab first came to Shanghai. Since then, the two parties have been regularly holding Kids’ Lab¸an interactive chemistry experiment program for children aged 6-12. More than 70,000 children have participated in the program in Shanghai. Based on this success, the two parties decided to extend their existing partnership to strengthen science education for teenagers, especially in chemistry.

BASF will fully leverage its experience in chemistry science education to engage in the renovation of the Materials Exhibition Area at Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. Through investment in manpower, capital and other resources, this interactive exhibition zone will display a wide range of innovations from the world of chemistry. BASF will support the design of this area, donate the exhibits, and provide personnel and expertise to maintain and update the exhibits regularly.

Dr. Stephan Kothrade, President, Functions Asia Pacific, President and Chairman Greater China, BASF, said, “This partnership aims to foster an interest in science by leveraging multiple channels throughout the year. In particular, the new Materials Exhibition Area at Shanghai Science & Technology Museum will bring a new type of experiential science education to teenagers. By offering tailored learning approaches for young people of different age groups, we want to help spark an interest in chemistry and a lifelong passion for learning.

Dr. Wang Xiao Ming, Curator of SSTM said, “SSTM is undergoing its first major renovation. We are excited to collaborate with high tech enterprises to introduce a wide variety of social resources, furthering enriching the scope and content of the exhibition.”

To help SSTM upgrade their existing science teaching resources and curricula, for the first time, BASF experts have designed a full set of word-class science and technology experiments for students aged 12-18. Teenagers from Shanghai and across the country will be able to participate in these experiments and learn more about chemistry. BASF will thus support the learning journey from elementary school all the way to the university and even postdoctoral level.

The initiative will also jointly launch a range of long-term branded science education activities. These include:

BASF Science Open Day: The two parties will organize visits by high school students to BASF production sites in Shanghai. Students will learn about the daily work of laboratory researchers and gain a basic understanding of the chemical industry.

Explore Chemistry with a Pro: BASF scientists will act as museum volunteers, delivering lectures, and hosting salons, seminars and guided tours to help members of the public understand more about the contribution of chemistry innovations to daily life, to foster their interest in science.

BASF Chemical Experiment Station: A new range of experiments, created at BASF’s headquarters in Germany, will be offered on a regular basis. These will offer insights from BASF’s industrial production practices, making chemistry education a regular part of the museum’s curriculum.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The more than 115,000 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 organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of €64.5 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.

About Shanghai Science & Technology Museum

The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum serves as a national first-class museum, a national level 5A scenic site, a post-doctoral research station, and one of the first batch of research and educational tourism bases in China. It includes two branches, the Shanghai Natural History Museum and the Shanghai Planetarium (under construction). It has become a comprehensive museum, integrating the functions of Exhibition and Education, Collection and Research, Science popularization and culture exchange together. The museum has attracted over 6.42 million visitors from China and abroad in 2017. In the newly published report of AECOM/TEA, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum rose to 6th place in the list of the worlds’ 20 most popular museums (www.sstm.org.cn).

Media Contacts

BASF Greater China	Shanghai Science & Technology Museum
Clare Zhang	Ivy Huang
Phone: 021-2039 3383	Phone:021- 68622000 EXT 7614
zhaolai.zhang@basf.com	huangyi@sstm.org.cn