BASF Kids’ Lab inspires children’s passion for chemistry at Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

• New exploration area offers interactive and immersive journey about chemical elements to celebrate 150^th anniversary of periodic table
• Kids learn how to separate plastics for recycling and make healthy food choices
• Bringing safe and fun chemical experiments to more than 80,000 kids in Shanghai since 2005

Shanghai, China – July 3, 2019 – BASF today kicked off the annual BASF Kids’ Lab activities at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum (SSTM). The educational program, which offers safe and fun experiments to kids aged 6 to 12, will run from July 3 - 11. The “Journey of Chemical Elements” will be featured in a dedicated exploration area for visitors to learn and discover the stories about chemical elements in celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the Periodic Table.

“Chemical elements play a vital role in our daily lives and are crucial to the development of our planet. We want to ignite a passion in young learners for chemistry and pave the way for their future,” said Liu Guoping, Vice President, Operations and Site Management, BASF Shanghai Pudong Innovation Park, BASF Greater China. “One of the best ways for children to learn is through hands-on experiments and free exploration, which is the idea behind this program.”

BASF and Shanghai Science and Technology Museum initiated the partnership in 2005, when BASF’s Kids’ Lab first came to Shanghai. Since then, more than 80,000 children have experienced the joy of chemistry through this signature summer science program. Based on the successful collaboration, the two parties extended their strategic partnership last year to create interactive, fun scientific experiences, such as the “BASF Science Open Day” and “Explore Chemistry with a Pro”, to a wider range of young people in China.

“Every summer, we host BASF’s Kids’ Lab at the museum with new features and unique offerings to children and parents,” said Ms. Miao Wenjin, Deputy Curator of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. “This year’s program has been upgraded by integrating the social trending topics such as environmental protection. It not only fosters the spirit of scientific exploration of children, but also enhances their understanding about sustainability. Our museum will continue to promote BASF Kids’ Lab and bring it to more teenagers.”

BASF has developed a portfolio of digital online learning resources, allowing kids to enrich their learning journey from elementary school to high school with exciting experiments and stories about elements. It enables them to experience the joy of chemistry anytime, anywhere, with ease and fun.

Experiments to be staged at SSTM include:

Poly Lab (45-min workshop, for 8 – 12 years old)

Plastics are efficient materials that can save resources and enable health, safety as well as convenience benefits for society. However, it is important that plastics and their waste are used, disposed and recycled in a responsible manner. This experiment helps children learn about various properties of plastics and discuss how to separate different types of plastics for recycling. They can also observe and understand the unique properties of corn starch liquid, which is a type of renewable resources that can be used to make plastics.

Clever Foodies (45-min workshop, for 8 – 12 years old)

The world is witnessing a significant rise in overweight, obesity and other forms of malnutrition¹. This experiment aims to increase children’s dietary awareness and foster healthier eating habits.  The workshop lets children explore and analyze the substances contained in fruit and vegetables. They will learn to measure and compare vitamin C content in a variety of fruit juices. This allows them to have a good understanding of the benefits of eating a colorful range of vegetables and fruit in their diet.

From early July to mid-August, Kids’ Lab will tour across China in partnership with various science and technology museums in Shanghai, Beijing and Chongqing.

For more information on BASF’s Kids’ Lab in China and how to participate, please visit: www.basf.com/kidslab/cn

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 122,000 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 six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €63 billion in 2018. 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 Shanghai Science & Technology Museum (SSTM)

As one of national first-grade museums, the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, is the national level 5A scenic spot, national cultural and scientific integration demonstration base, as well as the post-doctoral research station. It is also on the first batch of research and tourism demonstration bases in China. The museum includes two branches which are the Shanghai Natural History Museum and Shanghai Planetarium (under construction). It integrates the functions of exhibition and education, collection and research, science promotion and culture exchange together. In 2018, the museum has attracted more than 69 million visitors from China and abroad. Further information at www.sstm.org.cn. 

¹ Source: 2018 Global Nutrition Report

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