BASF celebrates 55th anniversary in Philippines with science education programs
- BASF inaugurates Virtual Chemical Reactions Interactive Touch Table at The Mind Museum
- Employees donate “bottle brick” building materials made from waste, in exchange for kids’ science book donation
Manila, Philippines – September 7, 2018 – BASF is celebrating its 55th year in the Philippines with a series of projects focusing on science education.
Together with The Mind Museum, the Philippines’ leading science museum, BASF unveiled the Virtual Chemical Reactions Interactive Touch Table at the Atom Gallery of the museum. The only one of its kind in the country, the Virtual Chemical Reactions Interactive Touch Table, donated by BASF, uses digital simulations, audio, and colorful animations to help children explore the world of chemistry, so that they can observe the chemical reactions between various chemical substances in a completely safe and interactive environment. A virtual tutor will also guide children to understand the element’s features and explain the chemistry theory behind it.
Maribel Garcia, Curator of The Mind Museum said, “The Mind Museum and BASF will work closely to create new opportunities for the public, especially young people, to nurture their natural curiosity and ignite an interest in science from an early age.”
Ronald Mercado, Managing Director of BASF Philippines said, “To celebrate 55 years of growth together with the Philippines, we will continue to strengthen our commitment to science education and sustainability in the country. In the future, children will face challenges that my generation has not even imagined. At BASF, we believe that science is the tool that would aid them in solving these challenges.”
BASF will hold its Kids’ Lab at the science museum in October and participants will get a chance to play with and learn about chemistry through the interactive touch table. Every year, the Mind Museum hosts educational field trips for an average of 250,000 school children in the Philippines.
BASF employees led another anniversary project with the donation of bottle bricks that will be exchanged for science books about water conservation. The books will be donated to local public schools and NGOs and bottle bricks will be used as alternative fillers in building walls and benches.
A bottle brick, also known as an ecobrick, is a reusable building block created by packing clean and dry used plastic into a plastic bottle to a set density. Bottle bricks can be used to build furniture, gardens, and other structures.
“Bottle bricking has been gaining attention locally and across the globe, as it presents a practical solution to how people minimize their contribution to plastic pollution, particularly as it tends to end up in the ocean. Through our corporate citizenship activities, we aim to create sustainable impact on our society,” said Mercado. BASF’s non-profit activities in Philippines are dedicated to supporting the United Nations Strategic Development Goal #4, “Quality Education”.
About BASF in the Philippines
In the Philippines, BASF has been enabling manufacturers in various industries since 1963. Today, BASF Philippines, Inc. is a leading supplier of chemicals for industries including construction and coatings, automotive, health and nutrition, personal and home care, chemicals and plastics, and agriculture. BASF also operates an agricultural research station which conducts research, laboratory studies and field testing of novel technologies as part of BASF’s global research effort in the field of agricultural solutions. In 2017, BASF posted sales to customers in Philippines of approximately €119 million, and employed 88 people as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF in the Philippines is available at www.basf.com/ph.
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.
