BASF Creates Chemistry at the Delaware Children’s Museum

WILMINGTON, DE, November 23, 2011 – BASF representatives joined United States Senator Tom Carper to support the Delaware Children’s Museum (DCM) and emphasize the important role it plays in encouraging science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for children in the region.

The company provided a check to the museum and BASF employee volunteers ran a hands-on chemistry experiment for a group of 30 children and their caregivers. The science activity is part of BASF’s global Kids’ Lab program through which the company fosters science literacy for children, ages 6-12, and helps them understand the role that chemistry plays in the world around them.

“The Delaware Children’s Museum is a great addition to the science-education infrastructure in our community,” said Senator Carper. “The Museum’s STEM programs and exhibitions are fun for kids and their grown-ups, and help get children interested in topics and careers that are vital to our future competitiveness as a state and nation.”

To prove his point, the Senator donned a pair of safety goggles and joined in on the Kids’ Lab experiment. He also toured the museum’s other exhibits, exploring electrical fields in the “Static Flying Stick” activity, and piloted a giant helium-filled fish in the “Fly, Clownfish, Fly!” program.

“Science activities, with their focus on exploring and discovering how things work, are a natural way for kids to learn about the world around them,” said Julie W. Van Blarcom, DCM’s executive director and CEO.  “We are so grateful for BASF’s help in making these unique learning experiences possible.”

“As the world’s leading chemical company, BASF has a strong focus on science education realizing that today’s students will be the thinkers, innovators and leaders of the future,” said Rudy Merstetter, Manager of BASF’s site in Newport, Delaware. “Through our support of the Delaware Children’s Museum, we will encourage children to explore science and develop an appreciation for learning.”

BASF’s Kids’ Lab experiment, called “Water Loves Chemistry: Operation Filtration” has the children make a concoction of dirty water then explore how to make it clean again.

“It’s very easy to take for granted the abundant, safe water supply that we have in the United States,” said Merstetter. “Our lesson helps children to think critically about the world’s water supply and the methods that are used to ensure that there is clean, safe water to support life on earth.”

BASF employs 165 people in Newport.  The site is a global supply point for Quinacridone (QA) and Diketo Pyrrolo Pyrrol (DPP) pigments. Both are a red-shade family of high-performance pigments used in the automotive industry, inks, paints and plastics. The company has won numerous environmental awards for its advanced system of handling waste and storm water at the plant.

For press photos, please click on the following links:

http://www.basf.us/pressphotos/11-23-11_DCM.jpg

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Young visitors explore the science behind water filtration in the BASF Kids’ Lab program at the Delaware Children’s Museum, with a little help from volunteers Ann Cardillo and Andre Bendo, employees at BASF’s Newport facility.

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U.S. Senator Tom Carper and Abigail Heltzer, 9, strain impurities in the BASF Kids’ Lab program at the Delaware Children’s Museum.

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Suggested caption:

Delaney Brooks, 6, and her father, David Brooks, of Middletown, DE, prepare to dirty up some water before purifying it in the BASF Kids’ Lab program at the Delaware Children’s Museum.

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Suggested caption:

BASF Science Education Representative Molly Rosig helps explain water filtration technologies with (left) Maya Monti, 7, of Hatboro, PA, and (right) Delaney Brooks, 6, of Middletown, DE, in the BASF Kids’ Lab program at the Delaware Children’s Museum.

BASF - The Chemical Company

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 16,400 employees in North America, and had sales of $17.7 billion in 2010. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.us.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, and agricultural products to oil and gas. As a reliable partner, BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com or in the Social Media Newsroom at newsroom.basf.com.

Delaware Children’s Museum - www.delawarechildrensmuseum.org

The “Static Flying Stick” and “Fly, Clownfish, Fly!” programs will be repeated throughout the Thanksgiving weekend at the DCM, at various scheduled times Friday – Sunday, Nov. 25 - 27.  [The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving Day.] Please see http://www.delawarechildrensmuseum.org/calendar for more information. These programs are part of the Museum’s November theme, “Flying Machines and Floating Objects.”

In addition, a related “Meet the Author” program will take place at 11am, Friday, Nov. 25, with Dr. Eileen Baker, whose Chunkin Punkins children’s book chronicles the machines that hurl pumpkins in Delaware. Following an interactive story time with the author, young visitors will have a chance to build mini punkin chunkin machines and explore the physics underlying projectile flight.

The DCM’s mission is “to inspire children to explore, discover and celebrate the power of their potential through interactive experiences in an environment that integrates and stimulates science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.”  As Delaware’s only museum dedicated entirely to children, the DCM underscores the value of play in the learning process for children ages 1 to 12. The values that drive the mission and define the direction and approach the DCM takes toward the visitor experience include: creativity, fun, wonder, learning, stewardship, diversity, respect and cooperation. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the DCM relies on donations to deliver valuable services to the community, including subsidized admission.

The Delaware Children’s Museum is generously sponsored by: State of Delaware, Riverfront Development Corporation, New Castle County, JPMorgan Chase, AstraZeneca, DuPont, Longwood Foundation, Welfare Foundation, Bank of America, The Challenge Program, Delaware College Investment Plan, Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz LLP, Environmental Alliance, Skadden Arps, City of Wilmington, AAA, Nemours, Wilmington Trust, PSEG Nuclear LLC, Valero, Delaware Today, Delaware Community Foundation, Barclays, ING DIRECT, NRG, Exelon, Shone Lumber, MySherpa, PNC Foundation, Ashland Hercules Water Technologies, Marmot Foundation, W.L. Gore & Associates, The Dow Chemical Company and John and Kelly Shone.

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