BASF woos students towards science education in Sri Lanka

Wednesday, 16 October 2013 00:00 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The BASF pavilion at the German Street Festival today received an overwhelming response, with over 90 young and enthusiastic students participating in BASF Kids’ Lab, the company’s global interactive chemistry education program. With the live and engaging experiments, students aged 8 to 12 were introduced to the wonders of chemistry and inducted about the significance of chemicals in improving our day to day lives. The German Street Festival is one of the German Embassy’s initiatives to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Sri Lanka. In line with the theme of the roadshow “Linking People, Connecting Minds” scheduled by the German Embassy, BASF’s exhibit through Kids’ Lab was a perfect showcase at the event. “Children are the change agents within society. Education among other things is crucial to build and promote a sustainable tomorrow. Through various educational programs such as the Kids’ Lab, BASF aims at promoting the role played by chemistry in enabling a better future, with improved quality of living,” said BASF Lanka Ltd. Managing Director Ramnath Sundaresan. “We would like to thank the German Embassy, in particular the Ambassador, for giving us this unique opportunity of reaching out to the school students and spreading the magic of chemistry,” Sundaresan concluded. Each of the 45-minute session, featuring two experiments, namely “Water Storage” and “Hair Gel”, demonstrated the role played by chemistry in inspiring innovative and sustainable solutions. The “Water Storage” experiment focused on imparting education on using effective and alternate techniques of water conservation, including the one using BASF’s innovative super absorbent polymers. The later enabled the students to learn the process of making hair gel by using starch. “The session promoted learning in a fun-filled manner. After we returned home, my child kept talking about his experience at BASF Kids’ Lab and started asking more questions about chemistry and its application in various household items,” remarked a parent who accompanied his kid. “The steps of the experiments were very simple to understand. With the guidance offered by experts and mentors from BASF, we could easily conduct the experiments on our own. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and look forward to participating in future programs as well,” added an excited student participant from Overseas International School. BASF has had an association with Sri Lanka for almost 75 years now. With 56 employees, an agrochemicals processing unit and a state-of-the-art warehousing complex at Sapugaskande, BASF registered sales of € 20 million to customers in Sri Lanka in 2012. BASF in Sri Lanka also contributes to the local community with initiatives that support relief and rehabilitation efforts. BASF is the world’s leading chemical company and its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. The company combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, it enables customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Its products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. The company has summed up this contribution in its corporate purpose. It creates chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of € 72.1 billion in 2012 and more than 110,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).

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