650 children learn about recycling at BASF Kids’ Lab

New “recycling” experiments to celebrate BASF 25th anniversary in Vietnam

Co-organised with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training for the ninth consecutive year, the programme will introduce two new experiments to help children learn how recycling can contribute to effective waste management and the responsible use of natural resources.

Participants include primary students from Nguyen An Ninh and Nguyen Thi Nuoi Primary Schools from Hoc Mon District, Tan Thong, and Tan Phu Trung Primary Schools from Cu Chi district as well as Quang Trung and Pham Van Chieu primary schools from District 12. The programme is also offered to the children of BASF employees and customers, as well as 40 children from Anh Linh Charity House, District 7 under the guidance of BASF volunteers and university students.

BASF Kids’ Lab is a global programme that aims to develop children’s interest in natural sciences from an early age. BASF has implemented this programme in Vietnam since 2011 in partnership with the Department of Education and Training.

“This year, BASF is celebrating its 25th anniversary in Vietnam with a range of initiatives that have a positive impact on the future of Vietnam’s next generation, and Kids’ Lab is at the core of these activities. The new experiments will help children understand the essential role that recycling plays in minimising waste and using our limited natural resources in a responsible manner,” said Erick Contreras, managing director of BASF Vietnam.

In addition, they will take part in various games and quizzes to increase their understanding of the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) of waste management.

Children will work together to learn about plastic classification and why it is one of the major steps in the recycling process. They will experience different ways of sorting plastics, including identifying the resin code and discovering the plastic's density using a saline solution. As part of the three-step experiment, children also learn more about major resources which are used to produce plastics, including petroleum and other renewable materials, such as corn starch.

In this hands-on experiment, children will learn how waste paper can be recycled into new coloured paper. They understand how recycling paper can help save forests and reduce adverse effects on the environment.

Schoolchildren taking a look at décor items made from old consumer products (water bottles, milk containers, etc.) to learn about using natural resources in a responsible manner

Launching three more Virtual Lab experiments

BASF will offer three online experiments in Vietnamese in its Virtual Kids’ Lab, an online platform that allows children to take part in a variety of interactive chemistry experiments. It enables young people to experience the joy of chemistry anytime and anywhere.

Through the “Looking for the sender” experiment, children can learn more about chromatography, a laboratory technique for the identification and separation of a mixture. The “Chemistry Lab Bakery” experiment explains the chemical processes involved in baking a cake. Last but not least, the “Bubbling Refreshment” explains how carbon dioxide makes beverages bubbly and fizzy.

Apart from Kids’ Lab, BASF Vietnam celebrates its 25th anniversary with a community programme involving customers, partners, and employees. The company donated four public playgrounds to promote a sense of exploration and develop a variety of skills among more than 12,000 children. BASF also launched two new classrooms with a total area of over 170 square metres which benefit 70 children in Dong Nai province.

Primary students doing online experiments on BASF Virtual Lab, an online platform that allows children to do interactive chemistry experiments anytime, anywhere.