BASF helps Malaysian Kids Link “Wow” with “Why”
BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, is bringing fun and interactive experiments to Malaysian children with BASF Kids’ Lab 2013, held this year at the Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang Jaya. This is the eighth consecutive year that BASF has brought Kids’ Lab to Malaysia, presenting three fun and educational experiments to kids aged six to twelve years old.
“BASF Kids Lab bring hands-on experience of Chemistry via specially designed experiments that relate to products and solutions we use in our daily lives. This gives the kids a real-life perspective of Chemistry at work around us.,” said Daniel Loh, Managing Director of BASF (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. “Through the three-day event at Subang Jaya, Selangor and the one-day event at Pasir Gudang, Johor, our objective for the Kids’ Lab is to help generate interest and hopefully generate interest in Chemistry among the children as they discover both the ‘wow’ and the ‘why’ of chemistry through interactive, fun experiments.”
Loh continued, “We are very appreciative of the continuous support from the Ministry of Education to ensure the success of this program and I would like to give our utmost appreciation to YB. Tuan P. Kamalanathan, the Deputy Minister of Education, for his strong support to our efforts to cultivate interest in Malaysian kids towards science, particularly in the field of chemistry.”
“BASF shares our vision to bring the joy of science to Malaysia’s next generation, and BASF Kids’ Lab is a great way to cultivate this interest at an early age. Programs like this inspire and motivate the spirit of innovation, which further support our ambition to develop Malaysia into a knowledge-based economy. Through innovations in education, we aim to raise the country’s capability to design and develop new discoveries in science and technology,” said Kamalanathan.
Apart from the continuous support from Ministry of Education, BASF also partnered with Monash University Sunway Campus and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) this year. Fourteen students from the school of science from Monash University and eight students from Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studies, UTM, volunteered as facilitators for the experiment sessions.
At the BASF Kids’ Lab, kids participated in three exciting, fun-filled experiments closely related to daily life:
The “Red Cabbage Indicator” experiment amazed the kids by helping them understand how a substance present naturally in red cabbage can also serve as an indicator of pH value. Kids learn from this experiment the different pH level of foods and drinks in daily life.
The “Superabsorbent” experiment surprised kids by making water disappear. Superabsorbent polymers absorb liquid at 1000 times their weight. Kids were able to witness the “magical” water absorbency properties of superabsorbent polymers.
The “Sun loves Skin” experiment enabled kids to learn about the impact of ultraviolet (UV) light on skin, and provided them an opportunity to make their own sun protection lotion. This experiment raises kids’ awareness about the potential skin damage caused by UV light and the importance of sun protection.
BASF first launched Kids’ Lab at its headquarters in Germany in 1997. The program offers kids aged six to twelve years old the opportunity to discover the world of chemistry through educational, simple and safe chemistry experiments. BASF Kids’ Lab was introduced in the Asia Pacific region in 2002. Since then, more than 200,000 kids have participated in the program. The program is currently held in 17 countries and region in Asia Pacific including Malaysia, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Kids’ Lab made its debut in Malaysia in 2006. Since then, it has been an annual program, in line with BASF Malaysia’s commitment to grow the nation’s pool of talent in chemistry.
