The already outstanding cooperation between BASF Hungária Kft. and the Agóra Science Experience Center has reached another important milestone. PlasticLab – Plastics smartly, a new session focusing on issues of sustainability is available on 5-6. for first-grade students within the framework of the BASF Kölyöklabor in Debrecen. Since 2016, Agóra has hosted, as the only one in Hungary, the educational program of the large international company.
“Environmental protection cannot wait, it is important for us that Debrecen be a livable, clean and sustainable city in the coming decades as well – emphasized the head of the Mayor’s Cabinet Office at today’s press presentation of PlasticLab. Dr. Ádám Kovács added: we are proud to count companies among our allies in achieving the city’s green goals and shaping the attitudes of the young people of Debrecen.” Dr. Thomas Narbeshuber, managing director of BASF Hungária Kft. and head of BASF’s Southeast European region, said: “As part of our commitment to sustainability and education, we are launching our new Kölyöklabor program in cooperation with Agórá. Our common goal is to create a sustainable future. At BASF, we believe that we can pave the way to this by arousing students’ curiosity and interest in science, especially chemistry. We also emphasize the importance of recycling plastic and the importance of awareness about proper waste management.”
The first Kid’s Lab promoting chemistry was opened in 1997 at BASF’s headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The aim of the program is to make the first encounter with a laboratory memorable for the primary school age group. Students are safe,
they can experiment in an environment specially designed for children, in playful sessions, in protective equipment, under the guidance of a professional. The workshops encourage curiosity and stimulate the spirit of inquiry in the children, who
through their experiences, they gain insight into scientific working methods and are encouraged to approach scientific questions creatively.
So far in Debrecen, elementary school children have been able to get to know the exciting world of chemistry at two Kindergarten workshops. After BASF’s headquarters in Udwigshafen, students can try out the new educational program called PlasticLab – Plastics Smartly, focusing on issues of environmental protection and sustainability, for the first time in the Southeast European region, namely in Hungary, in the county seat of Hajdú-Bihar. At the session, participants can learn how many types of plastic exist, why it is important to be able to separate plastic waste by type, and the importance of recycling. We will also find out what we call bioplastics and whether plastics can be produced from plant materials.
At today’s press conference of PlasticLab, Béla Somogyi, the managing director of Agóra, emphasized: “with the help of BASF’s laboratory programs, more than 12,000 elementary school students have been able to carry out special chemical experiments in Debrecen in the last 7 years in the event center. By the way, a BASF program for high school students is also running here in parallel with the Kid Lab, in which almost 8,000 more young people have joined since its inception. Chemgeneration’s experiments help students understand how science can contribute to sustainable development.”
So far, more than 1.2 million young people have participated in the educational programs of the world’s leading chemical company in 45 countries.
School groups are invited to apply for BASF’s programs via the Agóra Science Experience Center’s website.
