“Today I learnt that most of the things in my house involve science", said one of the Key Stage two Science Ambassadors from Millbrook Primary, Stalybridge. The school braved the snow to visit the Kids’ Lab with 31 year five pupils on Tuesday 6th February. Other pupils told us, “I learnt that BASF is the biggest chemical company in the world” and “I loved the experiments”. The class teacher, Julia Roberts said, “I was amazed how much BASF is part of our everyday lives. We have had a fantastic time. The investigations were interesting and relevant to our learning and the tour was fascinating. Thank you”. After the visit Julia told us about the Science Ambassadors, “We choose children across Key Stage two to be ambassadors for science. They are chosen because they have a passion and enthusiasm for science and they are involved in championing their subject, planning experiments and topics of work for their class with the teachers. They also help to plan whole school science days and weeks! We happen to have three science enthusiasts in Y5 who are part of our school team of ambassadors”.

Pupils and Teachers from Worthinghead Primary came to visit the Kids' Lab for the 8th year running on Wednesday 24th January. They enjoyed learning about science in their everyday lives with the BASF volunteers. They also had great fun carrying out the Clever Foodies experiments and one pupil told the volunteers that they originally wanted to be an actor when they left school, but had now changed their mind and wanted to be a scientist. Other pupils gave feedback too, “I have enjoyed everything today but especially the lego challenge”, I enjoying doing all the experiments”, “I enjoyed finding out about the vitamins in different foods” and “I enjoyed making all the lego and liked coming to BASF”. Mrs Sugden, the class teacher, told us “Worthinghead’s visit to the Kids’ Lab at BASF has been really enjoyable, educational and informative. The volunteers have inspired many of the children to think about Science as a choice of career”.

"The new experiments engaged the children but were also accessible for all. They managed to get through all the activities, following the clear instructions, so the mixed ability groups felt a sense of achievement", said teacher Jo Ramsay from Shirley Manor Primary Academy on their latest visit to the BASF Kids' Lab on the 10th January. Whilst in the Kids' Lab, pupils and teachers took part in the Vitamin C experiments and had a tour of the site. They also had the opportunity to have fun with the lego challenge, where they had to build a bridge for the farmer to reach his crops. The volunteers asked everyone what they thought to the visit and a few pupils told us: “I enjoyed the tour of the site and seeing the fork lift trucks”, “I didn’t know that food had different vitamins in” and “I enjoyed doing the Rainbow Experiment”.

We still have dates available for the Kids' Lab for this half term. If your school would like to visit on the following dates please get in touch: joanne.love@basf.com: 28th Feb 2nd May 16th May

The BASF Kids' Lab still has some availability in 2018, as follows: February: 7th and 28th April: 25th May: 2nd and 16th The Kids’ Lab is a free resource where children aged 9 – 11 can discover the secrets of chemistry by carrying out experiments for themselves in a real laboratory, developed just for them. They can have great fun investigating science in their everyday lives and learn that chemicals and inventions are not only exciting, but also useful. BASF offers schools/groups the opportunity to engage in the “Clever Foodies” experiments. Vitamin C Champion - Teaches pupils a method to determine the Vitamin C content of various fruit juices and drinks. Using test tubes and pipettes, children detect Vitamin C by means of a colour change reaction in an iodine-starch solution. Fruit and Veg Challenge - Allows pupils to predict and compare the Vitamin C content of fruits and vegetables, using pieces of fruit and vegetables which they test using test strips. Rainbow - Allows pupils to prepare dilutions of a variety of fruit juices. This experiment shows that fruit juices contain visible and invisible substances. As well as these new experiments, a Lego Challenge has been introduced. Here pupils solve a problem working as a team to design a bridge. The visit also explores the positive impact science and chemistry has on your everyday life - can you imagine 24 hours without science? If you would like your school to visit please contact joanne.love@basf.com or Narda.Greenwood@basf.com

The Kids‘ Lab volunteers welcomed teachers and pupils from St John the Evangelist Catholic primary to the Kids‘ Lab on 29th November. The pupils and teachers had an enjoyable visit and told us: “I learnt that science is really fun and it made me want to stay”, “I have learnt how nutritious different foods can be, even if the colour is dull”, “I really liked the tour and seeing the drench shower, it was cool. I would like to come again” and “I enjoyed all of the visit, it was the best trip ever”. The teacher Rupreet Basra said, “A really enjoyable visit, the children particularly enjoyed dressing like scientists and carrying out the experiments. We will definitely plan another trip! Thank you”.

The final Kids' Lab visit for 2017 took place on Wednesday 6th December. The Kids' lab volunteers welcomed teachers and pupils from St Francis Catholic primary into the Kids' Lab. The pupils and teachers enjoyed their visit and told us: “I learnt a lot more about science such as how everything in our world is pretty much made from science”, “I learnt something different with each experiment, but I liked the presentation as it was really helpful and I liked seeing the china clay demo, it was fun” and “I have learnt that you can’t see vitamins, but using test strips helps you to see them as the strips show you the darker they go the more vitamin c something has”. The teacher Megan Langham said, “This has been a superb hands on way for our children to access science with relevant, real life application. It has given me great ideas to take back to the classroom and my children were engaged throughout the session. Thank you!“. After the visit we received an email from Megan Langham and she told us, “I just wanted to thank you for such a fantastic morning today - the kids absolutely loved it and the science work they produced this afternoon was some of their best! It just goes to show how seeing it in action engages their interest. Please pass my thanks on to all your colleagues - we very much appreciate your time - and the books! They were eerily silent in the coach on the way back, absorbed in reading all about Science!”.

Teachers and Pupils from Moorlands Primary School, along with the BASF volunteers took part in the Kids‘ Lab Clever Foodies programme on 15th November. The pupils and teachers loved the visit and told us: “I really enjoyed my visit to BASF Bradford and learnt a lot. I enjoyed the tour and found the experiments super fun” , "I learnt that BASF is a very big company and has nice staff and I liked wearing the protective clothing as it made me feel like a real scientist”, “I enjoyed the experiments the most as they were fun and interesting and I learnt that we use chemistry in our everyday life” and “I loved the tour and seeing how important BASF is to the whole world. I really enjoyed it”. The teachers, Georgina Shaw said, “The children at Moorlands Primary School thoroughly enjoyed their visit. It provided them with a different view to science in context of a real working environment. Thank you“. Mr Church said, “The visit was pitched at the right level for year 6 students. It was fast paced and all children where engaged. Thank you“.

On 1st November, pupils and teachers from St Johns CofE Primary school visited the Kids’ Lab volunteers to learn about science in our everyday lives. The pupils and teachers had an enjoyable visit and told us: “I found the experiments amazing because you got to use different products and equipment and I found the visit an amazing experience”, “I enjoyed learning about Vitamins and new facts about science that I didn’t know. I really enjoyed the visit it was fun” and “I have found out that most things in your house involve science and I learnt that science is used in food.” The teachers said, Emma Hebblewhite, "The staff were friendly and very informative. The experiments were engaging” and Emily Edgar, “Lovely experiments for the children to take part in“.

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On 18th October, pupils from Atlas Primary School had the amazing opportunity to visit the free Kids’ Lab at BASF, Bradford. The Kids’ Lab volunteers thoroughly enjoyed helping the pupils with new "clever foodies" experiment and showcasing how science impacts everyday life. The pupils loved their time at the lab and said: “I enjoyed the visit because I learnt something new about vitamins and I had fun with the experiments. It was also inspiring and I want to be a scientist”, “I learnt that chemistry is all around us and that different fruit and veg have different amounts of Vitamin C in them" , “I realised that everything we use involves science and I enjoyed it when we did the clever foodies experiments” and "The guides were very nice and friendly, so I give my thanks to them all”. The teacher, Ben Isaacs added, "It was a great event, thanks! Pupils were engaged, understood the tasks and learnt valuable information about Vitamin C".

On 11th October, teachers and pupils from High Bank J I & N School where welcomed to the Kids‘ Lab by the BASF volunteers. The pupils and teachers took part in the new experiments “Clever Foodies” and had an enjoyable visit. The children told us: “ I learnt about science”, “I enjoyed the Vitamin C experiment as we had to see how many drops it took to make a liquid clear” and “I enjoyed all the experiments and the tour, I learnt about all the different vitamins and if you put more water into a drink you dilute the Vitamins”. The teacher, Shaun Wilson said, "The children have really enjoyed the trip to the Kids‘ Lab. The practical work was well planned and interesting to the children. The science behind the work was clearly explained and lots of links to the real world to make the learning meaningful".