On Saturday, 30 November 2024, the children's laboratory of the Brunsbuettel adult education centre, supported by Sasol Germany GmbH, celebrated its 20th anniversary. Around 100 children were able to explore the world of natural sciences during an open day. For many employees of the Brunsbuettel plant, the children's laboratory has a very special significance – it was here that they themselves once began their journey into chemistry.

Sasol Germany GmbH has been working with partners from the region since 2004 to support this unique project, which gives children the opportunity to experience their first contact with natural sciences such as chemistry and physics in a playful way. On Saturday, schoolchildren carried out chemical experiments with everyday relevance at various experimental stations. They were accompanied by apprentices from our Brunsbuettel plant – some of whom were themselves participants in the children's laboratory.

Sustainable promotion of young talent – also noticeable at Sasol

Today, the success of the children's laboratory are clearly visible: around 80 employees at our Brunsbuettel plant have gained their first experience of chemistry in the children's laboratory. This corresponds to about ten percent of the total plant workforce.

‘Our aim then, as now, was to get schoolchildren interested in science and chemistry at an early age. Children are curious and enthusiastic by nature. But they only develop an interest when they come into contact with exciting things. And chemical experiments are exactly that – exciting,’ enthuses Boie Witt, Supervisor Apprentice at the Sasol Germany GmbH Brunsbuettel plant, about the anniversary event.

Joint project with strong support

The children's laboratory was initiated by Sasol Germany GmbH in 2004 and developed together with five other industrial companies in the region. Since 2010, the Brunsueüttel Adult Education Centre has been the sponsor, and the town of Brunsbuettel has provided the premises since the beginning. For us, our involvement in the children's laboratory is more than just an investment in the future: it shows how important it is to support young talent – a concern shared by many of our colleagues.

The anniversary is not just a retrospective of the children's laboratory's success story, but also an incentive to continue along this path. After all, an early enthusiasm for science remains a central building block for the promotion of young talent – including for Sasol Germany GmbH as an employer.