On Saturday 1 October 2022, the Science Day was organized during the Weekend van de Wetenschap at the Terneuzen Library. Of course Dow was also present! Colleagues Jasmijn and Chantal from our R&D department showed children and their parents how much fun it is to work in science and technology.
Absorption test of diapers
One of the experiments was an absorption test on diaper material. The underlying idea? Calculating how much moisture a diaper can absorb. By injecting a liquid into the diaper, they were then able to calculate the amount. R&D employees Jasmijn and Chantal: "Everyone found it interesting and not only the children, but also the parents were very enthusiastic. The children immediately got to work with the experiments and enjoyed feeling things. Many children asked if the liquid was not really pee, while the parents found it fascinating that a diaper can absorb so much. So there was plenty to learn for young and old alike."
Dow products
In addition to the absorption tests, they also got to experience what a non-Newtonian fluid is like (for example, a mixture of starch and water, whose properties make it behave strangely). "The children find the way this works fascinating and were eager to explore it further," said Chantal and Jasmijn. They also noticed everyone found it difficult to identify which products included materials made by Dow are. "There were many surprised faces when they discovered that Dow materials are in many products (such as smartphones, packaging materials, mattresses, insulation materials and coatings). The great thing about that is that a lot of questions come right away. That's what makes days like this so interesting. It was therefore a successful day."
