International Year of Chemistry - Arkema sets up lab at Paris science museum

Arkema is partnering with Paris science museum Le Palais de la découverte for the 2011 International Year of Chemistry. The cornerstone of the partnership, launched on 22 February, is an Arkema-sponsored chemistry lab that unlocks some surprising secrets about chemistry for museum visitors.

Since 22 February 2011, visitors at Le Palais de la découverte, Paris’ renowned science museum, have had an opportunity to learn about reversible bonding. What’s that, you ask? Reversible bonding is what gives self-healing rubber its incredible properties. And that’s not all; upstairs on the first floor is the first-ever Arkema lab set up inside a museum. The exhibit—which features an actual working lab—is manned by museum guide Jonathan Dodémont, who peppers real-life chemistry experiments with just the right dose of scientific information. The museum project (entitled Etonnante chimie, or Amazing Chemistry) is the Arkema way, together with le Palais de la découverte, of giving this International Year of Chemistry a new educational dimension. The museum contributes essential expertise in exhibit design and science education, both of which are crucial to presenting chemistry in a way that grabs visitors’ attention. The exhibit, designed to be accessible to visitors from all walks of life, includes talks and demonstrations directly inspired by Arkema’s chemistry and innovations.

A chemistry lab seen from the inside

What Jonathan enjoys most about manning the lab table is making the experiments as fun and interactive as possible. The experiments, which focus on Arkema materials, are developed jointly by the museum and Arkema’s R&D labs. “My job is to make sure that visitors of all ages can understand the chemistry behind the experiments,” said Jonathan. “We worked with Arkema’s labs to come up with effective ways to show the techniques we use and to enable visitors to take part in the experiments.” For instance, Jonathan uses transparent Altuglas® containers so that visitors can actually see the chemical reactions as they happen, and a tablet and display to show interactive diagrams explaining the science. In short, everything has been designed to facilitate comprehension, right down to the last detail. In addition to the museum’s regular visitors, the exhibit welcomes school groups of all ages, with daily experiments, two developed just for pre-schoolers.

A far-reaching partnership

Arkema’s partnership with the museum will continue all year long, with a series of four themes. “The Secret Bonds of Molecules” will run until 15 May. Next, visitors will have a chance to discover plant-based plastics, solvent-free high-performance paints, and, finally, the role polymers play in new energy technologies. Arkema engineers will be on hand for the opening experiments that kick off each theme. As part of its Common Ground® initiative Arkema is also inviting groups from schools near its different plants to come to the museum. The International Year of Chemistry is just the beginning of a partnership with an exciting future, as Arkema is also sponsoring a new permanent exhibit dedicated entirely to chemistry, slated to open in late-2012. This space will be used to conduct experiments for museum visitors, of course, but it will also be the perfect setting for Arkema customer events. Welcome to the amazing world of science!