Dow Corning, a global silicone leader, today organized a Science Day at their manufacturing plant for the students of a school in the Indian village of Karegaon, near Pune - bringing interesting experiments to the students and enabling them to learn how silicones help improve the quality of our lives.
Over 70 students of D. N. Tathe School in Karegaon village participated in the event and explored the fascinating world of silicones.
“Dow Corning is committed to giving back to the communities where we live and work, wherever we are based in the world. This year we have completed a decade of growth and success in India, and much of this success is based on the excellent relationships we have built with the local communities. We will continue to build even stronger ties with them, based on mutual understanding, trust and involvement.” said Jean-Paul Mollie, Dow Corning’s president for India, South Asia, Middle East and Africa. “We want to use the Science Day to showcase the power of silicone chemistry and stimulate scientific curiosity among the children. After all, they are the teachers, scientists and researchers of the future!”
The Science Day program included experiments like foam control using silicones as well as fabric printing using liquid silicone rubber. In addition, various article displays along with interesting facts on “Sand to Silicones” and “Solar applications” were arranged in the visit area. These displays and experiments enabled students to understand the unique properties and everyday applications of silicones in a simple way. In addition, fun activities such as memory games and poster competitions were also conducted, with prizes for winners; and giveaways for all students.
Dow Corning’s community relations activities in India
Dow Corning in India is active in the communities where we live and work – we have constructed anganwadis in the villages of Karegaon and Karde. In Karde, we also provided a solar PV system that provides electricity to the anganwadi, an adjacent village school and a community ground. We worked with the village school in Dhoksangvi to provide them with a laboratory and a library, and also conduct Science Days regularly for local school children and their teachers.
We also participate in the Mumbai Marathon to fund an educational NGO called ATMA, and work with Habitat for Humanity to construct low-cost housing.
Starting September 10, a group of ten Dow Corning employees have volunteered to travel to India (Bangalore) for a month to work with local NGO’s on various projects, such as low-cost housing as well as affordable and smokeless cook-stoves. We call this initiative Dow Corning’s Global Citizen Service Corps.