We recently had the honour of welcoming the curious children from the Kunterbunt nursery to our laboratory. During a previous visit to the nursery, we had already explained to the children, in a fun and playful way, what corrosion is and how it occurs. The children were able to get stuck in and carry out two exciting experiments. They made a salt solution and immersed steel sheets in it to observe the rusting process. They also tested how cola and lemonade can remove rust from rusty nails.
During their return visit, the children brought along their rusted steel sheets and talked about what they had observed. Together, they removed the rust from the sheets using hydrochloric acid, and the children were then allowed to coat them with powder paint. The day was a striking demonstration that old things can be turned into something new – rust is no reason to throw anything away.
As well as the experiments, we gave the children a tour of our laboratories and let them take part in technical tests such as ball impact, mandrel bending and Erichsen deep drawing. Refreshments included buttered pretzels and water with fizzy powder. The event took place as part of a neighbourhood project designed to help the children get to know the businesses in their local area.
