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Coburg

Hands-on science: From gummy bear benchmark test to chemistry magic

Fixing the “Little Scientists” plaque to the Kids Club building (from left): Norbert Tessmer (Mayor of Coburg), Dorothea Schaufler (Manager Brose Kids Club), Frank Remy (General Manager Brose Coburg Plant) and Manfred Seemann (Director Employee and Family Services Brose Group).

Coburg, 10-03-2014

Brose Kids Club, the in-house educational and childcare facility of automotive supplier Brose in Coburg, has once again received the Little Scientists’ award for primary school children. The foundation Haus der Kleinen Forscher (“Little Scientists’ House”), under the patronage of Germany’s Ministry of Education and Research, presented the award in recognition of the comprehensive learning opportunities that give children the chance to conduct research and experiment, even outside school. The Mayor of Coburg, Norbert Tessmer, officially presented the plaque during a small ceremony.

On the same day, Brose Kids Club held an open day in conjunction with the German children’s TV program Die Sendung mit der Maus. More than 220 visitors of all ages were able to see how the educational facility teaches children about science and technology in close collaboration with the Brose specialist departments. The famous mouse from the TV show was a special guest of honor. Six experimental stations manned by Brose employees gave the young researchers the chance to practice their math in a gummy bear benchmark test, to learn about the laws of physics with a Lego construction set and discover more about electricity while soldering a diode array. Brose Catering Services demonstrated how tasty biology can be, while the chemistry station conjured up new compounds and the architecture station encouraged children to build the highest spaghetti tower.

“This is the approach we take in our educational program. We make use of the expertise of the various Brose specialist areas to offer children a practical teaching program outside school,” explains Dorothea Schaufler, Manager of the Brose Kids Club. The aim is to promote the children’s aptitudes and skills and to introduce them to the principle of life-long learning. “Our future is right here in the Kids Club,” she says.

For Coburg’s Mayor, Norbert Tessmer, presenting the “Little Scientists” recertification award to the Brose Kids Club was a milestone: “I have watched the development of this institution from the very first deliberations and am delighted that 280 children can now conduct research and experiment here to their hearts’ content every year. I hope that in 15 years or so they will say that this is what shaped their career aspirations,” said Tessmer as he presented the Brose Kids Club with a young apple tree as a special memento and symbol of peace – a very fitting gift on the Day of German Unity.

Manfred Seemann, Director Employee and Family Services Brose Group, thanked Haus der Kleinen Forscher for the award, which he said was also an incentive to continue improving the quality of the Kids Club teaching program. “As an automotive supplier with global operations, we have a particular focus on engineering and an international outlook. We have been offering courses in English since last year and are already planning a lively exchange of ideas with the second Brose Kids Club at our location in Ostrava in the Czech Republic,” says Seemann.

It was clear that the children at the Brose Kids Club enjoy conducting research and experimenting – and on Friday, with the TV mouse in attendance, it was twice as much fun: “The best thing for me was the chemistry magic. I saw sugar cubes turn yellow and then completely black. I’ve never seen anything like it before,” says Paul (9). He plans to copy the gummy bear benchmark test at home with crisps.

Contact Communications Brose Group +49 9561 21 1188 E-mail