Praha, 24th November 2011 – the Unipetrol group launched the www.zazijchemii.cz interactive website, aimed at pupils and students of elementary and high schools. The portal uses entertaining videos, instructions for experiments and quizzes to introduce chemistry to pupils as an entertaining and attractive field. The project, which can also be used as a tool by chemistry teachers, is headed by Unipetrol as part of the activities supporting the International year of chemistry in the Czech Republic.
„The Experience Chemistry (Zažij chemii) project breaks the old myth of chemistry being a boring and old-fashioned subject. The contents of the portal have been conceptualized mainly for pupils and students aged 13 to 18 years and their teachers, so they can use it to setup nontraditional chemistry classes full of chemistry videos, quizzes and nontraditional experiments,”& amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; lt; /em> said Piotr Chełmiński, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Unipetrol.
The main characters on the www.zazijchemii.cz web pages are two extravagant young chemists called Cyril and Kvasnice, who perform "cool" experiments in their videos. For example, they show how to make fiery Hollywood-style effects using permanganate , hammer nails with an apple frozen with liquefied nitrogen or use a mysterious bottled liquid as a source of light. All effects are of course explained in the videos by chemical formulas and processes, and allow elementary school teachers to try them out with their pupils in class.
The zazijchemii.cz web pages also allow visitors to test their knowledge of chemistry in a timed quiz and view many additional experiments and tips. The pages are conceptualized in a way inspiring young visitors, however each experiment comes with a warning that they may only be done in specially equipped laboratories and under the supervision of a teacher.
The www.zazijchemii.cz web page will be supported by Unipetrol on Facebook by a special profile called Experience Chemistry (Zažij chemii). The project will also be advertised during events of its partner institutions, especially the Institute of Chemical Technology. Students from the Ústí region will have the option of familiarizing themselves with the project on 1st December as part of a presentation on the Day of Technology and Chemistry of the EDUCHEM high school in Meziboří.
UNIPETROL, a.s. is a group of companies operating in the petrochemical industry in the Czech Republic. In 2005 UNIPETROL became a part of the PKN ORLEN Group, the largest oil processor in Central Europe. The UNIPETROL Group is oriented mostly towards oil processing, fuel distribution and petrochemical production. In all of these business areas the UNIPETROL Group is among the key players both in the Czech Republic and on the Central European market. The Group ranks among the leading firms in the Czech Republic in terms of its revenues, and employs almost 4,000 people.
Contact:
Mikuláš Duda
Press Department Manager
Telephone: +420 225 001 407, +420 736 502 520
E-mail: mikulas.duda@unipetrol.cz