To remember the significant contributions made by women to the field of chemistry and recognize the efforts of chemistry associations from each country over the past century, 2011 was declared the International Year of Chemistry.

The International Year of Chemistry is a joint initiative organized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Taiwan has joined in the festivities by holding a number of related activities around the island. One such activity was the launching of a Mobile Chemistry Lab, an entertaining ‘chemistry wagon’ designed and built by TKU’s Department of Chemistry. The Mobile Chemistry Lab is a 3.5 ton wagon with a gull-wing door that opens on to a small-scale, fully-equipped chemistry lab. The idea behind the mobile lab is to bring chemistry to the country, and in particular, to the more remote areas where access to education and science is limited. To date, the lab has toured numerous remote regions, including offshore islands such as Kinmen, Orchid, and Penghu.

The Dean of the TKU College of Science, Dr. Wang Bo-Cheng, noted that the mobile lab, since its inception in February, has already attracted close to 100 passionate volunteers from all around Taiwan, who have taken time out of their own busy schedule to teach children about the wonderful world of chemistry.