The Mobile Chemistry Lab began its journey in the autumn of 2011. To date, it has travelled over 10,000 km and been to high schools across Taiwan proper as well as nearby offshore islands. On the afternoon of December 18, shortly after the mobile lab arrived at Wanli Junior High School, New Taipei City, a Signing Ceremony was held between the Dean of the TKU College of Science (Dr. Wang Bo-Cheng) and the Deputy Director of the New Taipei City Department of Education (Kung Ya-Wen).

In the coming months, TKU will work with the Department of Education to make science (chemistry in particular) more accessible to students in rural, outlying areas of Taiwan. The Mobile Chemistry Lab is scheduled to visit 14 junior and senior high schools in various parts of New Taipei City in the first half of 2013.

The Mobile Chemistry Lab was designed as part of the celebrations for the 2011 International Year of Chemistry. The International Year of Chemistry was a global initiative organized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) together with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It commemorated the 100th anniversary of IUPAC’s inception and marked 100 years since Marie Sklodowska-Curie broke a host of records by being the first person to receive two Nobel prizes. It was also designed to celebrate the essential role of chemistry in our daily lives.