PPG joined the City of Gonfreville, France, again this year and donated $11,000 to sponsor the community’s annual Science and Technology exhibition for school-age children. The annual interactive exhibition this year featured hands-on activities introducing students to robotics and helping fuel their interest in this growing field.

This is the second consecutive year that PPG served as a primary sponsor for the event. The company operates a facility in Gonfreville l’Orcher that manufactures packaging coatings and aerospace products primarily for customers in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

“We are very proud to continue supporting the annual Science and Technology exhibition,” said Valérie Gamelin, PPG global marketing communications manager, packaging coatings. “Investing in educational programs that promote science, technology, engineering and math to children in our communities is an important part of PPG’s corporate citizenship, and it reflects our ongoing commitment to brighten the places where we live and work.”

During the two-week event earlier this year, robotics-focused activities for children included:

    demonstrations of different robotic capabilities;
    talks on the evolving roles of robots at home and in the workplace;
    student-led design and construction of robots using new and recycled materials;
    robotic-themed games and films;
    a performance that focused on robots and robotics; and
    an engaging display of robots and robotic imagery created by a local artist.

As part of the exhibition sponsorship, PPG representatives met with area educators, students and other community members to discuss science and technology initiatives. More than 4,000 local students and family members participated in this year’s events.

“For nearly 30 years, the Science and Technology exhibition of Gonfreville l’Orcher has presented these subjects in creative ways that make them easy for children to understand,” Gamelin said. “It has been a pleasure to work with the city on its 2015 and 2016 exhibitions, and we look forward to strengthening our partnership and helping next year’s event to be even better.”