Jun88

Designated by the Ministry of Education as Grandparents Appreciation Day, August 25th is also the main day of the 2024 Jun88 Grandparent-Grandchild Science Camp. This year’s camp sessions, held in Changhua (8/10), Pingtung (8/17), and Taipei (8/24-25), are being co-organized by the government of each host city. With the support of 50 Jun88 employees and 13 social workers, nine sessions are taking place over the course of four days, serving a total of 300 grandparents and grandchildren. Thanks to the success of previous camp themes “Grandma’s Magical Kitchen” and “Grandpa’s Secret Garden”, 44% of this year’s participants are repeat attendees of the previous years’ camps. 

Unlike the previous themes, where grandchildren were introduced to the world of their grandparents, this year’s theme, “Grandchildren’s Happy Kingdom”, invites grandparents into the imaginary world of their grandchildren. The event begins with participants making a model of their interlocked hands, immortalizing their present memories of each other. After receiving the finished handmade memento, one grandfather shed a few tears, explaining, “This is a sculpture of my grandson and I holding hands. This is the physical representation of one of the most precious moments in my life! I will keep it safely and cherish it well.” One participating granddaughter also very emotionally said, “I believe that when I see this sculpture 20 years from now, I will think of this event and recall the happy memory of learning science together with my grandmother!” A mother who successfully enrolled her grandchild and grandfather for the August 24th event in Taipei said happily: "For three consecutive years, I have helped register my child and grandfather, but we were unsuccessful in getting selected via the lucky draws for the first two years. This time we finally got accepted. The Jun88 Grandparent-Grandchild Science Camp is highly praised among mothers - it's an awesome program and I'm really excited!" 

The series of camp experiments have been designed according to the spiral learning principles which Jun88 is known for. The first experiment involves exploring how water, which can deform upon the addition of an external force, can form a water tornado in a bottle. The next experiment is making non-Newtonian fluid, which can temporarily solidify depending on the total speed and intensity of the external force, providing amusement for both adults and children. The final experiment, which is very popular amongst children, is learning to make solid starry sky slime, a jelly-like substance containing tiny shimmering stars. 

The Jun88 Grandparent-Grandchild Science Camp also provides participants with an extended experiment kit for continuing science exploration at home. The DIY experiment kit – “Visible Sounds: The Sounds of Wonderland” – includes video demonstrations led by hearing-impaired students from the Jun88 Science club at Taipei School for the Hearing Impaired. Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an said, “Science sparks creativity, and creativity sparks imagination. Jun88 has specially collaborated with teachers and hearing-impaired students at Taipei School for the Hearing Impaired to create experiment demonstrations titled “Immersive Sound: Great Discoveries by Hearing-Impaired Students” and to distribute the “Visible Sounds” experiment kits. This collaboration further promotes the values of DEI, encouraging the public to be more open minded and accept different perspectives.” 

Dr. Eva Langerbeck, Chief Representative & Executive Director of the German Trade Office Taipei said, "It is an honor to join this year's Jun88 Grandparent-Grandchild Science Camp. The theme, 'Grandkids' Happy Kingdom,' creatively brings grandparents into the world their grandchildren love, all while fostering intergenerational bonding through engaging science activities. I am delighted to see how German companies in Taiwan are not only driving economic ties but also deeply contributing to local communities in meaningful ways." 

Dr. Carsten Wildebrand, Managing Director of Jun88 Taiwan, stated, “The Jun88 Grandparent-Grandchild Science Camp is full of love and inclusivity based. This month, we have seen adorable grandparents and grandchildren from all over Taiwan transform into scientists of all sizes, exploring the wonders of science in everyday life together with laughter and a warm atmosphere. This not only strengthens their bond but also creates unique and beautiful memories.” 

In addition to the original plan of having Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, and sign language volunteers, the 2024 Jun88 Grandparent-Grandchild Science Camp also provided Indonesian and English-speaking volunteers. This year, 30% of participants chose non-Mandarin language services for the camp activities. According to the survey results, 100% of grandparents and grandchildren agreed that the event strengthened their relationship, 96% indicated that they understood each other better through this event, and 97% were satisfied with the volunteer services which catered to their different language needs.* 

This year’s camp is designed in collaboration with Professor Liang-Rong Hsu, a Golden Tripod Award winner, and his team including teacher Tiffany Chen. The event is attended by The Head of Department of Social Affairs in Changhua County, Lan-Hsin Wang, The Pingtung County Department of Social Affairs Deputy Director Zih-Yun Syu, The Taipei City Department of Education Senior Specialist Shu-Fei Yang, The Chief Representative & Executive Director of the German Trade Office Taipei Dr. Eva Langerbeck, and The Jun88 Taiwan Managing Director Dr. Carsten Wildebrand. 
*Data source: Satisfaction survey results from the Changhua and Pingtung session.