Snowman Goes to the Desert - Bahraini Boy's wish granted thanks to Panasonic's vacuum insulation

Can you imagine a snowman standing in the middle of the desert? Or perhaps picture children having snowball fights on a sandy plane of desert dunes?

THE SPARKS team brings Mr.Snowman to the kids in the desert using Panasonic's heat insulation technology.

Vacuum insulation box before opening

Well, that's exactly what happened in Bahrain on 15th January 2011. A snowman made 2 days earlier in a snowy countryside of Japan and travelled over 8,000km, in a box wrapped with Panasonic's unique vacuum insulation panels, to visit children who had never seen snow - all without using any compressor refrigeration.

This experiment started with a young Bahraini girl named Amna Al-Haddad and her sweet wish to let her younger brother Saleh see snow for the first time in his life. That drove the SPARKS team, the navigators of the experiment, onto this long and strenuous mission from Japan to Bahrain. For more information on how the project started, see "Snowman Goes to the Desert" - An epic challenge begins using Panasonic's vacuum insulation.

Upon seeing the snowman, Saleh and his friends were elated. "It was amazing. I didn't expect the snowman to be so beautiful. I want to thank Amna for making all this happen for me", said Saleh.

Saleh is delighted to touch the icy snowman in the hot desert.

Amna(R) and her younger brother Saleh(L) playing around with the snow.

Amna remarked on the effectiveness of the vacuum insulation. "It was amazing how something so simple could keep the snowman from melting. I'm glad Saleh and all the kids enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it too", said Amna.

After the box was opened....

"After the box was opened, we couldn't just let the snowman melt away", said Toshiya Inoue, the supervisor of the experiment from Panasonic. "So we invited Amna and Saleh and a group of kids from the local Abdul Rahman Kanoo International School to feel the snow, have snowball fights and make their own little snowmen. In the end, Mr. Snowman melted away, but I'm sure he will live on in the hearts of all those who met him."

Kids Can't Wait to Get Their Hands on the Snowman!
Young Girl Holds Remains of the Smiling Snowman.

First Time to Hold Snowballs for the Bahraini Kids
They Got The Big Piece!

See the reactions of Amna, Saleh and the kids on The SPARKS Facebook fanpage www.facebook.com/sparkslab/ www.facebook.com/sparkslab/

The journey is completed and the snowman traveled 8000 kilometers from Japan to Bahrain in an enclosure made from Panasonic's U-Vacua insulation.

What now?

The SPARKS team will continue planning adventures to spread Panasonic's superb eco-friendly technology in the near future.

Mr. Snowman's Journey

Start Time	January 13, 2011, 16:00(GMT)
Point of Departure	Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Destination	Desert near 'Durrat al Bahrain', Kingdom of Bahrain
Total Distance Covered	8,554km (5,314 miles)
Total Duration of Journey	39 hours 43 mins

About Panasonic's Unique Vacuum Insulation Technology

Panasonic's vacuum insulation

The insulation material to be used for this project has a glass fibrous core, enveloped by a plastic-metal foil. Its inner pressure is decompressed to 1-10Pa, enabling the insulating device to decrease gaseous heat conduction. Its efficiency of insulation outperforms 38 times that of glass wool and approximately 20 times that of polyurethane foam, with the rate of decrease in heat conduction at .0012W/mK (*Panasonic's measurements).
The technology is currently used in many of Panasonic's household appliances, as well as cooler boxes and attics for insulation.
（Photo of VIP）