Both Children and Adults Fascinated by Science
Supporting “Science Festival 2024 in Oita”
As a supporter of “Science Festival 2024 in Oita,” Shimadzu Corporation exhibited a booth at the festival, held in J:COM HorutoHall Oita, on September 21. At this booth, a new workshop was held on the theme of “Explorers.”
What is “Science Festival in Oita”?
“Science Festival in Oita” is a hands-on science event that both adults and children can enjoy. The event was first held in 2019, based on the desire of the people involved to have “hands-on science for Oita Prefecture, where there is no science museum.” It is organized by an Executive Committee formed with members from Oita Godo News Company and the Division of Nanocarbon Research, Tokyo University of Science.
During the event, in addition to booths exhibited by companies, guests with ties to science held talk shows and workshops on a variety of themes including space, food, and fragrances, so that the visitors would be drawn into the world of science.
A Step towards Becoming an Explorer “Let's Make a Strong Rope!”
Shimadzu booth
A workshop entitled “Let’s Make a Strong Rope” was held at the Shimadzu booth. A rope is an important item for explorers as they set their sights on unexplored regions. The children pretended to be explorers, and created ropes by selecting and braiding together three materials from a total of five (cotton, linen, leather, and two types of acrylic yarns). The braiding process was left up to them, and they came up with various methods of their own such as twisting and braiding the three together.
Children braided ropes out of strings under the watchful eyes of shimadzu staff and guardians
A Shimadzu tabletop tester was used to stretch the ropes created by the children until they came apart, and a rope strength competition was held for each round of participants. They checked the measurements with a serious gaze, and looked either happy or disappointed depending on the results, clearly fascinated by this science-based workshop.
Completed rope
Afterward, the surface of the ropes and the frayed parts were observed under a microscope, and they presented which materials were suitable for making even stronger ropes. The ropes, which reflected the thinking of the “explorers,” were reshaped into straps and bracelets, and were given to them as presents at the end of the workshop.
Comment from the Person in Charge of the Shimadzu Booth
This was the third year that we have exhibited at this event. This was the first time that we planned a new workshop using a testing machine, so we were nervous, but it was great to see the children smiling and having a good time. We will continue to plan other science workshops that children will enjoy.
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