July 2016 saw two science festivals held back-to-back in Japan’s northeastern region of Tohoku. July 17^th 2016 was Science Day in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, where organizations gathered at Tohoku University to share the joy of science with visitors both young and old (and all in between). In Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture then hosted the Iwate Science Symposium on July 18^th. The event centered on a large symposium in the afternoon, but there were also science-themed booths and games for visitors to take part in. And of course, the Iwate Prefecture Office of Science and ILC Promotion was in attendance on both days to talk about the International Linear Collider.

Science Day in Sendai City

“What exactly is science? – Science Day in Sendai and Miyagi was formed around the concept of a day where both children and adults can use all of their senses to learn about the scientific process. It’s a science event with hands-on-experiences and discussions held every July since 2007, in Sendai, which is known as a Learning Capital.” –Translation from the Science Day 2016 event page

Science Day is held every year by NPO “natural science”, and this year they saw a record-breaking 9,612 visitors to Tohoku University. Many of those were elementary school students on summer vacation, eager both to learn and to gather material for their summer homework! There were many scientific fields and organizations with booths on display, talking about everything from marine biology to meteorology, but of course we were there to represent the International Linear Collider.

The ILC classroom was organized by the good folks at KEK (Japan’s High Energy Accelerator Research Organization), with help from others like the Tohoku Economic Federation and the local government. They had a ton of wonderful activities that served to educate elementary students about elementary particles.

Associate Professor Tomoyuki Sanuki of Tohoku University (right) gives a presentation on the ILC. You may know Dr. Sanuki from the ILC Scouts videos, where he teaches a young audience about physics.

Quark – an elementary particle. Did you know that the word “quark” originally came from a bird call?

A superconducting radio frequency cavity that will be used in the ILC, on display with some posters

Chatting about the ILC

Granite samples from the Kitakami mountain range site. This high-quality granite is why the bedrock is so stable, making it a suitable candidate for the ILC

Dr. Junpei Fujimoto of KEK shows kids a hands-on experiment – a cloud chamber where you can see traces left by particles

A puppet show about elementary particles

ILC “Karuta” – Karuta is a Japanese card game where players race to pick up cards

Who can forget Higgs-kun? The Japanese mascot for the ILC greets visitors in the hallway

Iwate Science Symposium

Held on July 18^th 2016, the Iwate Science Symposium was the first of its kind: a massive science festival held right in Morioka City. There was a selection of booths and hands-on experiments for people to enjoy, as well as a seminar on marine biology by Sakana-kun (a famous TV star). There was also a symposium held with talks by officials from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology), and a panel discussion. The ILC booth had a number of displays up, with a raffle for kids to entice them to come and learn about the ILC.

Next to Morioka Station is Aiina, the citizen’s center where the symposium was held

Learning about the ILC with little anime girls

Higgs-kun hangs out at the ILC booth with the SCRF cavity

Inside the exhibition hall

The Governor of Iwate Takuya Tasso learns a bit about Iwate floriculture.

Iwate mascot Kerohira strikes a pose!

Children learning about wakame seaweed, of which Iwate is one of the top producers in the nation

Showing off a robot made by students from Ichinoseki College of the National Institute of Technology

Seminar with Sakana-kun