No.19 Delivered to children! The fun of science (at "Eco WEEK" at Mitsui Outlet Park Yokohama Bayside)

　The environmental conservation event "Eco WEEK" is being held at Mitsui Outlet Park Yokohama Bayside.
　This year, the fourth year, I visited a science experiment workshop exhibited by students from Kanto Gakuin University LINKAI Yokohama Kanazawa Lab Teachers Laboratory, who became a grant organization for the Campus Town Kanazawa Support Project.
　Click here for LINKAI Yokohama Kanazawa (Yokohama City HP)

　On the day, four experimental booths were set up on the central court of the park. Despite the Sunday shining in the midsummer sunshine, it was a great success with the children early on the opening.
　What was popular was the hydrogen rocket experiment. It is a powerful experiment in which a small rocket with a picture I wrote on the fuselage is blown by the power of hydrogen. Hydrogen is generated by electrolysis of water with a hand-held generator. It's eco-friendly. When hydrogen accumulates well, count down. When you press the switch, lift off with the sound of "Bread!" The child who participated in the experiment showed his own rocket proudly.
　The next booth I visited was "Chemical Water Experiment to ON/OFF with Light". When "methylene blue", which is used for medicine for tropical fish, shines light on an aqueous solution that melts food additives such as citric acid and iron sulfate, the place where the light shines became transparent. It seems that pigment absorbs light and becomes colorless.
　The children took home the chemical water they produced with great care. Since the reagent used was safe, it was designed so that it could be safely cleaned up by throwing it away in the sink after the reaction became worse. It's very nice, isn't it?

　"I want children to know the fun of science and the fun of experiments."
　The fourth grade student who answered the interview seems to be aiming to be a science teacher. In order to stop children from leaving science, he wanted to convey the appeal of science to children through these events. It was impressive to see the children who forgot the heat for a moment and were fascinated by science, and the future teachers who enjoyed and taught from the bottom of their hearts.

(Atsuro Kimura, Director, Ward Administration Promotion Division, Kanazawa Ward, July 28, 2024)