Report of

JAXA Space Education Center
On Its Activities in 2008-2009

古紙配合率100％再生紙を使用していますReport of
JAXA Space Education Center
On Its Activities in 2008-2009

REPORT OF JAXA SPACE EDUCATION CENTERON ITS ACTIVITIES IN 2008 - 2009
(Information as of December 2009)

TABLE OF CONTENTSI.

INTRODUCTION ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥05

II.

BASIC FACTS ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥06
A. Establishment of the Center ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥06
B. Goals and principles ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥06
C. Organizational structure and major activities ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥09
D. Collaborations for space education ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥10

III. SUPPORT FOR FORMAL EDUCATION ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥12
A. Objectives and strategies ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥12
B. Achievements ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥15
C. Establishing strategic footholds ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥20

IV. SUPPORT FOR INFORMAL EDUCATION ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥22
A. Objectives and strategies ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥22
B. Programme structure ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥23
C. Achievements ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥28

V.

SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION AT HOME ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥30
A. Background and strategies‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥30
B. Achievements ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥30

VI. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥32
A. Objectives and strategies ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥32
B. Focusing on children in Asia : Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum ‥‥33
C. Collaborations with advanced space-faring nations: International Space
Education Board ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥35
D. Pursuing cooperation with developing countries outside Asia ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥37
E. Other collaborations : providing education opoortunities outside Asia forgraduate students‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥40

VII. DISSMINATION OF INFORMATION AND PUBLICATIONS ‥‥‥41
A. Objectives and strategies ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥41
B. Achievements ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥42

VIII. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AND ESTABLISHMENT OF FOOTHOLDS ‥‥43
IX. CONCLUDING REMARKS ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥45

I. INTRODUCTION
As the Space Education Center of Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA) entered its fifth year of operation following its
establishment in May 2005, it continued to enhance its activities
both in terms of quantity and quality to ignite children’s curiosity
toward the nature, life and the universe and to inspire them toachieve higher goals. Recognizing “space” as the unique source ofinterest, imagination and inspiration, the Center has continued todemonstrate the effective use of space subjects, materials andresources at schools, in local communities and at home to stimulate
children’s interest in not only science and technology but also various human conducts and their surrounding environment.
A growing number of individuals, groups and organizations within
and outside Japan are now sharing the Center’s goals and principles
in carrying out space education activities, resulting in the increased
partnerships and strategic alliances with various entities to reach out
to more young people. The time between the year 2008 and the year
2009 could be marked as the period of strategic expansion of spaceeducation efforts based on the systematic support provided by theCenter to all stakeholders.
This report reflects the major developments in the activities of theSpace Education Center and its achievements in 2008 and 2009 andindicates directions pursued toward its fifth anniversary to be celebrated in May 2010.

5

II. BASIC FACTS
A. Establishment of the Center
The Space Education Center was established on 1 May 2005 by an
executive decision by the President of the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA). The Center formally opened on 19
May 2005 at JAXA Sagamihara Campus.
JAXA, as well as its predecessors before its establishment in
Opening of the Space Education
Center:Prof. Y. Matogawa, First Directorof the Center (left), and JAXA President
K. Tachikawa (right)

October 2003, had carried out educational activities as part of the
public relations and outreach activities. Those activities focused onincreasing public awareness and understanding of the work of JAXA
and highlighting societal benefits of space activities, with the aim togain public support for the activities of JAXA.
The recognition of the fundamental difference between public outreach and education resulted in the establishment of a separate groupdedicated to space education activities. Originally located within the
Public Affairs Department, the space education group carried out
activities using attractive space materials to stimulate young
people’s interest in science and other subjects relevant to their daily
lives and ultimately to have positive impact on their growing-up
process. This group served as the predecessor to the Space
Education Center and, to some extent, laid the foundation for thework of the Center.

JAXA Sagamihara campus

B. Goals and principles
Space subjects, resources and materials inherently have uniquepower to attract young people’s attention and to encourage them totake on challenges and aim for higher goals. While the Space
Education Center considers it important to attract young people topursue career options in space-related areas, so as to expand the poolof future space scientists and engineers, the key mission of theCenter is to effectively use space materials to have positive impact
on the minds of young people in their development process, helping
them to expand their potential and to become socially responsible
individuals.
JAXA was established by merging the following three separate space-related entities: National Space Development Agency (NASDA),
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and National Aeronautics Laboratory (NAL).

1

6

There are a few principles that the Space Education Center follows
in its activities.
The Center considers it important that the young people understandthe thinking process behind what they acquire as knowledge. Taking
advantage of their simple curiosity toward the nature, life and environment that surrounds them, the Center offers them with opportunities to experience the joy of discovering something new and previously unknown to them and solving mysteries by themselves. In thisprocess, the Center also aims to increase young people’s appreciation of science and technology and to enhance their capacity for logical thinking.
“Preciousness of life” continues to be the most important message tobe conveyed to young people through all activities of the Center.
The abundance of goods and services that meet various needs ofpeople in Japan might indicate the richness of the society. However,that may not necessarily be true if one pays close attention to theminds of people, especially those of young people. An alarming
number of young people in Japan have been observed to have limited motivation to do anything, to be pessimistic about their own
future and even to treat people’s lives lightly, including their own
lives, and get involved in serious crimes. The people involved in theestablishment of the Space Education Center had become deeply
concerned about those young people, and they wanted to do something about it.
Space subjects and materials were found to offer an excellent tool toinspire and motivate young people, to start gaining self-confidence
and aiming for higher goals in their lives. It was observed that after
learning that there had been a lengthy chain of relays of one life toanother before a certain life was born and that the lives on the Earth
today had come a long way from pieces of galaxies and starts, manyof the young people started to think deeply about the origin and evolution of lives and gained appreciation of the importance of life.

7

By letting young people learn about the origin and evolution of theuniverse and life and showing how long we have been searching for
Earth-like planets without success, the Center aims to increase theirappreciation of all forms of lives on the Earth.
The spirit of “Never Give Up” is another important message always
emphasized in the activities of the Center, as this spirit is consideredessential for anybody who wants to achieve something significant inthis challenging world. The history of space exploration is full of
examples that show how important this is.
Through its activities, the Center also guides young people to understand how important and how rewarding it is to be part of the society
to build a better future together. No individual can carry out space
activities by themselves, but together, a large number of people withvarious backgrounds can even build global systems that could benefit large populations around the world. The Center aims to increase
young people ’ s appreciation of the power of collective efforts
toward common goals.
With the above goals and principles, the Center carries out its activities to help young people become full of curiosity, adventurous spirit
and craftsmanship, always aiming for the best in whatever they do.

8C. Organizational structure and major activities
The Space Education Center consists of the Space Education Office,which serves as the implementing body of the Center, and a group of
experts who administratively belong to other offices and departments but have been appointed as technical advisers to assist in theplanning and execution of the Center’s activities. As of December
Formal education support

2009, the Space Education Office consists of 19 staff members,
including 8 regular staff and 11 invited or contracted staff.
The Center carries out the following four major activities:i)formal education support, to assist teachers and schools in carrying out classroom activities using space materials;

ii)
Informal education support

informal education support, to assist local communities inorganizing educational events for young people on off schooldays to learn about space-related subjects and to participate inhands-on activities;iii) home education support, to assist parents in enhancing communications and interactions with their children at home throughjoint hands-on activities using space-related materials andHome education support

resources;iv) international activities, to promote and support space education
activities outside Japan through collaborations with other countries and international organizations.

International activities: scene from
Colombia9

D. Collaborations for space education
Other offices and departments of JAXA also carry out activities thathave educational elements. The Space Education Center collaborates
with those offices and departments.
For example, the Center works in cooperation with the planning andoutreach group of the Public Affairs Department. This Department
is responsible for sending JAXA staff as lecturers to give talks on a
range of space-related topics on various occasions upon request.
Particularly during the one-month period celebrating Space Day inJapan, on 12 September, a number of JAXA staff are sent to schools
to talk about space subjects.
Call for opportunities to participate in“Seeds in Space” project

The Space Education Center also works in cooperation with theSpace Environment Utilization Center, which carries out educationrelated activities in association with Space Shuttle flights and theuse of the International Space Station (ISS). The Space Education
Center has recently announced the opportunities for schools to participate in “Seeds in Space” project. Using seeds of the flowering
plant named “Miyakogusa”, or Japanese lotus corniculatus, andAstronaut Doi and samples used foran educational experiment relating tospace and life

“Asagao”, or morning glories, this project allows the participating

schools to compare those seeds that have been flown on the ISS withnormal seeds on the Earth in the growing process.
Resulting from the collaborations with the Human Space Systems
and Utilization Mission Directory of JAXA, the Space Education
Center continues to provide opportunities for teachers of primaryand secondary schools as well as kindergartens in Japan to partici-

Demonstrations by Japanese teachers
during SEEC.

pate in the annual Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC),
held at Space Center Houston, in Houston, United States ofAmerica. The Conference offers opportunities for teachers to learn
about and exchange information and experience on using spacematerials to teach across the curricula, not only for science, but also
for language, arts, mathematics, history and other subjects.

A battery experiment demonstrated bya Japanese teacher during SEECThe Satellite Applications and Promotion Center produces useful
information materials with images taken by JAXA-operated satellites for distribution to the public. The Space Education Center
works in collaboration with the Satellite Applications and Promotion
10

Center to carry out educational activities that use images taken by
JAXA satellites.
The Space Education Center seeks for collaborations with various
entities outside JAXA that are engaged in education. Close collaborations with teachers and schools are considered most essential. The
Center has continued to explore opportunities for collaborations
with associations of teachers, boards of education as well as publishers of textbooks and companies of educational materials, in its
Supporting senior high school class inenvironmental study together with Satellite
Applications and Promotion Center

efforts to better integrate space subjects and materials into the existing curricula for formal education and to produce education materials that better meet needs of schools and teachers. Significant
progress has been made in this area particularly in the past year.
Details of collaborations with those entities are provided in Chapter
VIII of the present report.
In pursuing collaborations to expand space education activities, theCenter takes a comprehensive approach. The Center seeks for collaborations not only with those entities that are involved in spacescience and technology and their applications, life science and Earthscience, which have clear links with space activities, but also withothers that are engaged in studies on humanities and civilizations aswell as arts and philosophies.

11III.SUPPORT FOR FORMAL EDUCATION
A. Objectives and strategies
Space activities encompass the accumulation of human knowledge
and provide a common thread that links many different aspects ofhuman activities. Many materials that resulted from space activities
catch attention of young people and appeal to their curiosity. The
challenge is to find a best way to make those materials available foruse under most conducive learning environment for young people.
Through its formal education support, the Space Education Center
aims to expand and enhance the use of attractive space materials byschools and teachers to assist the students in learning various subjects according to the curriculum guidelines. The Center considers it
essential to work closely with school teachers as they are in a better
position to understand young people’s needs and feelings throughtheir daily interactions.
There are a several strategies pursued by the Center to achieve thatgoal.
One is to provide customized support to the teachers who have contacted the Center with request for support. After the initial contact,
the Center’s staff hold numerous consultations with those teachers toarticulate their needs and interest, identify goals and develop plans
for activities for their classes. Once the plan has been developedwith the teacher, the Center identifies appropriate experts of JAXA
from a range of space science and technology fields as well as experienced educators and pedagogy experts and calls upon them toprovide knowledge and expertise to develop teaching and learningmaterials. When the teacher carries out classroom activities according to the plan, the Center sends its staff and appropriate experts toprovide on-site support to the teacher. Upon request, the Center
assists the teacher in evaluating the results of the activities.
Depending on the interest and request by the teacher or the school,
the Center also assists in establishing partnerships with otherschools or promoting collaborations with relevant entities in thelocal community.

12

Through this entire process of support (see the chart for “School
Support: Process” below), the Center ensures that initiatives comefrom the teacher, and not the Center.

The Center’s support is not limited to science classes. It covers awide range of disciplinary fields taught at school, including social
science, Japanese language and the arts. Depending on the needs ofand objectives pursued by the teachers, the Center’s support covers
various types of classroom activities, ranging from normal classes
Supporting the class for environmental education, Kudan Junior HighSchool, Chiyoda, Tokyoaccording to the curricula guidelines, integrated learning classes aswell as extracurricular activities. Following the expansion of its support to include kindergartens from 2007, the Center has been supporting an increasing number of kindergartens, elementary schools
and junior and senior high schools, as well as faculties of educationof universities.
In order to ensure that the efforts made by those teachers andSupporting the Japanese language
classJunior High School attached toNagasaki University

schools that have received support from the Center to expand spaceeducation activities would not be isolated and that their efforts
would be supported by the supervisory bodies overseeing the school
management and activities, the Center has strengthened its efforts toestablish collaborations with boards of education in the local communities, to jointly provide training opportunities for teachers tolearn about space education and to acquire skills to bring space intoclassrooms.

Space foods produced by students of
Obama Fisheris High School, Obama,
Fukui

Such training opportunities are also provided to potential candidates
for teachers who are studying in the faculties of education at universities. The Center pursues collaborations with faculties of education13

as it is considered more desirable that the school teachers alreadyknow about the benefits of space education and have basic skills to
conduct classroom activities using space materials before they
become too busy to meet regular teaching requirements and to deal
with administrative work required at their schools.
Teachers training course

In view of the recently revised curriculum guidelines issued by the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT) in March 2008 for all levels from kindergarten to seniorhigh school, the Center has been strengthening its efforts to help
teachers adjust the teaching contents and focus as well as methods tofollow the revised guidelines by using relevant space materials.
Collaborating with the Faculty of
Education, Nagasaki University, totrain future teachers

With the idea to foster “the strength to live”, the revised guidelines
aim to help the students develop independent minds to identify
issues, analyze, think, judge, and take appropriate actions while caring about and collaborating with others. In terms of substantive content, the revised guidelines have expanded the subjects relating toscience and mathematics.
For the Center, it presents an excellent opportunity to introduce its
space education materials for a wider use by school teachers. The
idea behind the revised guidelines resonates with the principles of
the Center, and it has developed a number of teaching materials,
methods and programmes through its support to teachers andschools in the past years particularly for science classes.
While some parts relating to mathematics and science had alreadybegun to be followed at schools from April 2009, the revised curriculum guidelines are planned to be implemented in entirety for theelementary schools from 2011 and for the junior high schools in2012. Textbook companies have begun to produce new textbooks
and their supplementary learning materials that follow the revised
guidelines. This presents a good opportunity for the Center to introduce space subjects and materials into classroom teaching in a systematic manner. The Center has been actively offering its support to
textbook companies and those companies producing supplementary
learning materials to use, for example, images taken by JAXA satellites and spacecraft or photographs of space activities of JAXA.

14

B. Achievements
1. Introducing space education at schools across the country
Providing customized support to teachers and schools consumes alarge amount of staff time and efforts. A classroom activity planconsists of normally more than one classes, and the period required
to implement the plan could last for one full academic year, requiring at least a several visits by the Center’s staff and experts. The
Center has, nonetheless, continued this labour-intensive approach tosupport school education with the team of 5 staff members.
The number of schools that received customized support from theCenter increased from 20 in the first fiscal year, from May 2005 to
March 2006, to 50 in the fourth fiscal year, from April 2008 to
March 2009. As for the fifth fiscal year, which will end in March
2010, 46 schools and kindergartens, as of December 2009, havereceived support from the Center, benefiting 3,552 students.

<Numbers of schools supported by the Center and the students benefited from the support>

Kindergarten
Elementary Schools
Junior High Schools
High Schools
TOTAL

FY 17
Schools Schools
0
0
1
30
5
1,158
14
355
20
1,543

FY 18
Schools Schools
1
112
8
337
3
457
15
898
27
1,804

FY 19
Schools Schools
1
94
18
1,634
6
817
17
1,499
42
4,044

FY 20
Schools Schools
2
150
14
1,177
14
1,088
20
594
50
3,009

NOTE:
FY 17 = Fiscal Year 17, from April 2005 to March 2006;
FY 18 = Fiscal Year 18, from April 2006 to March 2007;
FY 19 = Fiscal Year 19, from April 2007 to March 2008;
FY 20 = Fiscal Year 20, from April 2008 to March 2009

It should be noted that in the past year, some schools that hadreceived support from the Center in the preceding years have continued classroom activities with the use of space materials without support from the Center. Through administered transfers from one
school to another, some of those teachers who had been supportedby the Center in the past have begun their classroom activities withthe use of space materials at their new schools by themselves. There
are apparently more schools that have started or that are carrying out
classroom activities using space materials than the above statistics
indicate.
15

Another major development is the increased opportunities for teachers training in space education through collaborations with, forexample, boards of education or faculties of education. The Centerstarted its support for the faculty of education by organizing one
space education training session in 2007. During the fiscal year
2008, three such sessions were organized with the support of theCenter. As for the current fiscal year, five sessions have alreadybeen organized as of December 2009, benefiting 1,082 students. The
number of training sessions that the Center supported for thoseteachers who are already teaching at school has also increased overthe past years, from one in the fiscal year 2005 to 39 in the fiscal
year 2008. It has reached already 33 as of December 2009 for thecurrent fiscal year.

<Number of teacher training sessions and participants>
FY 17
FY 18
FY 19
FY 20
Sessions Students/ Sessions Students/ Sessions Students/ Sessions Students/
Teachers
Teachers
Teachers
Teachers
For candidates forteachers

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

1

156

3

234

For teachers
TOTAL

1
1

10
10

12
12

1,201
1,201

7
8

242
398

39
42

1,186
1,420

2. Creating a starting point for intellectual curiosity: Kobe
YMCA Chitose Kindergarten, Kobe, Hyogo
The Space Education Center has been supporting kindergartens
since February 2007 to carry out space education activities. A highlight of its support to kindergartens in the past year is the joint learning exercise by parents and children at Kobe YMCA Chitose
Kindergarten that the Center assisted in October 2009. Using teaching guides for “Science of Flight” developed by the Center, thekindergarten children enjoyed watching the video on rocket launch
and making hot-air balloons from readily available materials aroundthem and making kites using styrene paper while learning about thebasics of science of flight. The excitement prevailed throughout the
programme, which the Center had designed with the hope that it
Class for environmental education,
Kudan Junior High School, Chiyoda,
Tokyo

would serve as the turning point for their growing curiosity.

16

3. Opening the door into outer space: Kanazawa-City Meisei
Elementary School, Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Starting from the academic year 2008, the Center supported the integrated, interdisciplinary programme for the sixth-grade students ofMeisei Elementary School. Through this programme, the students
learned about wonders of the universe as well as flight mechanismof rockets. They also took part in hands-on activities, to launchwater rockets and to make space foods. They were guided to figureout by themselves the ways to make it easy to eat in space and using
local specialities from Kanazawa.
Learning about space foods before
making their own.

4. Protecting our environment and saving our planet: ChiyodaWard Kudan Junior High School, Tokyo
Reflecting the increasing interest among schools in the issues ofclimate change and global environment, the Space Education Center
supported classroom discussions on the protection of environment.
In the case of Kudan Junior High School, the Center has collaborated with the school since the academic year 2007 and supported
every year its integrated, interdisciplinary programme for environmental learning for the first-year students of junior high school inJapan. In this programme, the students were guided to think about
Thinking about the global environment from a point of view from outerspace

the global environmental problems from a point of view from theuniverse. The students first conducted surveys on the environmental
protection activities undertaken by the local industries and experienced field work. The students then learned about living in space aswell as the environment of other planets, in order to compare withthat of the Earth, to realize its uniqueness in the entire universe.
Through the activities contained in this programme, the students
increased their feeling of responsibility to identify solutions to protect the Earth. The final product of the programme was the production of the wall newspaper by the students, presenting their suggestions for what can be done in our daily lives to protect our environment.

17

5. Learning the professional way of aircraft mission design fromexperts: Waseda University Senior High School
Waseda University Senior High School is one of those schools designated by MEXT as “Super Science High Schools” (SSH), to besupported by MEXT to yield concrete results in enhancing scienceand math education. As part of its optional course for mathematicalphysics, the Center collaborated with the School in October andNovember 2009 to organize sessions for the third-year high school
students, to learn about the aircraft mission design. Lectures on thebasics of aircraft were given by the experts involved in the development of most advanced technologies. Under their guidance, the students identified their mission objectives through discussions among
themselves and started the designing and manufacturing of their
gliders. The students considered the features of their gliders, basedon the results of the flight tests that they had conducted, as comExperiencing the aircraft mission
design in the mathematical physics
class

pared to the theory. By experiencing the cycle of manufacturing,verification and improvement, the students’ inquiring mind grewfurther.
6. Strengthening partnerships with universities to support
teachers training: Faculty of Education, Shimane University
Having recognized the advantages of enhancing understanding ofspace education among the students who wish to become teachers,

Seminar for future school teachers

the Space Education Center has pursued collaborations with interested universities with faculties of education. This is also part of theCenter’s efforts to contribute to enhancing education in the local
community.
One such example is its collaboration with the Faculty of Educationof Shimane University. The Center worked together with faculty

Science Academy for elementary andjunior high school students

members of the University to organize a seminar on space educationas part of the teacher-training course for the students of the Facultyof Education. For the students of the elementary and junior highschools attached to the University, the Center supported the organization of special lectures by sending space experts. The Center also
provided education materials for the teacher training courses organized by the University and sent space experts as lecturers.

Teachers training for the renewal ofteaching licences187. Advancing space education on the occasion of a rare celestialphenomenon: solar eclipse on 22 July 2009The Space Education Center took the advantage of the total solar
eclipse that occurred on 22 July 2009 to stimulate interest of children in learning more about celestial bodies and their phenomena byorganizing the series of special events. It was the longest total solar
eclipse during the twenty-first century lasting a maximum of 6 minutes and 39 seconds off Southeast Asia. On that day, it was visible
from within a narrow corridor that traversed half of the Earth, crossing also the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. A partial eclipse was visible
from all areas of Japan.
One of the highlights of the events is the collection of photographs
taken around the country of sunbeams streaming through leaves of
the trees during the solar eclipse. In collaborations with the Young
Astronaut Club (YAC)-Japan and Kodomo-Uchu-Mirai Association(KU-MA)2 , the Center widely disseminated its invitation throughvarious means to take such photographs and send them back to thePamphlet on taking photographs ofstreaming sunbeams during the solar
eclipseCenter, to be displayed on its web site. Together with such invitation, the Center distributed its educational pamphlet for children tolearn about the solar eclipse and the appropriate methods to observe
it without damaging their eyes. In total, the Center received 296
photographs, including 13 from outside Japan.

Time-series photo images of streaming sunbeams during the solar eclipse

On the day of the total solar eclipse, using JAXA’s Wideband
InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite(WINDS), now named “KIZUNA” (“bonds or ties” in Japanese),
images of partial and total solar eclipses were transmitted real-timefrom the archipelago of “Ogasawara Group”, at some 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo, to the mainland of Japan. Through “KIZUNA”, about 50 students gathered at Ogasawara Elementary School
2“Kodomo”, “Uchu” and “Mirai” mean “Children”, “Space”, “Future”, respectively in Japanese.

19and about 1,300 at Tamarokuto Science Museum in Nishi-Tokyo
City exchanged their photo images of the solar eclipses.

Tamarokuto Science Museum

Ogasawara Elementary School

C. Establishing strategic footholds
As part of the executive directions set by the management of JAXA,
the Space Education Center has been tasked since the fiscal year
2008 to establish strategic footholds in all nine regional blocs ofJapan, i.e. Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Hokuriku and Shinetsu, Tokai,
Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa, by March 2012.
This is to ensure that the kind of classroom support provided by theCenter continues to be expanded and further enhanced in an effective manner to benefit all primary and secondary schools in the
country without requiring direct and intense support by the Center
itself. While it does not need to be a school, and it could well be ascience museum or a board of education in the local community, astrategic foothold should endorse the goals and principles of theCenter and should actively pursue the development of space education materials and teaching methods to be introduced to schools
within the block under its responsibility. The Center was also tasked
to ensure the steady increase in the number of schools that newly
introduce aerospace subjects into their classroom teaching by using
the materials or teaching methods developed by the strategic
foothold in their bloc.
As of December 2009, the Center has concluded agreements with
six entities to serve as its strategic footholds, in Hokkaido, Tohoku,
Kanto, Hokuriku and Shinetsu, Tokai, Chugoku blocs.
20

List of strategic footholds (as of December 2009)
Bloc
Hokkaido
TohokuArea
KushiroAomori

Kanto
Hokuriku &Shinetsu
Tokai
ChugokuTokyo
Komatsu

EntityNPO Kodomo Yugakukan Shimin Stage1
Aomori-City Junior High Schools
Working Group on Science
Waseda University
Komatsu-City Board of Education

Shimosuwa
ShimaneBoard of Education
Shimane University

1 Kodomo = Children, Yugakukan = Study House, Shimin = Civic/Citizen

21

Date of Signature
2 December 2008
1 August 2009
29 May 2009
1 December 2009
2 December 2008
27 October 2008

IV. SUPPORT FOR INFORMAL EDUCATION
A. Objectives and strategies
Supporting informal education continues to be another pillar of theactivities of the Space Education Center. Using unique programmes
and materials that it has developed, the Center supports educational
activities carried out by other entities rather than schools outside theformal curricula, normally during off school days.
Through its informal education support, the Center aims to maximize the synergies of space education efforts undertaken by various
entities, including not only local governments but also relevant nongovernmental and non-profit entities. The center aims to achieve thisobjective while ensuring that its goals and principles continue to befollowed by those entities involved in space education activities
around the country and building upon what has been achieved by its“Cosmic College”.
In the past year, the Center has followed a few strategies as
described below.
Based on its belief that the responsibilities of fostering local children
lie with the local communities, the Center encouraged more local
communities to take the lead in organizing space education eventsfor local children while the Center itself plays only a supportive andadvisory role. This is to allow for the massive expansion of spaceeducation activities to reach out to all parts of Japan without increasing the level of resource requirements of the Center. By ensuringthat the local communities are involved from the beginning of theplanning, the Center has made efforts to increase the sense of ownership and responsibilities among the local communities organizing
those events.
The Center has increased its efforts to establish partnerships withinterested industries to organize space education activities. Ways
and means to establish partnerships have varied depending on theinterest of the industries and the circumstances of the activities concerned.
The Center’s efforts have shifted from the planning, organizationand management of events to the enhancement of its support system22

for space education instructors and leaders, who play key roles inspace education events organized around the country. In addition toproviding training opportunities and technical advice, the Center has
begun to provide material support to those instructors and leaders
who are active in carrying out space education activities.

B. Programme structure
1. For young people: from kindergarten to high-school students
Most of the activities for young people that the Center supports continue to be carried out as part of “Cosmic College”, which aims toachieve the following objectives: i) to increase interest of young
people in science and technology; ii) to help establish voluntarygroups of young people that are fond of science and technology; iii)
to motivate young people to raise questions, think and find solutions
by themselves; iv) to encourage collaborations with others; v) tolead young people to appreciate the importance of life. The Cosmic
College offers three courses, covering from kindergarten to highschool students. In addition to those Cosmic College courses, theCenter also supports a few other recurrent space education eventsand non-recurrent special events for young people.
In supporting the organization of Cosmic College courses, theCenter has continued to work closely with the Young Astronaut
Club (YAC)-Japan, an incorporated foundation originally established in 1986 and currently with 129 branches across the country
and about 3,000 members to carry out educational activities addressing space and science.
a. Cosmic College: Kids Course
The “Kids Course” is for the children younger than the second year
in the elementary school students and their parents to participate.
The programme aims to increase interest of the participating children in and their familiarity of the surrounding nature. Throughhands-on activities involving observations, experiments and handicraft work, the programme is designed to cultivate young children’sscientific thinking and to build the basis for logical thinking process.

Kids Courses

23

b. Cosmic College: Fundamental Course
The “Fundamental Course” is for the school students between thethird-year in the elementary school and the third-year in the juniorhigh school. The programme aims to enhance the students’ interestin the surrounding natural objects and phenomena. Through handson activities involving scientific observations, experiments andhandicraft work designed for the study of nature, the programmeaims to enhance their scientific and logical thinking capabilities.

Fundamental Courses

c. Cosmic College: Advanced Course
The “Advanced Course” is for the junior and senior high school students. The programme normally lasts for a few days. Throughhands-on activities involving scientific observations, experiments
and handicraft work, the programme leads the students to pose scientific questions and to come up with answers for those questions bythemselves. The programme aims to enhance their scientific andlogical thinking capabilities.
The High School Course, which used to be a separate programme ofAdvanced Courses

the Cosmic College, has been integrated into the Advanced Course
since April 2009.
d. Other recurrent activities
At Sagamihara Campus, the Space Education Center organizes the
five-day training programme for high school students, during theirsummer vacation period, to learn how to design scientific missions
through team work and to experience the mission evaluation, requiring them to present their missions and respond to questions from theaudience, including leading space scientists and engineers of JAXA.
This programme is known as “Space Mission High School”, or“Kimission”, which is a combination of “Kimi”, or “you” inJapanese, and “mission”.

Presentations during “Kimission”

24

As much as the circumstances allow and upon request, the Center
assists other departments and offices of JAXA in organizing, or coorganizing with other research entities, their educational activities
for young people. Such activities include Space Schools, organizedby the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), to proLecture of “School of Space” by
ISASvide the students with opportunities to interact with its leading spacescientists, Microgravity Experiment Contests, by the Space
Environment Utilization Center, to provide the selected students
with opportunities to conduct microgravity experiments during theparabolic flights, and Science Camps, hosted by Space Centers of
JAXA in Tsukuba, Tanegashima and Kakuta and organized by Japan
Science Foundation, for the students to visit space facilities, listen to

Microgravity experiment by the students

lectures by the leading space engineers and to experience making
and launching of model rockets.

Science Campe. Special events
The Space Education Center collaborated with the local governmentof Aichi Prefecture, YAC and Kodomo-Uchu-Mirai Association(KU-MA) in organizing the Water Rocket Contest 2009 at the same
All Japan Water Rocket Contest 2009

venue as the Expo 2005 Aichi Japan. With the participation of about
250 primary and secondary school students, the students who had
been selected through the regional contests held in nine regional
blocs of Japan competed for the accuracy of launch and flight distance of the water rocket.
The Center supported the “CanSat Kohshien”3 by covering the event
live by the dedicated TV channel operated in collaboration with
YAC. Each participating high school student team built a “CanSat”,
nano-scale quasi-satellite model weighing 350 to 1050 grams withall basic functions of a satellite fitted into a soda can of 350 ml, andits carrier to be placed onboard the model rocket provide by the

CanSat Kohshienorganizer. The six participating teams competed for the duration of“Kohshien” is the name of the prestigious ballpark in Hyogo Prefecture where the traditional Japan High School Baseball Championship isheld every summer with the participation of about 50 high school teams selected through the prefectural tournaments.

325

the image-capturing of the target marker on the ground after the
release of the CanSat 300 meters above the ground until its landing.
2. For educators and instructors of space education
As for instructors of space education activities, the Center has beenoffering Space Education Leaders Seminars since April 2008, following the restructuring and merging of the Educators Course of theCosmic College and the Leaders Seminar, which had been separatelyorganized to provide training opportunities for any individuals interested in carrying out space education activities. In 2009, the Center
began to offer training opportunities for those instructors with experience to further enhance their knowledge about space education andtheir skilks. The support system for the space education instructors
who have completed the Seminars has also been enhanced, to facilitate communications among them and to provide material support
for their space education activities.
a. Space Education Leaders Seminar
The Space Education Leaders Seminar is for any individual interested in carrying out space education activities with or without experience in informal education activities. The programme aims to transSpace Education Leaders Seminarfer to the particidants basic knowledge and skills that are requiredfor instructors of space education activities. Among other things, theparticipants learn about the goals and principles of the Center, roleof leaders and understanding children’s needs, as well as crisis management and safety measures. The Center issues licenses for Space
Education Leader (SEL) to those individuals who have completed
the Seminar.

Space Education Leaders Skill-Up
CourseThe Space Education Leaders Skill-Up Course is for those individuals who have completed the above Seminar and who wish to
improve their skills in conducting space education activities.
Through this Course, the participants obtain the latest news on thedevelopments with space activities, basic knowledge in the aerospace area required to carry out space education activities as well as
know-how and skills for activity management, teaching skills andmethods to develop educational materials.

26

b. Space Education Leaders Support System
As part of its support to the instructors and leaders who have completed the Space Education Leaders Seminar in the past three years,
the Space Education Center operates a rental system for its educaSmall wind tunnel for renttion materials and equipment for use during their space education
activities. The rental period is up to one month, and the use of materials and equipment of the Center requires the Center’s priorapproval. After the completion of the activities concerned, the users
are requested to provide feedback on the rented materials and equipment.

Space suits for rent

Starting from December 2009, the Center provides an on-line forum
to facilitate the communications among the space education instructors and leaders as well as with staff of the Center. The “Space
Education Community Site” allows the registered users to exchange
information, ideas and educational materials as well as to receive thelatest information on the Center’s materials produced and most

Community site registration throughthe homepage of the Space Education
Centerrecent and upcoming activities.
The Center has also started in the past year a new system of support
for the instructors and leaders. The Center now provides financial
support on a selective basis for those who carry out space education
hands-on activities for young people, at 18 years old or younger, or
projects in support of such activities for young people. Interested
instructors and leaders must have completed the Space Education
Leaders Seminar in the past three years and their activities to apply
for funding support must not be co-organized or co-sponsored by
JAXA. The expenditure items to be supported by this system
include those relating to travel, educational materials, expendable
items, rental of the meeting rooms and facilities, communications,transportation and insurance for the participants. An application submitted by an individual is eligible for funding support up to 50,000
Japanese yen, and that by a group, with two or more individuals, up
to 200,000 Japanese yen.

27

C. Achievements
Reflecting the success of the Center’s strategy to transfer the central
responsibilities as the organizers to the local communities, the number of space education events organized around the country continued to increase while the level of financial resources remained thesame and the number of staff decreased from 4 for some time
between 2007 and 2008 to 3 at the time of the present report.
<Number of events and participants of Cosmic College courses>
FY 17
Events Participants
Kids Course
6600
Fundamental Course
10565
Advanced Course
165High School Course*
1
43
TOTAL
18
1,273

FY 18
Events Participants
14
1,318
10
505
1
61
1
35
26
1,919

FY 19
Events Participants
26
3,068
34
2,278
2
63
Nil
Nil
62
5,409

FY 20
Events Participants
39
2,048
61
2,257
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
100
4,305

NOTE:
FY 17 = Fiscal Year 17, from April 2005 to March 2006;
FY 18 = Fiscal Year 18, from April 2006 to March 2007;
FY 19 = Fiscal Year 19, from April 2007 to March 2008;
FY 20 = Fiscal Year 20, from April 2008 to March 2009
* High School Course was merged with Advance Course from April 2008 and reorganized.

The pool of space educators and instructors who have newly
received training from the Center through the Cosmic College
Educators Course until March 2008 and through the Space
Education Leaders Seminar continued to expand. As for the current
fiscal year, FY 21, the number of participants of the Space
Education Leaders Seminars as well as its Skill-Up Courses thathave been organized to date is 565 in total as of December 2009,
515 for the former and 50 for the latter.
<Number of space education instructors and leaders>
FY 17

FY 18

FY 19

FY 20

Cosmic College:
Educators Courses*

349

192

174

Nil

Cosmic College:

213

233

600

Nil

Space Education
Leaders Seminars**

Nil

Nil

Nil

388

TOTAL

562

425

744

388

NOTE:
FY 17 = Fiscal Year 17, from April 2005 to March 2006;
FY 18 = Fiscal Year 18, from April 2006 to March 2007;
FY 19 = Fiscal Year 19, from April 2007 to March 2008;
FY 20 = Fiscal Year 20, from April 2008 to March 2009
* Cosmic College Educators Course and Leaders Seminar were reorganized and merged to become Space
Education Leaders Seminar from April 2008.
** Space Education Leaders Seminars include those organized for the purpose of training instructors of the
Seminars.

28

As the number of space education events continues to increase, thedemand for use of the teaching materials developed by the Center
also increased. In the past year, the Center reorganized its system ofmanaging its numerous learning and teaching materials, packaging
some materials for ready-use and immediate rental for selected
activities and monitoring the frequency of use. The packaged materials include those activities to make and fly water rockets, syringe
rockets, umbrella-bag rockets and hot-air balloons, conducting
micro-gravity experiments and experiments with atmospheric pressure and comparing models of the Moon and the Earth, to name afew examples.

29

V. SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION AT HOME
A. Background and objectives
As natural evolution of its support for informal education throughcollaborations with local communities, the Space Education Centerhas increased its efforts to bring space home in the past year. Its support for home education is provided mainly through its collaborations with Kodomo-Uchu-Mirai Association (KU-MA) in organizing “Space Schools for Families”, for participation by parents andchildren together.
The programme of “Space Schools for Families” consists of a several gatherings throughout the year, called “schoolings”, where theparticipating parents and children learn together about various
space-related subjects and conduct basic experiments, and the homework to be done between the schoolings, using the learning materials distributed during the schoolings. While similar to the programme of regular schools, this programme is unique in providing
opportunities for the parents and their children to share time together
at home to discuss space-related topics and to conduct experiments
as homework. Through “Space Schools for Families”, the Center
aims to enhance parent-child relationships and to help create conducive environment for learning at home.

B. Achievements
The series of “Space Schools for Families” in collaboration with
KU-MA began as a separate and distinctive programme since thelast fiscal year, from April 2008. During the last fiscal year, threecourses were organised with 1,037 participants in total. For the current fiscal year, from April 2009 to March 2010, fifteen courses
have already been organized as of December 2009 with 2,029 participants in total.
The success of this new programme is reflected not only in terms of
the quantity of the courses and participants, but also in the feedback
from the parents who participated in the schools. The Center has

30

received positive comments from a number of parents who appreciated the opportunities to do something together with their children,
to think, to conduct simple experiments and to discuss, at schoolingsessions and at home. Through the programme offered by the Space
Schools for Families, some parents discovered and treasured what
their children really enjoy doing.
For the Space Schools for Families, series of teaching guides on typical hands-on activities continue to be produced, covering various
scientific topics under the following 12 themes: i) flight and floating; ii) light; iii) soil and sand; iv) water; v) air (atmosphere); vi)heat, temperature and combustion; vii) electricity and magnetism;viii) force and motion; ix) breeding of animals and cultivation of
flower and plants; x) field observations; xi) sound; and xii) Sun andits companions. As of December 2009, about 50 sets of teachingguides have been developed.

31

VI. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIESA. Objectives and strategies
The Space Education Center continues to expand collaborations
with entities of other countries and international organizations topromote space education. In this effort, the Center uses as much as
possible the existing frameworks for cooperation in space activities
and endeavours to create synergies of efforts made through different
frameworks.
Through its international activities, the Center places emphasis onenhancing benefits for primary and secondary school teachers andchildren through space education, particularly in Asia and thePacific. The space education initiatives taken within the frameworkof the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) for
primary and secondary school teachers and students, therefore, aregiven high priority.
While recognizing benefits of introducing programs and materials
developed by other space agencies with established education programs for use by Japanese teachers and schools, the Center also
makes efforts to share its space education principles and approaches
as well as materials particularly with developing countries that are
increasingly interested in and capable of carrying out space activities.
As for developing countries in other regions, the Center supports
their space education activities through initiatives taken by theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) and other entities of the United Nations system as well
as development agencies, such as Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA).
Cooperation with space-faring nations in space education activities
is pursued mainly through the framework for cooperation provided
by the International Space Education Board (ISEB).

32

B. Focusing on children in Asia: Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency ForumThe Space Education Center has supported educational activities ofAsia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) since 2005
and has served as the Secretariat of APRSAF Space Education andAwareness Working Group since 2006. Currently consisting ofmembers from 17 countries and 3 international organizations4, theWorking Group members during
APRSAF-15, held in Ha Noi, Vietnam,
December 2008

Working Group has become increasingly active in the past few years
with the aim of: i) effectively using space materials to enhance education for young people; ii) providing education and training opportunities for young people in space science and technology; iii) contributing to enhancing mutual understanding among countries in theregion through exchange opportunities for young people; and iv)
increasing public awareness of the societal benefits and importanceof space activities.
In addition to organizing space education events for primary andsecondary school teachers and students, the Working Group has
strengthened efforts toward: i) making more teaching and learningmaterials available in local languages; ii) aligning its space education efforts with global educational initiatives taken by the entitiesof the United Nations system and other international organizations;and iii) contributing to enhancing inter-regional cooperation bymaking it possible for countries of other regions to benefit from its
space education initiatives.
Starting from 2005, the Working Group has organized the Water
Rocket Event each year, immediately following the APRSAF session. This annual regional Event has provided opportunities foryoung people between 12 and 16 years old not only to learn aboutbasics of rocket science and space activities in general, but also to

Getting ready for launch, Ha Noi
December 2008

learn about other countries and their cultures, to build lasting friendship beyond national borders based on common interest in space. In
2008, the fourth Water Rocket Event was held in Ha Noi, Vietnam,with the participation of 31 students from 9 countries with 27 teachers

4 Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic ofKorea, Singapore Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Asian Institute of Technology, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) and its secretariat, the United
Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), are currently members of the Working Group.

33

and leaders from 10 countries. The fifth APRSAF Water Rocket
Events is planned to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 23 and 24
January 2010, immediately preceding the 16th session of APRSAF16. As of December 2009, 15 countries have confirmed the participation of their teams, including those from countries outside theregion, namely Colombia and Ecuador, for the first time.

APRSAF-12 Water Rocket Event,Kitakyushu, Japan, 2005

APRSAF-13 Water Rocket Event,Jakarta, Indonesia, 2006APRSAF-14 Water Rocket Event,Bangalore, India, 2007

APRSAF-15 Water Rocket Event,Hanoi, Vietnam, 2008

The Working Group has organized the Poster Contest under a selected theme each year since 2006 during the APRSAF session, for children of the age between 8 and 11 years old. From among thoseposters submitted by the participating countries, the participants of
the APRSAF session vote to select the best poster, for APRSAF
Poster by an Indonesian student who
won APRSAF-15 Best Poster Awave

Best Poster Award, and the second and third best posters for
APRSAF Special Poster Awards. To contribute to the celebration of
the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, the Working Group
produced a calendar for 2009 using the posters submitted for the lastContest, held under “Wonders of the Universe”. The theme for the
next Poster Contest is “Our Universe - Great Discoveries”, which
was selected also in view of the celebration of the Year. 28 posters
have been submitted from 10 countries, and winners of the Awards

Calendar for 2009, with posters submitted to ARPSAF-15 Poster Contest

would be announced during the 16th session of APRSAF, to be heldin Bangkok, Thailand from 26 to 29 January 2010.

34

Poster Contest in Jakarta,
Indonesia, 2006 under thetheme “Importance ofSpace”

PosterContestin
Bangalore, India, 2007
under the theme “50Years in Space”

Poster Contest in Ha Noi,
Vietnam, 2008 under thetheme “Wonders of the
Universe”

Recognising the need for providing opportunities for students andteachers of primary and secondary schools particularly in developing countries to enhance their understanding of space science andtechnology and their applications and to participate in hands-on
space education activities, the Working Group convened space education forums and seminars in Vietnam and Indonesia in 2006. The
Making bubble-rockets during handson session of the Space Education
Seminar, Sri Lanka

last seminar was held in Katubedda, Sri Lanka on 8 September
2009, co-organized by Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern
Technologies and JAXA and hosted by the former, for about 50
teachers, who were nominated for participation by the National
Institute of Education of Sri Lanka.
In order to expand the pool of skilled and informed educators who
can effectively use water rockets to enhance education for young
people and to establish a network of those educators, theInternational Water Rocket Education Workshop was hosted byVictorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) in Melbourne,

Flight testing various types of water
rockets

Australia, from 30 June to 3 July 2008. Teachers, educators andspace experts from 12 countries in Asia and the Pacific as well as
Latin America participated in the Workshop, which resulted inestablishing an Internet-based Wiki site to serve as an on-line forum
for any interested teachers and educators to exchange information,
views and education materials relating to water rockets.
(See Wiki site: http://wiki.vssec.vic.edu.au/waterrockets/moin.cgi/FrontPage).

C. Collaborations with advanced space-faring nations: International Space Education Board
The Space Education Center represents JAXA in the International
Space Education Board (ISEB) and collaborates with other ISEB
members to promote space education. Established in October 200535

by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency(ESA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of theUnited States (NASA) and JAXA as its Founding Members, ISEB
now includes Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), theFrench space agency, as Member from October 2006 and VSSEC as
Establishing ISEB in October 2005

Associate Member from October 2009. The objectives of ISEB are:i) to increase science, technology, engineering and mathematics literacy achievement in connection with space; and ii) to support the
future workforce needs of space programs. While ISEB meets oncea year with the participation of heads of education of its member
agencies during the annual IAC, the activities of ISEB are being carried out and coordinated by its Representative Working Group, con-Lunch time lecture at International
Student Zone, COSPAR 2008,
Montreal, Canada

sisting of one officer each from the ISEB member agencies. The
membership is open to any public organization carrying out space
activities and pursuing education programmes.
In 2008 and 2009, the following projects were carried out within theframework of ISEB: i) international student programs at theInternational Astronautical Congresses (IAC’s) held in Glasgow,
Scotland, United Kingdom in September/October 2008 and in

GENSO Project concept

Daejeon, Republic of Korea in October 2009 and at the Scientific
Assembly of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) in
Montreal, Canada in July 2008; ii) international participation inNASA Academy; iii) “Global Educational Network for Satellite
Operations” (GENSO) project; and v) CanSat activities. The use of
the International Space Station for educational purposes is also
recognised as an important initiative that needs to be undertaken.

Interactions with Heads of Agencies,
IAC 2008, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.

The term of the chairmanship is one year, and it rotates among theFounding members. Following its successful initial year under thechairmanship of ESA, ISEB was chaired by NASA from October
2006, by CSA from September 2007 and by JAXA from October
2008. ESA is currently serving as the chair.
Lunch time event at International
Student Zone, IAC 2009, Daejeon,
Korea

The Space Education Center continued to support the activities of
ISEB by participating in the organization of IAC and COSPAR
Student Programs, and sending Japanese students for those
Programs and supporting the participation of Japanese graduate students in GENSO project workshops and NASA Academies, held at
Goddard Space Flight Center in summer 2008 and Ames Researchin summer 2009.
36

Particularly during the chairmanship of JAXA, the Center contributed to advancing the objectives of ISEB by establishing theTask Group for Student Programmes, reorienting the work of theRepresentative Working Group to focus on policy and coordination
issues, coordinating the IAC Student Programme and ensuring theparticipation of a large number of Japanese students. The total of 43
students participated in the Programme. Recognizing that the activities of ISEB had been carried out predominantly for university andgraduate students, the Center proposed to initiate a joint activity forthe benefit of primary and secondary school teachers and students.
The Center suggested the exchange of education materials as an
Joint KARI-JAXA Student Session

example in this regard, as it did with ESA by translating into
Japanese the set of educational DVDs of ESA on the scientificexperiments on the International Space Station for use by schools inJapan.
During IAC 2009, the Japanese students worked with the Korean
Local Organizing Committee to carry out hands-on activities for
local Korean children as part of the Space Festival, which took placein parallel to IAC 2009. The Japanese students also worked with
Korean students supported by the Korea Aerospace ResearchInstitute (KARI) to organize a joint KARI-JAXA Student Session,
introducing each other’s space projects undertaken by university andgraduate students, including CanSat experiments.

Showing how to make kites during
Space Festival

D. Pursuing cooperation with developing countries outside Asia
1 Supporting UNESCO efforts
Upon invitation by UNESCO, the Space Education Center participated in the workshops organized by UNESCO in and for the developing countries. Following its participation for the first time in theParticipants of the workshop with the
Deputy Minister of Education and
Vocational Training (center), Dar-esSalaam, Tanzania

UNESCO workshops when they were held in multiple cities ofColombia in November and December 2005, the Center has
37participated to date in those workshops held in multiple cities in
Ecuador, Peru, Tanzania and Vietnam.
In 2008 and 2009, the Center introduced water rockets as educational activities and supported hands-on session for school children to
Head of the space agency of Peru conducting the first water rocket launch,
Lima, Peru

experience the launch of water rockets at the workshops held in Dares-Salaam and Arusha, Tanzania, in May 2008 and in Lima, Peru in
June 2009.
At the regional space camp held in Ibarra, Ecuador, in May 2008 forteachers and students from five Latin American countries, i.e.
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, the Center also helped
organize the session to build water rockets and the water rocket
launch competition. Lectures on water rocket theory at an advanced

Mayor of Ibarra opening the water
rocket competitionlevel were also offered at the space camps held in Salinas and Puerto
Aroyo, Galapagos, Ecuador in June 2009, where college students
participated.

Water rocket lecture and launch in
Salinas, Ecuador….and in Puerto Ayora, St. Cruz,
Galapagos, Ecuador

2. Supporting water rocket activities around the world
The partnership with UNESCO has turned out to be effective in promoting water rocket activities for educational purposes, using thematerials provided by the Space Education Center. It has opened thedoor for collaborations with those other developing countries including those outside the region of Asia and the Pacific with emerging
space capabilities with willingness to initiate space education activities to reach out to a large number of school teachers. As part of38

such collaborations, the Center has continued to support water rocket events as well as associated teachers seminars held in Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Nigeria, Philippines and Vietnam.
While the Center has introduced its teaching methods and materials
in developing countries, it has also benefited from inputs provided
by enthusiastic teachers and educators in developing countries.
Building upon the Educator’s Manual for Water Rockets developedby the Center and translated into Spanish in cooperation with
UNESCO, teachers in some countries, such as Argentina, havedeveloped advanced teaching materials to meet the needs of their
Teaching physics in Argentina using
water rockets

classes.
The map below shows the countries to which the Center provided
technical and materials support for their water rocket activities. The
Center continues to receive various ideas from teachers and educators in those countries.

Teachers training in Brazil

Water rocket workshop in Chile

Water rocket competition during “Space
Adventure”, Baranquilla, Colombia

39

3. Supporting Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
as part of its training programme
In response to requests by Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA), the Center received groups of African science teachers in
September in 2006, 2007 and 2008 to introduce space education.
The Center provided short hands-on sessions for those teachers to
use space materials and resources to stimulate interest of students inscience classes. In total, the Center provided such opportunities to
24 science teachers from nine African countries, i.e. Kenya,
Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania
Welcoming the group of scienceteachers from African countries, 2008

and Uganda.

E. Other collaborations: providing education opportunities outside Japan for graduate students
In cooperation with the International Space University (ISU), theSpace Education Center continues to provide scholarships forJapanese university and graduate students to participate in the SpaceStudies Program (SSP), nine-week course held between June andAugust by ISU at a different location each year around the globe,
ISU Campus in Illkirsch, France(Photographs: Courtesy of ISU)and the degree programs for Master of Science in Space Studies andMaster of Science in Space Management (MSS/MSM), one-year
course held at ISU main campus in Illkirsch, France. Starting from2008, the Center is providing funding support for Japanese university and graduate students to participate in the annual symposium
organized by ISU in February.
With more than 2,400 alumni worldwide and several hundred faculty

ISU SSP in 2008
(Photograph: Courtesy of ISU)and lecturers drawn from around the world, ISU offers unique programmes that are international, interdisciplinary and inter-cultural innature. Based on the Memorandum of Understanding concluded
between JAXA and ISU in December 2003, JAXA supports activities of ISU by receiving MSS/MSM students as interns at JAXA
research facilities, sending JAXA staff as lecturers for SSP and
MSM/MSM and participating in the Board of Trustees of ISU.

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VII. DISSMINATION OF INFORMATION AND PUBLICATIONS
A. Objectives and strategies
The Space Education Center uses Internet-based services and publications as the main tools to disseminate information.
As for the Internet-based services, the Center provides information
on its activities, including announcements for upcoming events andreports on the past activities, and distributes updated on-line educaWeb site of the Space Education Center:
http://edu.jaxa.jp

tion materials and programs. Information and explanatory notes on
various space-related topics are also available through the Space
Information Center, an on-line infrmation service that can beaccessed through the Center’s web site.
The web site of the Center (http://www.edu.jaxa/jp) aims to achieve
the following objectives: i) to serve as the focal point to disseminate
information on space education activities and to provide a forum forexchanging ideas and information among educators; ii) to provide
education materials, images and pictures that can be easily downloaded for use by educators in classroom teaching; iii) to makeavailable in a most efficient manner the teaching and learning materials developed through the Center’s support to schools as well asreports on the classroom activities supported by the Center. Its web
site continues to be upgraded, and it now contains a number ofmovie files and video clips on the activities of the center.
In the past year, the Center focused on the following strategies: i) tocreate conducive environment for any school teachers, leaders andinstructors of space education activities as well as any individuals
interested in space education to communicate and interact with eachother and to exchange ideas and education materials ; ii) to actively
pursue other means of disseminating information rather than on-line
services; iii) to use movie clips to report on the activities so as tomake the users of the web site feel as if they were at the venues of
those activities; iv) to reorganize the Space Information Center tomake it more user-friendly and to make the content easier to understand by the general public.

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B. Achievements
The Space Education Center continues to upgrade its web site, andthe next major upgrade is planned for release in early 2010. One of
the major achievements in the past year is the establishment of the“Space Education Community Site”, in support of those who havecompleted the Space Education Leaders Seminar as well as thoseteachers interested in introducing space materials into their classrooms.
In addition, the Center has continued to issue short journals via elecSchool Wall Newspaper

tronic mail, or “Mail Magazine”, once or twice a month, taking up a
space-related topic that may be of interest to young people and disseminating the latest news on the Center’s activities. As of
December 2009, 59 issues have been disseminated since the firstissue in June 2006. The number of subscribers more than doubled in
the past two years, from about 1,000 to 2,225 as of the end October
2009.
As alternative means to Internet-based services, the Center has continued to issue paper-based publications on a regular basis. The

Quarterly magazine, “Sora e no
Tobira” (“Door toward Space”)

Center has continued to distribute news letters, in the form of school
wall newspapers, to about 15,000 elementary and junior highschools in the country. For “Science for Kids”, a monthly journal forchildren, the Center has continued to contribute articles on its activities. The tenth issue of the quarterly journal, “Sora e no Tobira”(“Door toward Space” in Japanese), has been issued by December
2009.

Space Education TV Channel

Starting from April 2009, the Center significantly increased the frequency of the real-time television broadcasting to provide live coverage of not only the rocket launches but also space education events
organized by the Center. The Center aims to provide such live coverage through “Space Education TV Channel” twice a month on
average. From April to December 2009, 18 programmes were broadcasted through this Channel, attracting the maximum of 20,400
viewers per programme. All these broadcasted programmes havebeen archived and made avaailable on-line.

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VIII. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AND ESTABLISHMENT OF FOOTHOLDS
Reaffirming its conviction that the collaborations with all stakeholders
would be the key of success in further expanding space education
activities at various levels of school education and many different
places and on occasions, the Center further strengthened its collaborations with other offices and departments of JAXA, industries andnational research institutes while continuing its collaborations with
the non-governmental, non-profit organizations engaged in spaceeducation activities.
As a result of its increased efforts to collaborate with interested
industries, some of the courses of the Cosmic College were coCollaborations with Panasonicorganized with Panasonic Corporation and Discovery Channel. With
Panasonic Corporation, a Cosmic College course was held in association
with the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy. During
the five-day period, from 2 to 6 May 2009, the event attracted about
1,200 participants. In the case of the Discovery Channel, whichbroadcasted advertisements of the Cosmic College courses, fivecourses have been organized together, and two more courses arebeing planned for early 2010.
In the past year, the Center began to vigorously pursue collabora-

Collaborations
Channelwith

Discoverytions with national research institutes, such as Japan Agency for
Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), National
Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and RIKEN, to havetheir researchers and experts involved in not only co-organizing educational events but also in the development of programme contents
and planning for future activities.

Collaboration with JAMSTEC

Significant progress has been made in the collaborations with publishing companies producing textbooks and supplementary learningmaterials in the past year. In response to 50 requests from 16 suchcompanies, the Center has provided images and data resulting fromspace activities and projects of JAXA for use in the textbooks andsupplementary learning materials for not only science but also otherclasses, including those for Japanese and English languages, geography, agriculture and homemaking.
To provide a systematic framework of support by leading
researchers and experts from various disciplinary areas who arecommitted to space education efforts, the Center is establishing43

Space Education Advisory Board. The Advisory Board would provide advice on the overall executive directions to be pursued by theCenter as well as its major policies concerning the implementationof its programmes, support for space education leaders and development of educational materials. Under this Advisory Board, the establishment of two working groups, one on space education materials
and the other on space education activities, is also envisaged.

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IX. CONCLUDING REMARKS
What we in the Space Education Center are trying to achieve is toestablish a network of space education efforts at various levels,
effectively using existing frameworks for cooperation, working withnot only organizations but also individuals who share our principles
and appreciate the preciousness of life. Anyone who is convinced ofthe power of space to inspire young people, stimulate their interest
and motivate them to work hard together toward success can effectively carry out space education activities at home, in their local
communities and their countries.
We in the Center are, of course, aware of the magnitude of challenge
to carry out our activities for the benefits of all young people
because of the sheer number of them. There are 2.2 billion young
people under 18 globally and 2.3 million young people under 20 justin our country alone.
We are convinced that this magnitude of challenge, however, must
not discourage us from starting and expanding space education
efforts because every single success of our efforts to have positive
impact on one child, to have a hope for life, is one concrete step
toward achieving our goal. It could even have an enormous, lasting
impact not only on one individual but also possibly on many others.
However modest our efforts might be, what we are trying to do
through our space education activities is to build the foundation ofpeace in the minds of children by making as many children as possible realize the preciousness of life and the importance of working
together to build a better future. This is one way of contributing tobuilding peace through space education targeted at human development at individual level, slowly but surely.

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