Questacon Science Circus to tour Tohoku and Tokyo Miraikan
The popular Australian science education program that tours hands-on exhibits and shows for children will tour Japan for the first time in late April and early May. The 2014 Science Circus Tour Japan, organized by the National Science and Technology Center of Australia, known as Questacon, will be held in three prefectures to support areas damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It will also visit the Miraikan in Odaiba, Tokyo.
In Australia, the Science Circus provides children in small rural towns lacking a science museum opportunities to experience the fun of science. The Science Circus will take the same approach in Japan, touring elementary and junior high schools as well as science museums in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, Morioka and Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, and Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, from April to May. In addition, they will perform at the Miraikan on April 26th and 27th.
The program’s tour in Japan will comprise 30 exhibits that let participants play and learn by using ropes and balls, as well as educational shows in which circus members reveal the fun of science through live performances.
The tour is supported by the Australian Embassy in Tokyo and funded by Australia-Japan Foundation, under the auspices of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The touring group includes Ms. Renae Sayers, Theatre and Events Coordinator at Scitech (www.scitech.org.au), the Science museum in Perth.
The tour strengthens a long relationship between Japan and Questacon. Questacon’s current building which opened in 1988 was funded by a significant donation from Japanese government and businesses as an official gift to mark Australia’s bicentenary that was celebrated that year.
For more information, please see:http://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/en/event