Muroran City Environmental Science Museum

As a successor to the Muroran City Youth Science Museum (opened in 1963), Hokkaido's first science museum, this new facility has been built and reopened with "environment" as a new theme.
Our aim is to create displays encourages a wide range of generations, especially children, to become familiar with science on a daily basis and to feel hopeful about the future of the Earth and their local community.
The environmental corner showcases environmental innovation projects that leverage Muroran's unique characteristics and strengths cultivated through manufacturing, as well as initiatives toward a sustainable future. In particular, the main displays, "Watching Muroran," is a virtual exhibit where visitors can walk across satellite images of Muroran spread on the floor and use AR tablets to displays manufacturing sites, renewable energy facilities, and natural spots. Visitors can experience sights that are usually difficult to see in person, such as 360-degree videos of factories and drone footage of natural landscapes.
The science experience corner consists of devices that allow visitors to experience the basics and principles of science. Some of the devices from the old building have been remade and reinstalled, carrying on the history of the facility and the memories of the citizens. The scattered devices are connected by experiment counters, enhancing the face-to-face communication space, and playful elements have also been incorporated into displays, such as large play equipment themed after the nature of Muroran.

① Sixty years have passed since the museum opened, and the scientific environment for children has changed dramatically with the rise of the internet, programming, and artificial intelligence. However, the way our volunteers interact with children remains unchanged, emphasizing face-to-face communication. In an age where automation and unmanned systems are increasingly in demand, the presence of volunteers who are there to support children when they visit is important, and this long-standing, beloved attitude is a strong characteristic of our facility. However, because our displays planning relies heavily on volunteers, the impact of annual changes in human resources has become a challenge.

② At the time of the design, when calls for "decarbonization" were beginning to emerge, Muroran City, whose main industry is the "steel manufacturing industry" which emits a significant amount of carbon dioxide, faced the challenge of aligning the city's vision for the future with displays content of this facility. This is because, as a facility with "environment" in its name, the decision on specific environmental measures itself is directly linked to the content of displays.
In order to realize displays addressing the challenges and social issues of the client mentioned above, we received a request to entrust the establishment of the project to the same staff who handled the design and construction.

Regarding point ①, we enhanced displays space to accommodate volunteer activities. By installing a multi-purpose "manufacturing showcase" and multiple "lab communication spaces," we were able to bring volunteers and citizens closer together while maintaining the image of the old building.

Regarding point ②, since the concretization of the environmental corner is the very reason for the facility's existence, we determined the policy by conducting interviews with relevant companies and experts to concretize the city's environmental policies, carried out on-location filming within the city, carefully examined the expression and imagery of the diagrams and illustrations, and paid attention to every single word of the text, with the city department in charge and displays staff working together as one to create it.

During construction, they took into account as many of our detailed requests as possible and implemented them carefully. Furthermore, even after the facility began operation, they listened carefully to the voices of the operator and responded to maintenance and inspections, which I am extremely grateful for.