Miyagase Dam Water and Energy Museum Water Museum "Waterworks Zone"

The "Waterworks Zone" at the Miyagase Dam Water and Energy Museum's Water Museum needed renovations after more than 20 years since its opening, and was refurbished to coincide with the museum's 25th anniversary.

displays 's concept is to create learning opportunities about the "water supply business" (introducing the role of water utilities) and to change people's awareness of "tap water" (re-evaluating water resources and learning about the global environment). Through learning about the process, equipment, and related work involved in getting rainwater stored in dams to tap water in homes—a process that is rarely seen in everyday life—visitors can learn to appreciate tap water, which is indispensable to their lives, and the importance of social infrastructure.

Furthermore, since the surrounding area, including Miyagase Dam, is a tourist destination, our main target audience is elementary school students on field trips and families visiting on weekends.

The exhibition features highly engaging digital content that combines live-action footage and computer graphics, including guidance videos on large screens, virtual content where visitors can operate a drone to inspect water supply facilities, and simulations of water purification processes in rivers. In addition, there are displays that allow visitors to experience firsthand the work of the water supply associations that support the water supply business, making it an enjoyable experience for both those with a specific purpose in mind and those without.

The client's top priority was to raise awareness of the invisible "social infrastructure" that is the tap water supply business.
We needed to find a way to convey that behind the "ordinary everyday" of turning on a tap, there is the journey of water from Miyagase Dam to our homes, and the presence of the facilities and specialists who supply safe, clean water 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition, because the Corporation is contracted to carry out the "wholesale water" business (taking in water, purifying it, and supplying it to the prefecture and city), which is not well known to the public, making the role of the Corporation clear was also an issue.

Another objective was to provide an opportunity for the students to think about the relationship between the global environment, water resources, and daily life by explaining that water utilization projects utilize part of the global water cycle, while also introducing the abundant water situation in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The solution to the former involved making visible the equipment (buried underground and therefore invisible) and the work of water specialists (whose work was not understood). Taking into account the characteristics of the main target audience, we adopted many entertaining methods.

1. In "The Journey of Water," two screens—a large screen and a Kanagawa Prefecture map screen—were used in a dramatic way to clearly show the specific locations and routes (both above ground and underground) from the initial stages of water storage in the Miyagase Dam to its supply to homes.
In addition, the virtual drone exploration mode allows you to experience the interiors of buildings and facilities, as well as safety measures sites, that you wouldn't normally see, through 360-degree video.

2. In "Delivering Clean Water," the mechanism of the main septic tank is gamified, and the water purification flow is introduced through a scenario in which the system is restored to normal after an accident.

3. In the "Seeing the Work of a Waterworksman" exhibit, we aimed to foster a sense of familiarity with the work by providing hands-on experiences that displays actual waterworks, such as water quality testing (microorganism observation), on-site monitoring systems, and operating real valves.

To address the latter issue, we primarily focused on the ending of the "water journey." By using lighting effects to depict the circulation of water—from the sea, the final destination for water utilization, to clouds, and then back to the dam as rain—we created a striking visual representation of the water cycle. Furthermore, by highlighting the history of water source development for the two rivers and four dams in Kanagawa Prefecture, which are influenced by the region's geographical features, we conveyed the significant role they play in ensuring a stable supply of tap water.