Learn about and experience the forest of life [tropical rainforest]. An opportunity for people to think about the global environment - 2

I'm not holding back anymore

There was another major factor that raised the bar for discussion: the level of displays content and how it was presented.

"The zoo's mission was to make sure displays were not aimed at children. If small children couldn't understand, parents could explain it to them. There was no need to make the exhibits easier or cut down on things just because children wouldn't understand. displays were designed to be 'no holds barred'."

Regarding this, Kiyota says:

"Our first request was that the facility not be lowered to a child's perspective. So, as you can see when you look at the completed facility, it is not aimed at children. If environmental issues are lowered to a child's perspective, they end up being very superficial and shallow. So, even though it is difficult, we want to convey something proper.

So, does this mean we are abandoning children? Not at all. It would be fine if school teachers and parents explained the meaning of displays. We are helping adults teach children about environmental issues. That is the idea behind displays. Children can see through childish tricks right away. Rather than having them think, when they become adults, that it was a shallow, childish displays, we want to create an exhibit that will displays their understanding by several levels, making them realize that they didn't understand it as children, but that this is what it was all about."

Okano also went around thoroughly preaching this way of thinking.

"Throughout the project, I repeatedly explained to those involved that it wasn't 'from children to adults,' but 'from adults to children.'"

Moriguchi, the supervisor who has extensive experience teaching children, agreed with this idea.

"Children are fascinated by the real thing. They can tell whether something is real or not, even if they don't understand the details. At nature observation events, there are children who follow the professor around without really understanding what he's talking about. I think that's what it's like."

Showing authentic items for adults - this policy makes the hurdles for creating displays much higher.

Take, for example, displays Room 5, "The World of the Forest Floor." At the lowest level of the rainforest, in the dim light where sunlight does not reach, tiny organisms squirm about, decomposing fallen leaves and dead wood and providing nutrients to the soil through various functions. This room shows the mechanisms of the forest floor. The main creatures are cockroaches, slugs, millipedes, termites, earthworms and other insects. Although the species are different from those found in Japan, they are just as grotesque in appearance.

"The materials we received from the zoo were amazing. There were so many different insects in the footage that the filmmakers were screaming," said Nakagawa.

"Kiyota and his colleagues naturally said that it was fine to have displays that would make people feel uncomfortable and say 'Wow,' so let's go with that. They said that it's fine to give people that much of a shock, and that it would be good if that momentary shock could become a trigger and a hook of some kind," says Takeuchi.

To turn these into realistic displays, we relied on the supervising teachers.

"The questions were very detailed, like, 'What color is the belly of a cockroach that lives in the rainforest?' Or, 'Are there any earthworms in the tropics?' Professor Yumoto and I answered what we knew, and for the things we didn't know we looked up reference materials. But when you see the finished video, it's worth all the attention to detail," says Moriguchi.

Would you like to go to Borneo to get a mold?

The tree that took the most effort to create was the dipterocarp, the symbol of the entrance. Giant trees that reach over 70 meters in height are not uncommon in tropical rainforests.
NOMURA Co.,Ltd. 's technical director, Yoshiyuki Ando, was troubled as to how to recreate this realistically.

"For example, a craftsman could recreate the shape of the bark's surface, but that would inevitably end up looking artificial. Tree roots that protrude from the ground in a plate-like shape are called buttress roots, but it's difficult to know the exact shape of the buttress roots of dipterocarp trees.

Since I didn't know the answer, I suggested that we go to Malaysia to investigate, and they agreed, so we went to Borneo to conduct on-site research."

Accompanying us were supervisors Yumoto, Okano, and Nakagawa, who are familiar with local conditions.

"There are about 200 different types of dipterocarp. There are other trees that we would like to displays, so Professor Yumoto used his network to find suitable trees in advance for making molds, and then he asked the coordinator to obtain permission from the local government. This shows that they have a solid system in place for nature conservation.

Once permission is granted, we apply silicone resin to the surface of the tree, buttress roots, or branches and leaves to create a mold. Since we have to bring it back by plane, we can't use very large pieces of silicone resin, but depending on the tree species, we were able to create a mold of the entire tree," says Ando.

In addition to taking molds of the trees, Nakagawa also walked through the forest collecting sounds.

"Professor Yumoto showed me to places where he said, 'If it's this time of day, you can hear the sound of that creature!' and I recorded them myself. Different creatures are active at different times, so the sounds I was able to record changed considerably depending on the time of day.

So I had them take me to a variety of different places, including early morning, midday, evening, night, and late night. At the Zoological Science Museum, you can experience the rainforest 24 hours a day, and these sounds are played throughout the museum."

When placing the trees created from molds at the entrance, the supervising teachers' knowledge was utilized to ensure the greatest possible realism.

"At first, we had planned to add dipterocarp leaves, but Professor Yumoto pointed out that the leaves wouldn't grow at such a low position, so we decided to represent them with photographs on the ceiling. The birds are also supposed to be higher up, but we prioritized making them easier to see," says Okano.

"We received advice on arranging the trees, such as making sure that small trees do not grow near the dipterocarps, and on the placement of the surrounding animals. Thanks to this, we were able to create a structure that concentrates biodiversity, despite the space constraints," says Nakagawa.

Finally, playful devices were added, such as placing camouflaged insects on tree trunks, so that visitors would be delighted to come across them by chance.
 

Connecting everything together like a picture book

The completed dipterocarp is a symbol of the Zoological Science Museum, and also serves as a starting point connecting displays within the museum. Nakagawa, who created the original visual, says:

"We wanted to connect the entire museum with the symbolic tree as the starting point. displays rooms were divided into the first and second floors, but you could start from the base of the symbolic tree, go around displays on the first floor, leave the 'World of the Forest Floor' and then return to the base of the tree.

This time, if you climb the stairs, as if climbing the symbol tree, the 'World of the Forest Canopy' will appear, and you will continue to learn about plants living in symbiosis with animals. The idea was to connect everything together like a picture book, while preserving the architectural structure."

It was also the zoo's wish to use the symbol tree as the starting point.

"I had hoped that the symbolic tree would be the starting point for an eco-tour around the museum. That's what I had conveyed, and I feel like my wish was realized," said Okano.

In fact, each displays room in the museum is coordinated with a uniform color scheme and lighting, allowing visitors to experience the rainforest through their five senses as if they were on an eco-tour while walking through the dimly lit rainforest. Large, catchy slogans are written all over the walls, with fairly specialized explanations posted next to them. There's so much information that it's impossible to read it all in one day.

On the walls of the log room, field notes that Moriguchi had accumulated over many years were posted along with hand-drawn observation sketches, symbolizing the world of a researcher. When Moriguchi saw the completed interior of the facility, he had three thoughts.

"One is that he is good at using images. If it's not easy to understand, it won't get across, but if it's too distorted, the essence will be lost. He strikes a good balance.

Secondly, the new design is much more stylish than before the renewal, which I think has the potential to reach people who weren't particularly interested in rainforests.

And finally, it's as fascinating as exploring a dungeon (underground labyrinth). You don't know where you'll be taken. When you explore the museum, you get the illusion that you've been there longer than you actually have. I think it has the effect of allowing different people to remember the unique displays that resonate with them and take something home with them."

Since its reopening, the museum has received positive feedback from visitors.

"Looking at surveys and social media, we've seen a lot more positive feedback than we expected, with people saying they wanted to come again because they couldn't see everything, and that it was well worth seeing and they learned something.

Shortly after we opened, someone brought their elementary school-aged children to the museum, and after seeing the "What Humans Have Done to the Forest" room, they wanted to take a commemorative photo. When the photographer pointed his smartphone at the children and said, "Come on, smile," the children replied, "There's no way we could smile after seeing displays like that." So it really resonates with the children.

Some children stared intently at the video, while a child around four years old circled the seed samples four times. It made me realize that even children can be interested in things that are reliable, even though the exhibit is aimed at adults." (Okano)

Kiyota, who was in charge of the project, said he was surprised that the concept he had been aiming for was ultimately reflected in the lighting of displays.

"Even when you look at the blueprints, it's hard to know what the actual presentation will look like. When it was completed, I realized once again that it was displays that really brought home the wonder of lighting.

In choosing the theme of tropical rainforests this time, we wanted to clearly show both the light and the dark sides of the relationship between tropical rainforests and humans. So, while there are dark themes like displays room on "What humans have done to forests," there is also a history of humans supporting and enriching their lives by consuming tropical rainforests.

"I believe that somewhere along the line, humans have misunderstood our relationship with the rainforest, and I didn't want to create displays that simply says that consuming the rainforest is wrong. Looking around the completed museum with this in mind, I see that the lighting creates a play of light and shadow. I think it's amazing."

(Interviewed in June 2025. Titles in the article are those at the time of the interview.)
 

Interview and text by Tsuyoshi Nose (former editor-in-chief of Nikkei Trendy)
Photo by Abe Ryo