IHI Employees Help Conduct Classes at Elementary and Junior High Schools in Kota, Aichi Prefecture
Employees from IHI and Central Conveyor Company, Ltd., helped to conduct classes at elementary and junior high schools in Kota, Aichi Prefecture, on September 20 and from September 26 through 28. The town is home to Central Conveyor, an IHI Group affiliate. Connections with Kota’s board of education facilitated the classes. IHI and Ochanomizu University’s Institute of Science and Education jointly developed the curriculum.
On September 20, 57 year six students at Toyosaka Elementary School in Kota attended a class on carbon dioxide capture technology. Through a very user-friendly lecture and experiments, they learned about global warming mechanisms, the environmental impact of greater carbon dioxide concentrations, and carbon dioxide recovery techniques. In the experiments, students learned about carbon dioxide capture technology basics, including by using molecular sieves to capture this substance and extracting it through chemical reactions. The students were fascinated with the molecular sieves. The many questions ranged from what would happen if burying a sieve with recovered carbon dioxide to whether the sieves have uses other than as a desiccant and what their structures might be like. Careful answers to these questions deepened the children’s understanding and interest.
From September 26 through 28, 174 year three students at Hokubu Junior High School in Kota took a course on how forests and soil work. The participants observed the ecology of soil organisms at the Central Conveyor premises and school grounds and took classes on forest formation and the food chain. Observing soil organisms and the food chain was part of the curriculum for these students. IHI provided stereo microscopes for all students to learn about soil selection and how to remove soil organisms and observe them. The school greatly appreciated access to the microscopes, which are not available under regular study guidelines. The premises of Central Conveyor and school grounds yielded rare soil organisms underscoring the excellent natural environs. Students were often thrilled to see minuscule soil organisms that are invisible to naked eyes. Some said that while they had been reluctant to learn about these organisms, having discovered how they work greatly interested them in this topic.
The IHI Group will continue to offer such classes to help participants to understand its business activities and foster tomorrow’s workers.
