IHI Held a Manufacturing Workshop, “Let’s Launch Plastic Bottle Rockets!”, at Manabi no Hi, an Event Hosted by Toyosu Kita Elementary School in Koto-ku, Tokyo
On Sunday, February 15, 2026, IHI held a manufacturing workshop, “Let’s Launch Plastic Bottle Rockets!”, at Manabi no Hi, a learning-focused event organized by the PTA of Toyosu Kita Elementary School, located near its Toyosu Head Office in Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo. A total of 48 children participated in the workshop.
IHI’s manufacturing workshops are planned and run primarily by employees participating in the internal side-job program for STEAM education. Their purpose is to give local children opportunities to experience the fun of manufacturing and the fascination of science and technology through hands-on learning.
At the workshop, IHI employees serving as instructors first explained in familiar, easy-to-understand terms how plastic bottle rockets fly, including the principles of air pressure and action and reaction, and then demonstrated how to make them. The children then created their own original rockets by attaching fins made from milk cartons to the plastic bottle bodies while thinking about ways to make them fly farther. After completing their rockets, they moved to the schoolyard for launch trials. Many of the children repeatedly launched their rockets and observed differences in distance and flight patterns, showing how much they enjoyed learning through trial and error.
In addition to employees from the Toyosu Head Office, IHI employees from business locations across Japan also took part on the day of the event. A total of 25 employees from throughout the IHI Group were involved in running the workshop, and interest in this initiative is continuing to spread within the Group. For employees as well, the event provided a valuable opportunity to engage directly in local educational activities and experience the significance of contributing to the development of the next generation. After the event, members of the PTA also expressed their hope that the workshop would continue to be held on an ongoing basis.
Looking ahead, IHI will continue to treat coexistence with local communities and the development of future talent as important themes. Through participation in local educational events and the provision of STEAM education programs, IHI will contribute to nurturing the people who will support the future of manufacturing.