10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
[MIS10-06] To Communicate the Land Movements in an Easy-to-Understand Way: Experiences from the Children's Summer School.
Keywords:Geo-education, Science education, Median Tectonic Line, Landslides, the Children’s Summer School on Seismology, Volcanology and Geology
1. Introduction
Geo-education is characterized by incorporating stories such as the formation of the Earth and geological changes. However, there is a perspective that these phenomena are generally 'difficult to understand'. Since these phenomena occur within the Earth's interior or beneath human feet and are difficult to observe, they can be hard to understand.
2. The Features and History Geo-education at Miyoshi Geopark
Miyoshi Geopark has two main stories, such as the formation of the Earth and geological changes: 1) 'landslides,' which formed the foundation for numerous steep slope lands, and 2) 'the activity of the Median Tectonic Line,' which formed the big meandering course of the Yoshino River. As the history of Geo-education includes these phenomena, fieldwork on strata, landforms, and methods such as fault experiments have been utilized. However, the ability to promote understanding in a short time frame of a few minutes to hours, while also making it enjoyable, is still in the developmental stage.
3. Implementation of the Children’s Summer School on Seismology, Volcanology and Geology in Miyoshi area
The "23rd the Children’s Summer School on Seismology, Volcanology and Geology in Yoshino River (referred to as the Summer School)" was held for two days in the Miyoshi area on August 7-8, 2024. A total of 28 children and 44 staff members participated. The theme was "Exploring the Secrets of the Yoshino River with Yokai: Two Days of Solving Mysteries with Researchers," and three mysteries were presented, including "How did the Yoshino River come to flow?" and "How was the land of Miyoshi area formed?" To gather clues to solve the mysteries, the children conducted fieldwork at six locations: the waterside park (in Ikeda Town) where the course of the Yoshino River changes dramatically, and the scarp of Ikeda Fault, formed by the activity of the Median Tectonic Line. Additionally, they performed three experiments to provide hints for understanding the process of river course changes and fault scarp formation. At the forum at the end of the summer school, the children discussed topics such as "the flow of the Yoshino River and the formation of the land in the Miyoshi area" and "three days of enjoying the land of the Yoshino River" and presented their findings. They explained how the distinctive landscapes of the Miyoshi area are deeply related to geological movements such as the Median Tectonic Line and landslides and presented creative ideas for countermeasures against natural disasters such as earthquakes and landslides.
Through this program, Miyoshi Geopark achieved two key advancements. First, the staff from the Miyoshi region gained a deeper understanding of the land movements of the Miyoshi region. Second, they received many concrete tips on conveying the 'difficult-to-understand' land movements in a 'clear' and 'visible' way through experiments and fieldwork, among other methods.
4. Development of Geo-education of Miyoshi Geopark after Summer School and other activities
Geo-education is being developed using the experimental tools created during the Summer School. Additionally, in the human resource development course that started in the fall of 2024, these experimental tools have been used to help understand earth movements. As described above, through this Summer School, Miyoshi Geopark has made progress in enhancing methods and approaches for effectively conveying the earth movements in the Miyoshi area in a "clear and understandable" way.
5. Acknowledgment
The "23rd the Children’s Summer School on Seismology, Volcanology and Geology in Yoshino River was conducted with financial support not only from the Japanese Seismological Society, the Volcanological Society of Japan, and the Geological Society of Japan, but also with a grant from the Noevir Green Foundation. We would like to express our gratitude for this support.
Geo-education is characterized by incorporating stories such as the formation of the Earth and geological changes. However, there is a perspective that these phenomena are generally 'difficult to understand'. Since these phenomena occur within the Earth's interior or beneath human feet and are difficult to observe, they can be hard to understand.
2. The Features and History Geo-education at Miyoshi Geopark
Miyoshi Geopark has two main stories, such as the formation of the Earth and geological changes: 1) 'landslides,' which formed the foundation for numerous steep slope lands, and 2) 'the activity of the Median Tectonic Line,' which formed the big meandering course of the Yoshino River. As the history of Geo-education includes these phenomena, fieldwork on strata, landforms, and methods such as fault experiments have been utilized. However, the ability to promote understanding in a short time frame of a few minutes to hours, while also making it enjoyable, is still in the developmental stage.
3. Implementation of the Children’s Summer School on Seismology, Volcanology and Geology in Miyoshi area
The "23rd the Children’s Summer School on Seismology, Volcanology and Geology in Yoshino River (referred to as the Summer School)" was held for two days in the Miyoshi area on August 7-8, 2024. A total of 28 children and 44 staff members participated. The theme was "Exploring the Secrets of the Yoshino River with Yokai: Two Days of Solving Mysteries with Researchers," and three mysteries were presented, including "How did the Yoshino River come to flow?" and "How was the land of Miyoshi area formed?" To gather clues to solve the mysteries, the children conducted fieldwork at six locations: the waterside park (in Ikeda Town) where the course of the Yoshino River changes dramatically, and the scarp of Ikeda Fault, formed by the activity of the Median Tectonic Line. Additionally, they performed three experiments to provide hints for understanding the process of river course changes and fault scarp formation. At the forum at the end of the summer school, the children discussed topics such as "the flow of the Yoshino River and the formation of the land in the Miyoshi area" and "three days of enjoying the land of the Yoshino River" and presented their findings. They explained how the distinctive landscapes of the Miyoshi area are deeply related to geological movements such as the Median Tectonic Line and landslides and presented creative ideas for countermeasures against natural disasters such as earthquakes and landslides.
Through this program, Miyoshi Geopark achieved two key advancements. First, the staff from the Miyoshi region gained a deeper understanding of the land movements of the Miyoshi region. Second, they received many concrete tips on conveying the 'difficult-to-understand' land movements in a 'clear' and 'visible' way through experiments and fieldwork, among other methods.
4. Development of Geo-education of Miyoshi Geopark after Summer School and other activities
Geo-education is being developed using the experimental tools created during the Summer School. Additionally, in the human resource development course that started in the fall of 2024, these experimental tools have been used to help understand earth movements. As described above, through this Summer School, Miyoshi Geopark has made progress in enhancing methods and approaches for effectively conveying the earth movements in the Miyoshi area in a "clear and understandable" way.
5. Acknowledgment
The "23rd the Children’s Summer School on Seismology, Volcanology and Geology in Yoshino River was conducted with financial support not only from the Japanese Seismological Society, the Volcanological Society of Japan, and the Geological Society of Japan, but also with a grant from the Noevir Green Foundation. We would like to express our gratitude for this support.