Activities
Formal Education Support
Through partnership with teachers working in schools, we create classroom lessons which nurture children’s power to learn.
Support in creating classroom lessons which ignite children’s spirits
Space is full of excitement, which stimulates children’s curiosity.
The JAXA Space Education Center provides varied support to schoolteachers to implement "education using space as material = space education."
"Space" provides a variety of materials which can be used in education activities, and which are not limited to science subjects but also include social studies, English, home economics, art, moral education, and integrated studies.
Our ambition is to widen the circle of space education to all areas of Japan, based on our accumulated know-how and with the lesson plans and educational materials we have developed.
We support teachers!
Formal education support; Activities
Teacher training program
Through partnerships with boards of education and schools nationwide, the Space Education Center provides training programs for teachers at kindergartens, nursery schools, primary schools, junior high and high schools, and education majors at universities, to prepare for the implementation of space education.
Classroom partnership
Through partnership with teachers at kindergartens, nursery schools, primary schools, and junior high and high schools, the Space Education Center supports teachers in creating classroom lessons using “space” which are optimal for the respective fields of education. These lessons are not limited to science, but include various other subjects such as social studies, English, home economics, art, moral education, and integrated studies.
SEEC (workshop for incorporating space in education) dispatch program
We send educators in Japan to SEEC, a workshop for incorporating space in education, held in Houston in the US. They make presentations on teaching methods and practices which use “space” as educational material, and participate in other activities such as training and exchanges of opinions and information.
Informal Education Support
The Space Education Center provides support for community-led programs intended for children at kindergartens and at primary and junior high schools, in addition to lectures for leaders to acquire the skills necessary for implementing space education.
Think and learn: The door to learning is always open to anyone
The Space Education Center provides a variety of space education programs in which children can participate with ease during weekends and long vacations.
With the Cosmic College program, primary and junior high school students experience the mysteries of space through crafting exercises and experiment.
The Space School program for families introduces participants to the fun of space to be found in our daily life, through course curriculums in a form of schooling.
Space Education Seminars provide learning opportunities for educators who introduce the theme of “space” in education in local communities.
Informal education support; Activities
Cosmic College
It provides scientific education programs on the theme of space, to nurture children’s minds.
Space School for Families
It provides experience-based programs for families to work on together at home.
Space Education Leaders Seminars
It provides lectures, teaching the skills necessary for the implementation of space education.
Experience-Based Learning Opportunities (Domestic)
It provides opportunities to visit JAXA institutions and experience the “front line” of space aeronautics.
Learn together, leap together.
The Space Education Center provides experience-based programs at JAXA institutions across Japan, bringing participants into direct contact with the front line of space development.
In the Aerospace School and Making Your Own Space Mission (Kimission) programs for high school students, the participants see and touch the front line of space aeronautics through cooperative teamwork. The One-Day Space Reporter program for junior high school students gives participants the opportunity to simulate working as a reporter on the scene of a rocket launch, and to intercommunicate with an audience of the same generation.
Experience-Based Learning Opportunities (Domestic)
Aerospace School
This is a residence-type program for high school students. The participants stay at JAXA facilities in Japan and tackle “space and aeronautical missions” cooperatively with their fellow team members.
Making Your Own Space Mission (Kimission)
This is a five-day experience-based learning program for high school students, held at JAXA Sagamihara Campus during the summer vacation every year. The participants complete a space-related mission from scratch through a series of discussions with their fellow team members.
One-Day Space Reporter
During a satellite launch using a rocket, junior high school students simulate working as reporters and report on the thoughts, tensions, and excitement of people working on the spot to an audience of the same generation.
Experience-Based Learning Opportunities (International)
In partnership with space agencies around the world, the Space Education Center provides opportunities for international exchanges through “space.”
Opportunities for international exchanges through “space”
Through active cooperation with space agencies around the world, the Space Education Center provides children and students, as well as educators, with opportunities for international exchanges through “space.” They meet peers from other countries, work and learn together, and discover new horizons.
Experience-Based Learning Opportunities (International)
Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) Space Education for All Working Group
The APRSAF Space Education for All Working Group was established in 2001 for the purpose of promoting and disseminating space education activities, including the development of space education materials and providing opportunities for space education.
The targets of the working group’s activities are young people, schoolteachers, and other educators in the Asia-Pacific region.
JAXA Space Education Center serves as the Secretariat, and our Director co-chairs the group.
APRSAF Water Rocket Event
The event provides opportunities to learn craftsmanship and scientific technique through the creation of water rockets, and to develop international exchanges.
APRSAF Poster Contest
The Space Education Center holds an annual poster contest for children aged 8–11 years.
APRSAF Space Education Seminar
As a part of our contribution to the Asia-Pacific region in the framework of the APRSAF Space Education for All Working Group, we organize Space Education Seminars.
International Space Education Board (ISEB)
The International Space Education Board (ISEB) was founded in October 2005 by the four space agencies of the US, Europe, Canada, and Japan. Its purpose is to promote international cooperation in enhancing knowledge and culture in the fields of space-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, in order to meet future needs for people to lead space activities.
The space agencies and facilities of France, Australia (Victoria State), Korea, South Africa, Mexico, and the UAE followed, and now jointly promote various space education activities.
ISEB Student Program
This is a development program for undergraduate and graduate students. It includes participation in academic meetings, international exchanges, and outreach activities in space education.
Dissemination of Information
on Space Education
We disseminate information useful for space education.
Bring “space” into the world of learning
The Space Education Center is actively engaged in the dissemination of information.
We provide a variety of video materials, including materials introducing the essence of our space education activities, and experiments conducted by astronauts at the International Space Station.
We also introduce other useful information for implementing space education, such as the practice of space education activities across Japan, in addition to space educational materials, and collections of web links helpful for space education.
