Cosmic College

What is the Cosmic Collage?

The Cosmic Collage program provides experiences of mysteries and understanding of the space through crafting exercises and experiments.
This is a space education program targeting elementary and junior high school students in local communities.

Open the door to “Learning” through “Wonder” and “Fun.”

The Cosmic College is an interactive program focused on fostering inspiration through hands-on experiences such as crafting and experiments featuring space. The program is designed to kindle childrenʼs curiosity and spirit of inquiry through the experience of the fun and mystery of science, to help children grow up spiritually rich.

The program is hosted by local teachers for children in the region in order to ensure sustainable learning, and the JAXA Space Education Center continues to support such local initiatives.

Open the door to “Learning” through “Wonder” and “Fun.”

Characteristics of Cosmic College

1. Experienced-based program

The Cosmic College program is an experience-based program which values not only knowledge but also thrills of experiments and experiences to encourage sustainable learning.

2. Short-time/small-scale program

The program is held on a holiday, including a summer vacation and weekend, with a small number of children so that adult staff members can pay sufficient attention to every participant. It takes only one to two hours.
The program is easy to join and actively conducted nationwide.

3. Organized by local educators for local children

The Cosmic College program is an activity to be operated continuously by local educators for the sake of local children.
It’s you, who organize the program.
JAXA Space Education Center provides full support for local organizers throughout the country.

Characteristics of Cosmic College

Scenes from Cosmic College

Shoot your original water rocket!

Shoot your original water rocket!
The force of shooting and more-than-expected flying distance of water rocket always surprise every challenger. You can experience the difficulty and pleasure of rocket launching.

Shoot a balloon rocket.

Shoot a balloon rocket.
Participants are required to detect optimal conditions for their balloon rockets to fly straight and a long distance by adjusting their fins and weights. At the end of the program, all the participants count down for the shooting!

Let’s make a hot-air balloon together.

Let’s make a hot-air balloon together.
After learning “why a hot-air balloon floats,” participants make a big hot-air balloon in teams. Can you make it float?

VOICES: Voices of organizers and participants

Followings are comments from organizers and participants of the Cosmic College programs:

Voices of organizers

Children do not simply “make” a rocket but are required to think “how the rocket is made fly more straight and longer” and try again and again with their creativity. It’s a great pleasure that children are provided with such opportunities.

The children’s inquisitive mind encourages me to continue learning with aspiration. Cosmic College is a “place of learning” for grownups, too.

Those children who learned at Cosmic College later participate in the program as supporters when they become junior high and high school students. Their development is wonderful. I hope that I’d be an adult person who can respond to their expectation.

Voices of participants

I am glad because now I understand what I did not, by listening to the teacher and through the experiments.

My balloon rocket flied quite a long distance. I’d like to continue research by myself in order to make it fly further.

I’m glad because I became friends with those who go to different schools and are in different grades through the experiment and crafting exercise.

It was thrilling to learn so many unknown things. I’ve come to yearn for the space.

It was fun to shoot water rockets again and again. I want to make them fly further next time.

I am glad that we talked a lot about the space, which is rare at school.

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