[16,000 Elementary School Students from 249 Schools Nationwide Applied] Antarctic Online Class Held, Connecting Live with Showa Station

On June 25, The Asahi Shimbun's Asagaku (Asahi Students' Newspaper) co-hosted an "Online Outreach Class Connecting with Antarctica via Live Broadcast from Showa Station" with the National Institute of Polar Research, targeting elementary schools nationwide.

The event connected Showa Station in Antarctica and a studio in Tokyo via live broadcast, introducing the work and life of the observation team and the conditions at the station. A total of 16,237 students from 249 schools nationwide applied, and the children listened intently to the live broadcast and explanations from the wintering members of the 67th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition.

The class was moderated by Yumi Nakayama, a reporter from The Asahi Shimbun in the Tokyo studio, and Satoshi Imura, vice director of the National Institute of Polar Research. The wintering members of the 67th expedition at Showa Station introduced the outdoor scenery and facilities such as the generator and vegetable cultivation room inside the station using cameras. They explained that in addition to observation and research, the team members also have jobs that support daily life, such as cooking and facility management, incorporating questions from participating schools.

In a post-class survey for teachers, comments included, "The children were amazed by the experience of actually connecting with Showa Station and showed strong interest," and "Some students expressed a desire to work in Antarctica in the future," and "It was also meaningful from a career education perspective."

The class is available as an archive at the following URL:

https://www.asahi.com/asagakuplus/article/asasho/16273545

Asagaku will continue to strive to disseminate information about Antarctic observation projects that excite children.

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[National Institute of Polar Research]

The National Institute of Polar Research is an inter-university research institute that promotes scientific research related to the polar regions (Antarctica and the Arctic). It operates research bases in both the Antarctic and Arctic regions and conducts comprehensive research based on observations. As the core institution for Japan's Antarctic research, it is responsible for planning observation missions, organizing expedition teams, and managing bases, while collaborating with researchers both domestically and internationally to unravel the mysteries of the global environment and climate change.

[The Asahi Shimbun's Asagaku]

Founded in 1967, Asagaku is a group company of The Asahi Shimbun that operates newspaper publishing and educational businesses. Centered around the daily newspaper "Asahi Shogakusei Shimbun" for elementary school students and the weekly newspaper "Asahi Chuko Gakusei Shimbun" for junior high and high school students, it also widely develops projects such as the career education support project "Oshigoto Hakubutsukan" (Work Museum). With the philosophy of "Supporting the future of children," it fosters the ability to learn independently, solve problems, and express oneself through the provision of valuable news and useful content for children and their families.