135 Junior High School Students Experience Smoke, Earthquakes, and Fire Extinguishing, Considering "Disaster Decision-Making"

Implementation Overview

Target: Students of Tachikawa Municipal Tachikawa Dai-ichi Junior High School (1st Year Junior High: 135 students)

Content: Crossroads Game (Disaster Prevention Experience + Crossroads Game)

Structure: Disaster Prevention Experience → Crossroads Game

Number of Groups: 25 groups

Venue: Tachikawa Dai-ichi Junior High School / Tachikawa Disaster Prevention Center

Disaster Prevention Learning for First-Year Junior High Students Conducted

Kizuna Kai General Incorporated Association cooperated with this initiative organized by the Tokyo Fire Department, and implemented a disaster prevention learning program using the disaster prevention educational material "Crossroads Game" for 135 first-year junior high school students at Tachikawa Municipal Tachikawa Dai-ichi Junior High School in Tachikawa City, Tokyo.

This program combined experiential learning and discussion-based learning at the Tachikawa Disaster Prevention Center, with the aim of having students consider disasters as a "personal matter.".

Five Disaster Prevention Experiences at Tachikawa Disaster Prevention Center

On the day, students first divided into groups at the Tachikawa Disaster Prevention Center and participated in the following experiential learning activities:

・Earthquake Experience
・Smoke Experience
・Fire Extinguishing Training
・Rescue Experience
・VR Disaster Prevention Experience

Students commented:

"I thought it would be scary if this situation actually happened." "I realized the fear of disasters through the experience."

In addition to these remarks, there were also comments that the experience served as an opportunity to think about disaster prevention.

The Crossroads Game: Considering "Decisions Without Right Answers"

After the experiential learning, the "Crossroads Game" disaster prevention educational material was implemented.

The Crossroads Game is an educational material developed based on the experience of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. It is a participatory learning activity where participants choose "YES" or "NO" for situations that may occur during a disaster and discuss the reasons in groups.

Students divided into groups of 5-6 people and exchanged opinions while sharing their thoughts on the question, "What would you do if you were in that situation?"