Japan’s first “inquiry-based teaching material on the subject of ‘membranes'” is completed.

Taiyo Kogyo Corporation

(Tokyo headquarters: Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; Osaka headquarters: Yodogawa-ku, Osaka; President: Hidefumi Araki), a company involved in large-scale membrane surface structures (tent structures) and civil engineering and logistics materials, has created its own video teaching materials for the “STEAM Library Ver. 2,” which was created as a future classroom demonstration project promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The library was reopened to the public in March 2012.

In Japan today, reforms aimed at evolving education into one that captures social changes and fosters the ability to live abundantly in the next generation are being rapidly promoted. Following its introduction in elementary and junior high schools, the new Courses of Study will be introduced in high schools in 2022, and “independent and interactive inquiry-based subjects” such as “Integrated Inquiry, Science and Mathematics Inquiry, and Public Affairs” have been added.　The “STEAM Library” developed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is a collection of digital content that supports children’s independent learning from their own excitement. It is part of the “Classroom of the Future” demonstration project being promoted by the Ministry in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, with the aim of realizing education that fosters the qualities and abilities to pioneer the next society through their own efforts.

Taiyo Kogyo supports this demonstration project and has produced six video episodes of new content under the theme of “The Power of Membranes to Overcome Common Sense, ” in collaboration with Toppan Printing Co.　This is the first time that educational materials on the subject of “membranes” have been prepared for school ^education*1. Taking advantage of the five characteristics of membranes-soft, covering, enveloping, lightweight, and light-permeable- children can learn how they are used in a wide range of fields in architecture, medicine, and industry to help people live and protect the global environment.　Furthermore, we expect children to develop their imaginative powers through devising ideas for solving social issues using “membranes.

Taiyo Kogyo has traditionally been involved in school education through the “creation of comfortable and lively learning facilities” and the “development of environmental infrastructure” that provides peace of mind even in times of disaster.　In the future, we intend to deepen our relationship with “education” in the soft aspects as well as the hard aspects of environmental development, aiming to contribute to the “development of the next generation of human resources” and to “improve the understanding of membranes”.

*1: Based on in-house research. (Does not include materials from classes that consist mainly of lectures, such as on-site classes on a spot basis.

Details of the newly completed content, “The Power of Membranes to Defy Common Sense,” as well as the STEAM Library are as follows

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been promoting the “Classroom of the Future” demonstration project since FY 2018 to demonstrate new learning methods utilizing one device per student and various EdTech technologies under the new Courses of Study.

Future Classroom page: https://www.learning-innovation.go.jp/

In March 2021, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), in collaboration with industry and research institutions, developed a variety of digital content for interdisciplinary and inquiry-based learning and released it free of charge as the “STEAM Library Ver. 1” in order to provide children with the opportunity to grow up to be “creators of future society.
Based on feedback from school officials across the country, the website was redesigned, revised and expanded, and new content was added, and reopened in March of this year.

Taiyo Kogyo is a “leading company of membrane structures” that aims to realize a vibrant society by providing spaces and places that expand people’s possibilities.　Taking advantage of the characteristics of light and strong materials, Taiyo Kogyo has developed products for various construction projects symbolized by the roofs of giant domes, as well as for civil engineering, logistics, and even the environmental field.　In recent years, our disaster prevention and medical tents and protective suits for hospital visits have been attracting public attention, developed to ensure safety and security in the face of natural disasters and new coronas.

Press photos can be downloaded here.