Jun. 10, 2009

TMC to Hold 2009 Science Workshops for Children

Tokyo — TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announces its plans for the 2009¹ "Scientific Jack-in-the-Box! The Why/What Lecture", a series of free-of-charge science workshops for elementary school children that TMC has held annually since 1996 as part of its social contribution activities.  This year, 20 workshops will be held in six municipalities in Japan, starting this month.

The workshops, through conveying the joys of science and of creating things, aim to encourage children to develop and foster an interest in science and technology.  Since their beginnings, the workshops have been held in such places as science museums and the facilities of TMC and its affiliates, with approximately 22,250 children having participated in the 267 workshops held so far.

Instructors for the workshops are members of the Toyota Engineering Society², which is primarily composed of TMC engineers.  This year, the instructors will make use of their varied, specialized knowledge to offer eight programs concerning such subjects as two-legged robots, electric-power-regeneration vehicles and collision-safety vehicle bodies.

Workshop organizers in each municipality will handle applications for participation, while TMC plans to provide information (in Japanese) on its website at http://www.toyota.co.jp/nazenani/.

Outline of "Scientific Jack-in-the-Box! The Why/What Lecture" Science Workshops

Sponsors	Toyota Motor Corporation, hosting facilities, and others
Assistance	Toyota Engineering Society
Participants	4th, 5th and 6th grade elementary school students
Participation fee	Nil
Instructors	Members of Toyota Engineering Society
Programs	Two-legged robots, electric-power-recovery vehicles, collision-safety vehicle bodies, automated toy cars, seven-color microcomputer firefly, aerodynamic vehicle bodies, model aircraft, and hovercraft

2009 "Scientific Jack-in-the-Box! The Why/What Lecture" Science Workshop Schedule^*1

Year	Date	Facility	Location	Program	Host^*2
2009	Jun. 28	National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo	Tokyo	Automated toy cars, two-legged robots	National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo
	Jul. 12	National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation	Tokyo	Electric-power- regeneration vehicles	National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
	Aug. 1	Toyota Kaikan Museum	Aichi	Hovercraft	TMC (Toyota Kaikan Museum)
	Aug. 2	Toyota Motor Kyushu, Inc. (Miyata Plant)	Fukuoka	Model aircraft	Toyota Motor Kyushu, Inc.
	Aug. 29	Amlux Tokyo	Tokyo	Automated toy cars	Amlux Toyota Co., Ltd
	Aug. 30	Mega Web	Tokyo	Automated toy cars	Amlux Toyota Co., Ltd
	Sep. 5	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology	Aichi	Collision-safety vehicle bodies	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
	Sep. 13	Shibetsu City "Tsukumo Seishonen no Ie"	Hokkaido	Electric-power- regeneration vehicles	TMC (Shibetsu Test Track)
	Sep. 20	Sendai Science Museum	Miyagi	Aerodynamic vehicle bodies	Toyota Motor Tohoku, Inc.
	Oct. 10	Toyota Sports Center	Aichi	Aerodynamic vehicle bodies, collision-safety bodies, and model aircraft	Toyota Engineering Society
	Oct. 18	Toyota Automobile Museum	Aichi	Two-legged robots, hovercraft	TMC (Toyota Automobile Museum)
	Nov. 1	Tomakomai Science Museum	Hokkaido	Collision-safety vehicle bodies	Toyota Motor Hokkaido, Inc.
	Nov. 7	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology	Aichi	Aerodynamic vehicle bodies	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
	Nov. 8	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology	Aichi	Electric-power- regeneration vehicles	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
	Dec. 12	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology	Aichi	Hovercraft	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
	Dec. 13	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology	Aichi	Automated toy cars, two-legged robots	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
2010	Jan. 9	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology	Aichi	Seven-color microcomputer firefly	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
	Jan. 10	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology	Aichi	Model aircraft	Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
	Feb. 14	Toyota Automobile Museum	Aichi	Automated toy cars, aerodynamic vehicle bodies	TMC (Toyota Automobile Museum)
	Feb. 21	Tsukuba Expo Center	Ibaraki	Hovercraft	Tsukuba Expo '85 Memorial Foundation

*1. Workshop dates, programs, etc., are subject to change
*2. Each workshop will be co-hosted by TMC

¹Unless otherwise noted, years mentioned are from April 1 to March 31
²A voluntary organization for TMC employees created to enhance the technical skills and talents of its members and to promote camaraderie. The society also aims to contribute to the development of technological fields in various areas of business as well as to local communities. It has approximately 30,000 members.