Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology Completed

Tokyo―TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION announced today that the Toyota Group of companies recently completed construction of the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology in Nagoya City. Through this joint undertaking, the Toyota Group aims to benefit society by cultivating the importance of "Making Things" and to encourage the spirit of "Creativity and Research" in young people in order to underpin the continued technological driving force that will be required of Japan in the future.

The exhibits of the museum focus on the history of textile machinery and automobile production technology to illustrate the history of "Making Things." As a part of its exhibit space, the museum utilizes a section of a red brick building constructed during the Taisho era (1912-1926) that once made up part of the former head plant of Toyoda Spinning & Weaving Co., Ltd.―the birthplace of the Toyota Group.

To explain the changes in industry and technology, the museum displays show how products have evolved and how manufacturing techniques have changed from the use of hand tools and simple machinery in the past to today's most advanced computerized equipment.
The museum also features operational spinning and weaving machines and demonstrations of casting, forging, and machining so that visitors can understand easily how things are made. Visitors can also gain a first-hand understanding of technology by operating various devices that incorporate the principles and mechanisms used in textile and automobile manufacturing.

The museum's major facilities include the Textile Machinery Pavilion, which exhibits spinning and weaving machinery and the evolution of technology for textile equipment; the Automobile Pavilion, which displays the changes in automotive products and technology; Technoland, where visitors can learn about mechanical principles; and the Toyota Group Pavilion, which documents the history of the Toyota Group and each member company.

Other facilities include a library with a collection of approximately 20,000 books on science, technology, and industry, as well as a video library where audio-visual materials can be viewed. The book collection includes a comprehensive selection of Japanese and Western science and technology magazines, some dating back to 1890.

The museum will open to the public on Saturday, June 11―the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Motor Corporation.