Supported by HORIBAGAIAPRESSNature / Environment / Life
Communication with the Unknown

• トップページ
• Fantastic Voyagers
• Science entertainment

Science shows have become a fun and popular way of learning science.
We talked with a junior high school science teacher active in this area about the difficulties and rewards of this approach.

The appeal of science shows
Have you ever seen a science show? Soap bubbles that don’t break when you touch them, the wondrous world at a hundred degrees below zero, experiments with atmospheric pressure, how to make cotton from a PET bottle, that sort of thing. Wondering how familiar but mysterious things work, and then making experiments with simple equipment to find out. This kind of science entertainment, where the lecturer and the audience have to think together, is enjoyed not only by children but by adults as well. Opposite to the trend of “science phobia,” such shows serve as a gateway to the delights of the world of science.

“I want everyone who watches the show to enjoy themselves. Small children in the way of children, school kids in the way of school kids, and adults in the way of adults,” says Hideya Gesso, science teacher at Harue Junior High School in Fukui Prefecture. Aside from his ordinary teaching job, during weekends and the summer holidays he is busy putting on science shows. His popularity has spread far beyond the prefectural borders, and he has even performed abroad.
“In my shows, I will often ask ‘If I do this, then what will happen?’ and have the audience guess what is going to happen next as the experiment proceeds. Once, only one small kid guessed correctly, while all the high school students and adults got it totally wrong. At that moment they really opened up their eyes and started looking at the show in earnest.” In other words, if you bring your kids to a science show, you had better keep your own eyes peeled as well.

The Beijing performance and the “Meister of Science Show”
Mr. Gesso first got involved with science shows when he transferred to the Fukui Children’s Science Center “Angel Land” in 2000. He became responsible for the science show department, and had to think up ideas for new projects every month and then get up on stage to present them as well.
“I would get hints from books and web pages and shows in other places, but above all I had to study really hard. Any experiment I could come up with, I would try, and I gained a lot of experience from that.”

He joined a nation-wide network of science teachers, who share information and participate in workshops, and he also polished his own presentation skills by watching veteran teachers on stage, he says. He then had the inspired idea of putting together a show with experiment on the theme of “sound”: sounds and vibrations, sounds and air, tones and scales, etc. As the climax of this entertaining program he played “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” by dropping a sequence of aluminum bars of differing lengths on the floor! In November, 2004, Sony invited him to present that show in Beijing.

“I had to use an interpreter for my explanations, so I was a bit worried how much got across, but in the end I received a big hand and it was a great success. I have very happy about that.” Even afterwards, he kept improving and perfecting his performance, and in February, 2006, Gesso was one of the nine participants in the “Meister of Science Show” contest at the Tokyo Science museum. This is a tournament where the contestants test their skills man to man, and the winner is selected by an audience vote. Gesso finished runner-up of the whole tournament.

People enjoying themselves is what keeps me going
“The reason I keep doing these shows is that people seem to have a lot of fun watching them. That is very enjoyable for me too, and makes me want to try even harder.” In his capacity as a science teacher as well he is passionate about wanting to make children like science. Many other science teachers all over the country who share the same sentiment are deeply encouraged by his activities.
“What we are trying to do is not to stop kids from hating science, but to get more kids to like science. If they enjoy the show, they may start enjoying their ordinary science classes too.”

Recently, he’s been introducing elements from his science shows into his regular classes, making them much more interesting than just reading textbooks.
“I’d like to turn all the basics of science that I’m teaching into a show, because I’m convinced that science shows have that sort of attraction and potential,” says Gesso, who displays the skills of a professional entertainer in his performances, and strives to present unique classes in school. We hope he will go on transmitting the pleasures of science to many more children.

Hideya Gesso. Born in 1968. Teacher and science advisor at Harue Junior High School in Fukui Prefecture. Actively presents science shows and scientific experiment workshops at science fairs and museums all over Japan. The success of his experiment show in Beijing in 2004 was a great confidence-booster.