TDK Museum's Community Activities
The TDK Museum focuses on three sets of activities — education,
the environment, and sports — to connect with the local community.
Education and Child-rearing
Working with local educational institutions to assist with science education, we support the young talent that will lead the future.
Pepper Robot Programming Classes
The TDK Museum has been holding programming classes using the Pepper robot since 2017 as a means of encouraging the acceleration of programming education in the classroom. Each year from September to March of the following year the Museum holds 90-minute workshops for local high school students two or three times a month.
The students' assignment is to use programming software to create an original application that operates Pepper, a humanoid robot. Participating students learn basic to intermediate programming to run Pepper even if they don't know the programming language at the outset. The students set their own specific themes, with each team presenting the application it creates. This activity is designed to cultivate teamwork and to help students acquire the ability to think comprehensively about how to create an application that utilizes this unique "robot with emotions."
Our annual survey of participating students always generates interesting responses, such as, "When Pepper didn't work as we expected, we investigated the problem ourselves, which enhanced our understanding" and "We had a great time programming Pepper on our own to make it work the way we wanted."
On-Site Lessons
In 2016 TDK reopened its TDK History Museum as the TDK Museum, focusing on the concept of magnetism, which was the basis of TDK's founding. At the same time, we began offering on-site lessons at Nikaho City's three middle schools (Nikaho, Konoura, Kisakata). Our lessons are aimed at complementing the lessons that second-year middle school students receive in electricity and magnetism, to enhance their understanding of this subject.
At our on-site lessons, students make earphones to learn about electromagnetic induction. Electromagnetic induction is a phenomenon in which a potential difference (voltage) is generated in a conductor due to changes in magnetic flux; it is a foundational concept in electricity and magnetism. The students first make a bobbin coil, which comprises a central cylinder around which electrical wire is wound. Students see electromagnetic induction in action by lighting LED bulbs with the bobbin coils. The students then paste neodymium magnets to the bobbin coils to make earphones, which they connect to a digital audio source to hear music. Finally, using familiar electrical appliances as examples, they learn the theory of electromagnetic induction in simple form.
Students respond positively to the on-site lessons, saying things like, "I learned that electromagnetic induction is used in unexpected places"; "I'll remember today's lesson when I hear the term 'electromagnetic induction' "; and "I wasn't good at science, but now I'm interested in it."
The TDK Museum will continue to contribute to improving young people's science abilities through programming classes and on-site lessons.
Special Exhibitions / Experience Events
The TDK Museum holds special exhibitions where visitors can experience the latest technology. We also offer hands-on electronics classes where elementary school students can have fun learning the basics of electronic engineering.
The Environment and Culture
The TDK Museum operates using environmentally friendly hydroelectric power.
With the TDK Museum as a major sight-seeing attraction in the Nikaho area, our activities make connections with the local community.
Operating with 100% Clean Electricity from Akita Prefecture
The electricity used by the TDK Museum is supplied by 13 hydroelectric power plants in Akita Prefecture. The Museum uses about as much electricity as 60 homes,*all of which is CO2free**clean energy.
- *The Museum's annual power consumption is approximately 270,000 kWh. Assuming that the annual power consumption of an ordinary household (a family of four) is 4,800 kWh, the calculation works out to 270,000 kWh/4,800 kWh, or about 57 households.
- **"CO2-free" refers to power generation without CO2emissions.
Local Nature and Technology
From 2019 to 2021, the TDK Museum offered a VR experience in which visitors could enjoy a virtual hang glider flight from the fifth station of Mt. Chokai down to the Museum. We coupled actual flight footage with VR technology to allow visitors to experience a view of the area's natural scenery from a different perspective than usual.
VR hang glider experience report
"Stamp Rally" in Nikaho
As a major sight-seeing attraction, the Museum does its part to connect with the region, such as by participating in "stamp rallies" (encouraging sight-seers to have a document stamped with as many museums' commemorative stamps as possible) among area museums.
Sports
The TDK Museum supports local sports teams. And TDK's baseball team is based in Akita.
TDK supports two local sports teams: the Akita Northern Happinets in the professional men's basketball league (B League) and, as sponsor, the Blaublitz Akita men's soccer team in the J2 League (which until 2010 was the TDK Soccer Club).
TDK's baseball team is based in Akita. The director of the Museum also played on the baseball team, and several other team alumni are on the Museum's staff.