10 Things We Create

　“Children’s imagination will create the future!” Guided by this conviction, we have continued to create learning opportunities for children for 12 years. 350,000 children have participated in our programs.
　Our challenge has been to create “10 things” to bring children’s creative learning to life.

1.) Creating Opportunities

　We have been working to support children’s creative activities in partnership with industry, government, and schools. With about 300 activists leading the way, we work closely with a wide range of people—workshop creators, after-school program staff, science museum and other museum staff, education professionals, university researchers, artists from various fields, businesspeople, government officials, and municipal officials ‒ to build a platform where children can create.

　Every year, we host the world’s first and largest children’s creative event. It is called the “Workshop Collection”. The Workshop Collection is an exhibition of workshops. The 9th Workshop Collection, held recently, featured 100 creative workshops and attracted 100,000 families over the course of two days. Recognized for its social value and widespread impact as a “system that promotes children’s creativity and expression throughout the nation,” the Workshop Collection received the Good Design Award and was also selected for the Good Design Best 100.

2.) Creating Programs

　Creating movies, building robots, composing music… we have developed workshop programs that inspire “creation.” These programs span a wide variety of fields. Topics include modeling, design, film, music, the body, digital technology, programming, the environment, science, math, language, international exchange, netiquette, and food. There are 200 types of modeling workshops alone!

　While there are many programs worldwide that allow participants to listen, explore, and learn, the programs we’ve developed and offered in the past have encouraged children to create on their own.

3.) Creating Resources

　Our goal is for all children to be able to participate in creative learning. To achieve this goal, it is essential to create resources on how to prepare these workshops so that anyone can organize them.

　Our Workshop Resource Package has been used in 320 facilities, including museums, preschools, kindergartens, schools, universities, after-school programs, daycare centers, cultural facilities, commercial facilities, and apartment complexes.

4.) Creating Tools

　Wouldn’t it be nice to engage in creative activities in your daily life? We are working to develop a system—such as a smartphone or tablet app—that families can use to engage in creative activities. Our app, the “tap*rap series,” allows users to engage in creative activities. This app has received the Kids Design Award and the Good Design Award.

5.) Developing Talent

　While programs and tools are important, it is “people” who create the learning community. We are working to nurture facilitators and producers who help children engage in imaginative activities. Currently, we have 1,087 facilitators registered with us!

6.) Creating Spaces

　The spaces where children engage in creative activities are very important. We have worked to create an environment that supports children’s creative activities in homes and cultural facilities. Our philosophy has been brought to life in places such as museums, apartment complexes, digital storybook museums, and the recently redeveloped “Park City Osaki”—the largest metropolitan area within the Yamanote Line.

7.) Creating a Home Base

　We have worked to create a home base where children can participate in creative learning. We have developed a program called the Kids Creative Research Center, held at the University of Tokyo, Keio University, Waseda University, Futakotamagawa Catalyst BA, and other locations. The acceptance rate is 1 in 10, reflecting the high level of interest among parents in these programs. We are also working to create spaces for meaningful after-school activities and are implementing our programs in after-school activity centers.

8.) Creating a Community

　Our vision is to create a city brimming with children’s creativity. We aim to establish local communities that support children’s creative activities, thereby revitalizing those communities. In this way, we are working to foster a positive community.

9.) Creating an Environment

We have worked to create an environment where children can use digital technology safely and securely. Our efforts include implementing information literacy education and supporting social movements. The digitization of school education is also a key factor in this effort.

10.) Creating the Future

　Imagine the post office of the future, imagine the car of the future, imagine the train of the future, imagine the hospital of the future. We have implemented projects where children—together with other children and experts—can connect with children around the world, imagine the future, and send a message to adults.