ELSI students organize Blue Sky Lecture for budding elementary school soccer stars

Volunteer students in the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) program at Tokyo Tech* organized a "Blue Sky Lecture" for elementary school students on the sports ground of Ookayama Campus on July 21. The outdoor lecture was held jointly with ELSI Associate Professors Kosuke Fujishima and Takanori Kodama, Associate Professor Kenji Ohta from Tokyo Tech’s School of Science, and Associate Professor Takuji Yamada from the School of Life Science and Technology.

During this event, approximately 40 members of the Shimizukubo Soccer Club, based at Shimizukubo Elementary School in Tokyo’s Ota City, were treated to short open-air lectures by Ohta and Kodama on the interior of the Earth and planetary systems with life similar to that of our home planet. The local elementary school is home base to Ota Science School, a program through which youngsters join science classes taught by Tokyo Tech faculty members, receive hands-on training at Tokyo Tech’s facilities, and conduct exchanges with international university students.

The afternoon also included a soccer game between volunteer students and faculty from ELSI and the elementary school students, followed by a "science penalty shoot-out" which involved questions from the content of the mini lectures given earlier. The results of the quizzes were added to the score of the soccer game.

The participating children and their parents all seemed to enjoy the science lectures, commenting that it was a memorable session which they would happily join again in the future.

This science-and-soccer event was Tokyo Tech’s most recent effort to communicate research content to the public while utilizing its campus facilities. Tokyo Tech will continue to contribute to the community by holding unique, enjoyable events planned by volunteer students.

What is ELSI?

ELSI is a research institute established at Tokyo Tech in 2012. Its main mission is to study the origin and evolution of life on Earth, and the possibility of life beyond our planet. ELSI researchers study the formation of the Earth, the early terrestrial environment, and the conditions under which life emerged from multiple perspectives. ELSI combines knowledge from disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, and planetary science to answer fundamental questions about the origins of the Earth and life.

ELSI applies an integrated interdisciplinary approach that brings together top-level domestic and international researchers. By doing so, it aims to deepen our understanding of the origin of life and the possible existence of life across the universe.

What is Ota Science School?

Ota Science School, based at Shimizukubo Elementary School, is an educational program sponsored by Tokyo’s Ota City. Aiming to deepen students' interest in science and technology, the program provides elementary school students with opportunities to learn the basics of science and technology through experiments, crafts, lectures, and other activities. In cooperation with local educational institutions such as Tokyo Tech, the program also contributes to the development of future scientists and engineers by increasing children's exposure to science and technology.

*Tokyo Medical and Dental University and Tokyo Institute of Technology merged on October 1, 2024, to form Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo).

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• Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)
• Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, School of Science
• Department of Life Science and Technology, School of Life Science and Technology
• Ota Science School (Japanese)
• Shimizukubo Soccer Club (Japanese)