The "Design Ah! Exhibition in Tokyo" is being held at the Miraikan (National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation) in Odaiba, Tokyo from July 19th to October 18th. A press preview was held on the 18th, the day before the opening.

The exhibition is an exhibition that allows visitors to see and experience the concept of "Design Ah!," a program currently airing on NHK Educational TV that teaches children about the fun of design. The "Design Ah! Exhibition" was held at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in Roppongi, Tokyo in 2013 and attracted 220,000 visitors, but this time new content has been created.

The exhibition is made up of three rooms: the "Observation Room," the "Experience Room," and the "Concept Room." The first, the "Observation Room," is divided into five columns: lunch boxes, marks, containers, bodies, and names. There are also works on display for five themes, each with three pieces for the steps of seeing, thinking, and making (experiencing), such as a work that breaks down the contents of four different types of bento boxes and observes how they are packed, a work that arranges the timeline of how eggs change into various shapes and become bento, and a work in which you can feel the feelings of the umeboshi plum by putting your face through a hole in a large box.Other works on display include a work that arranges the approximately 80,000 surnames from across Japan in proportion to their population, and a work that observes the relationship between objects and names by replacing photographs of classrooms with words.


"Observation Room"

The next, the "Experience Room," features original songs from the program, including the theme song by Keigo Oyamada, and images synchronized with the music are projected across all four walls of the exhibition room, allowing visitors to experience the design through images and sound that surround them in 360°. The final "Conceptual Room" is divided into three themes: space, time, and mechanism. It features interactive pieces, such as a piece where gears become gears and make sounds when attached, and another where you can experience how the impression of a space changes by manipulating the amount of light and color temperature. While playing, visitors can observe how they perceive places, the flow of time, and people's movements through design. General Director Taku Satoh said in his opening remarks, "I hope this will inspire everyone to think about design, and realize that design is hidden in the things around us." Video Director Yugo Nakamura added, "This exhibition contains almost no detailed explanations or instructions on how to view the works. I hope children and visitors will be free to look and feel as they please."



Additionally, Uchida Mahoro, head of the Exhibition Planning and Development Division at Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, said of the exhibition, "I hope that this exhibition will deepen mutual understanding and become a force for shaping the future, with people who are interested in science becoming interested in design, and people who are interested in design becoming interested in science and technology."