Hello everyone. My name is Pichayanun Suwanmontri, a Thai science communicator at Miraikan in Tokyo, Japan. At this time everybody may recognize the situation of global pandemic COVID-19. It affects our everyday life, such as wearing a mask when going outside, keeping a physical distance from others, etc. Similar to other services, Miraikan was also temporarily closed for about three months during 2020’s spring, however still we did not stop science communication activities!!
It is important to correctly understand the situation, and get accurate information in order to protect yourself and society. Miraikan provides several resources including a channel that enables you to connect, and a platform to exchange opinion towards society and future. Let me introduce the activities that are also available for non-Japanese!
Science Communication Talk
At present, on the 5th floor, every day at 11:45, there is a science communication talk on the topic of COVID-19 and Vaccines. The current stage of vaccine development and necessity of a vaccine are explained in this talk. Once a vaccine is available, there are several points we need to consider. For example;
How do we consider the criteria for vaccination?
Based on vaccine availability and supply, must some groups be prioritized for vaccination?
What do you think? You can join the talk and directly ask questions with our science communicators!
Corner to share your experiences and opinion about COVID19
There is a board nearby Co-studio on fifth floor. Use a sticky note and a pen to share your everyday life experiences and concerns regarding COVID19. See what others wrote! Is that similar to what you think?
Looking forward to your participation!
Panel of COVID-19
The learning resource about COVID-19 and the novel virus made by the science communication team was aligned as a panel on the 1st and 7th floor of Miraikan until the middle of this month. It listed basic scientific facts about infectious diseases, with illustrations, to help you correctly get updated information and news! Some information might be useful for you.
Can you guess how much virus will be removed by hand washing? Let’s see figure below!
Washing thoroughly with running water and soap reduces the number of viruses left on your hands. Now you see that it is an effective preventive method!
You also can find other information of this panel via Miraikan’s website here.
https://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/en/resources/provision/COVID-19/
Actually, there was also a live channel online regarding COVID-19. Unfortunately, it was conducted in Japanese. Let me briefly tell you about it.
Niconico live channel
”Facts about Coronavirus Disease 2019, COVID-19 & the Novel Virus～ Let’s ask the specialist” is the live channel broadcasted via Niconico (online video service) done by Miraikan from April till July. The program ran under the collaboration between Miraikan’s science communicators and the expert from the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Disease Control and Prevention Center. There was a special focus for each talk for each broadcast, and the audience could ask questions regarding their daily lives through the program.
Now, you can see what we have done towards COVID-19. Our activities also keep current with science and society’s situation. Miraikan is the place that you can exchange your opinion and discuss science, technology, and society. Your opinion, based on your background, country, culture, etc. might be different from situations occurring in Japan or Asia. We may discover some interesting viewpoints, together, in our conversation.
At present, although the science communication booth closed, our science communicators are on the floor from 10am till 5pm. Not only COVID-19, you can come to discuss with us anytime any topics you are interested in regarding science, technology, and society.
