On July 25th, we held the "STEAM FIGHTERS! Presented by MITSUI OUTLET PARK SAPPORO KITAHIROSHIMA," where you can learn about the fusion of STEAM education and sports with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. This event was held for 1st to 3rd grade elementary school students living in Hokkaido, and was a valuable learning opportunity for summer vacation, where they could experience STEAM education, which has been gaining attention in recent years. For this first event, we welcomed Fighters OB, Hisaaki Morimoto, as guest.

"STEAM education" is a new-age educational model that cultivates the "ability to learn on one's own" by exposing children to robots and IT technology from an early age. STEAM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics, and is a cross-disciplinary academic field that collectively refers to the educational fields of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. Government-led implementation has already begun in the United States and other countries. Many people applied to participate in this event, as they were able to experience learning about these topics while having fun interacting with Morimoto. I think the children who participated this time, and especially their parents, had their eyes sparkling the moment Morimoto took to the stage!

In addition to Morimoto Hisaaki, a lecturer from Stemon Sapporo Maruyama School, a STEAM education school where you can learn how things work and programming, also appeared on stage. The theme of the first event was "Discover the mechanisms of things in the city and create your own ballpark! - Learn how things work and practice what you've learned using blocks." The participants used blocks to practice and create facilities that would be great to have in a ballpark. First, they learned about the mechanisms of wheels and gears, and then practiced the basic structure of a building using blocks. It was IN to see the children engrossed and having fun learning. How to make it, how to make it move...Many parents and children said that working together deepened their bond. Just by giving a few ideas, Morimoto Hisaaki's hands started to move. At the end, they placed the completed works of each table on the ballpark grounds and held a presentation, announcing the recommended points. The event was full of humorous and highly finished works, such as roller coasters and food cars, and even adults were surprised and smiled at the event.
At MITSUI OUTLET PARK SAPPORO KITAHIROSHIMA, we will continue to consider the nature of children's education and work in cooperation with local educational institutions with the aim of contributing to the development of the qualities and abilities necessary for the future society.