How to create a special exhibition
Tamarokuto Science Museum
A deep look at living things
"Rokuto Insect Encyclopedia"

As a comprehensive space production company, NOMURA GROUP not only designs and constructs spaces, but also manages facilities after they open. We provide comprehensive and inclusive management of the entire facility, including research and curatorial departments, focusing on cultural facilities such as museums, science museums, and art galleries. We are the driving force behind our business, with approximately 250 employees in the Business Production Headquarters, Public-Private Partnership Project Development Division 1, Operation Business Section, working at 17 facilities across the country, with head office employees providing support as a back office. Teams work together at each facility to create value for facilities that are rooted in the local community and beloved by them.

Each facility has staff with a wide range of specialized knowledge who plan and implement special exhibitions according to the season and time of year. In this series of interviews titled "How to Create a Special Exhibition," we will capture their unique perspectives on how they plan exhibition themes that change every few months and how they communicate these themes to visitors.

The first of these is the "30th Anniversary Summer Special Exhibition Rokuto Insect Picture Book," which will be held at Tama Rokuto Science Museum from Saturday, July 20th. A member of the Operations Department interviewed two staff members in charge of planning the exhibition about the highlights of the exhibition, their thoughts as those who convey information through the exhibition, and what they keep in mind when working on the exhibition on a daily basis, and nomlog editorial team covered the situation.

[Exhibition staff]
​ ​Tamarokuto Science Museum
​ ​Sachiko Kitamura​ ​(center of photo)
​ ​He majored in fisheries at university. He has worked as an exhibition and program staff member at Tama Rokuto Science Museum for about 20 years. He currently plans and manages special exhibitions and programs in the Nature Group. He has worked on a wide range of themes centered on living creatures, including fish, fish mouths, local rivers, wool and fibers, fish migration x sugoroku, fish classification, sink-and-floor crafts, and squid dissection.
​ ​Sawako Kinoshita​ ​(second from the left in the photo)
​ ​He majored in plant ecology at university. He has worked at Tama Rokuto Science Museum since the days of contracted services before the start of the designated manager system. He has been with the museum for about 15 years. He currently belongs to the Interpreter Group and is mainly responsible for explaining and guiding visitors around the exhibition rooms. He publishes the Rokuto Garden Newsletter, which introduces the nature in the museum gardens.
In addition to planning this Rokuto Insect Picture Book Exhibition, he is also in charge of the "Insect Survey" activity, which will involve children searching for insects in the museum grounds as a related participatory event.

【interviewer】
NOMURA Co., Ltd. Co., Ltd.
​ ​Business Production Headquarters, First General Affairs Department, Public-Private Partnership Project Development Division 1, Operation Business Section
​ ​Miki Mori​ ​(left)​ ​Planning Director
​ ​Hino Natsuka​ ​(second from the right in the photo)
​ ​Risa Aoki​ ​(right in photo)

*Text: Satoko Yokota (nomlog Editorial Department)
*Photography: Shintaro Suzuki (nomlog Editorial Department)

People are the center of attention. A mini tour of Tama Rokuto Science Museum with the exhibition staff

Tama Rokuto Science Museum (hereafter referred to as Rokuto) opened in 1994 and was renovated in 2013. The facility was created by NOMURA Co., Ltd., the exhibit designer and designated manager, while incorporating the opinions of the museum's staff on-site. Three new areas were added: the "Lab" experience space, where visitors can deepen their science learning through communication with staff; the "Connecting Spot" information dissemination space, which works in collaboration with local human resources, companies, and academic institutions; and the "Kids Space," which fosters intergenerational exchange, with the themes of "people at the forefront" and "continuous growth and change."

Before the interview, we spoke with Kitamura and Kinoshita as we toured the museum's gardens, where the specimens that are the highlight of the exhibition will be displayed and where the museum will hold "insect surveys" where children will search for insects.

"I'll show you the specimens that are the highlight of this event," said Kitamura as he carefully brought out his precious collection of specimens. Everyone was entranced by the beauty of the Morpho butterflies.
Kinoshita continued, "The reason why the base of the stick insect's front legs are thin is so that when it stretches its legs out straight to camouflage itself as a branch, its head can be completely tucked inside," and I exclaimed, impressed by this wonder of nature.

As we started to walk through the lush gardens, Kinoshita stopped and said, "We see the Helix Ladybug Flea Beetle." As soon as he explained, "It flies right along," everyone cheered as they saw it fly right along. He immediately explained the origin of the name, saying, "The edge of the leaf beetle is black, and it is a leaf beetle that jumps around like a flea, similar to a ladybug, so it's called the Helix Ladybug Flea Beetle."

"If you look closely at the leaves or move a stone out of the way, you'll see something rustle and find a living thing," Kinoshita said, offering hints on how to find living things. He also explained about plants, such as a splendid hydrangea, a rare Mitsuba flower, and young bamboo with fluffy down. "There was a damselfly flying around this morning, but I wonder where it's gone now...?" Kinoshita, who never misses a day of observing the garden, shows a deep affection for living things.

Taking a deeper look at the "Rokuto Insect Encyclopedia" for the first time in​ ​five years!

We then moved to the museum's lounge area to talk to him about this special exhibition.

forest
Speaking of Rokuto's "Insect Exhibition," it has been held once every three years in 2013, 2016, and 2019, and is a popular exhibition that has attracted many visitors every time. This will be the first time in five years.

　
Past exhibition posters

Kitamura:
Yes, this was planned to coincide with Rokuto's 30th anniversary.

forest
What is the highlight of this exhibition?

Kitamura:
I planned this with Kinoshita-san, and we decided to exhibit "30 Secrets of Insects" for the 30th anniversary, not just to show a lot of beautiful specimens, but because we wanted people to know the amazing things about insects and take home knowledge that they thought they knew but didn't. I think this is one of the big attractions.

forest
Was it difficult to narrow it down to 30 insects out of all the options?

Kinoshita
Yes, that's right. The supervisor is Kenji Suda (representative of the Musashino Natural History Research Group, which conducts nature experience activities for children).
There was also talk from Rokuto's supervising insect specimens and collaborating with him on repairing stuffed fish specimens, saying, "It's a bit..." However, without a division, there would be no end to it, so we decided to match the number to the 30th anniversary. Of course, I hope that it will convey that "there are more than just 30." And the highlight of this event is the original "phylogenetic tree."

Kitamura:
We are currently working on a huge one that is about 4 meters long. (The interview was conducted on June 11th, during preparations for the event.) Insects in phylogenetic trees are generally represented by illustrations or images, but we wanted people to be able to touch the real thing as much as possible, so we decided to incorporate specimens into the phylogenetic tree. We want to work hard to create something that will impress everyone.

Hino
What would you especially like visitors to see?

Kinoshita
There is an exhibit where Professor Suda has randomly arranged various kinds of insects in a large box, so I would like you to take a good look at it. I hope that you will learn about the many types of insects from it.

Different areas of expertise create synergy

forest
By the way, why did you two team up for this special exhibition? I thought it was interesting that Kitamura from the Nature Group, who is in charge of the exhibitions and educational outreach, and Kinoshita from the "Interpreter* Group," who acts as an intermediary between visitors and the exhibitions, teamed up.
*The word "interpreter" originally meant someone who interprets. At Tama Rokuto Science Museum, the staff working in the exhibition halls are called interpreters, as they are people who convey the science introduced in the exhibition halls in a friendly and easy-to-understand way to visitors.

Kitamura:
I'm the only one in the nature team who can take charge of this, and I usually work on fish as a theme, but this time it was insects. I didn't have any particular dislike for insects, but I didn't have much knowledge about them, so I asked Kinoshita, who has specialized knowledge, to act as an advisor. I created it while consulting with Kinoshita, asking him, "What would be good?"

Kinoshita
I am usually in charge of the exhibition room, and this was my first time working on a special exhibition. I ended up relying on Kitamura-san for a lot of things. If the specimens were just lined up, people would just go "huh," so I thought it would be nice to be able to convey, "This is the highlight, and here's how to compare it with other things."

At Rokuto, we have a group called "Interpreters," whose main job is to guide and explain the exhibits. We call this "interactive." There aren't many groups like this at other facilities, so it's unique to Rokuto.

forest
Kitamura, who regularly holds exhibitions and workshops that place importance on experience and dialogue, and Kinoshita, who thinks daily about how to communicate with visitors in an easy-to-understand way and how to get them interested in what they see, this was the first time the two of them teamed up.

Kitamura:
Although they are in different departments, both specialize in natural sciences. The interpreter group often honestly tells me what they think, such as "What does this mean?" or "This exhibit doesn't seem to be working properly..." and everyone in the museum office talks about various things on an equal footing, and communication is possible without barriers.

 forest
Rather than saying, "I'll only do this," you can see an attitude throughout the museum of everyone gradually coming to terms with each other and trying new things.

What can be conveyed only through handmade crafts?

forest
By the way, one of the characteristics of Rokuto is that many of the exhibits are handmade, which I think is one of the museum's unique charms. What kind of feelings do the curators have when they are faced with these exhibits?

Kitamura:
We have many staff members who are good at making things, so the "Nature Room" on the second floor in particular is not a permanent facility; the staff thinks of a theme and recreates it each time, so if there is a good theme, they make it by hand themselves.

The "Tree Display" in the "Nature Room" on the second floor introduces local creatures and nature information through panels and exhibits made by staff.

forest
Whenever I visit, there are new exhibits in the Nature Room, and I can see that it is constantly being updated. I think that this attitude is reflected in the current exhibition.

Kitamura:
When we held the "Fish Mouth Exhibition" last year, I and other staff members painstakingly created and exhibited fish skull specimens. It made us realize that we can make things ourselves, and many visitors were interested in how we made them. I was happy that some people said they would like to try doing it for their summer vacation homework after we exhibited the "staff handmade items."

We don't have any professionals at making specimens, so we make mistakes and wonder, "Is this good enough?" but it really feels like "the staff gave it a try."

forest
I thought that kind of challenging attitude was typical of Rokuto.

What is important to convey the realizations that arise from experience

Hino
There was a group of elementary school students visiting today, and they looked like they were having a lot of fun. What impressed me was that there were many things to experience and touch throughout the museum.

Kitamura:
The theme of our museum is "hands-on." Many of the things you see will cause some kind of action just by pressing a button, turning a handle, or making a slight movement.

Kinoshita
For example, in the Mechanism Lab on the first basement floor, we are currently making an inverted pendulum and there is also a device for conducting experiments with air.

forest
Compared to exhibits that explain mechanisms, it must be quite difficult to allow visitors to experience the natural world, which is your field of expertise. When planning an exhibition, what do you want visitors to experience?

Kitamura:
It's quite difficult to touch living creatures, isn't it? In that sense, I think it's important to actually go to the field and look for what's there. For example, just by scooping up the fish you caught and putting it in a jar, you can feel its slimy texture, and you can touch and feel its rough surface... I think it's important to go out into the field and interact with it.

forest
That's a very important perspective. However, in reality, I think there aren't many opportunities to go to the actual field. How do you express the importance of experiencing living creatures in your exhibits?

Kitamura:
I think that specimens are very useful. For example, in the case of fish exhibits, we display them so that visitors can see the shape of gills, or compare fish with digestive organs (stomachs) with those without, or we have games like Concentration where visitors have to guess which fish belong to which category, or we have a sugoroku game themed around fish migration...we try to make the exhibits experience-oriented.

forest
I see, that's an effective method. By the way, I think there are many children who don't like bugs. Is there anything you keep in mind for those children?

Kinoshita
If you don't really dislike it, I think you'll think it's beautiful if you take a look at it. For example, in this exhibition, we're not just displaying 30 specimens, but many different types, so I'd like you to look at them from various perspectives.

Aoki
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of insects, but I was really interested in the mechanism of the stick insect that you explained to me earlier, and I thought it was very profound. Even if you start by looking at it, you can understand it by hearing about its mechanism... it's important to learn something from it.

Projects born from passion, a better cycle

Hino
What is the central focus for you curators when planning a project? For example, do you think from the perspective of "this could be a summer vacation project for children"?

Kinoshita
We often come up with ideas together, with the idea being, "This is what I want to show." I get the impression that the focus is on what the staff likes.

Hino
I heard that the curators suggested that the leaves that have been eaten by insects be framed and sold as artwork...is that true?

Kinoshita
Yes, they are sold in the museum shop, so please take a look.

Kitamura:
I also only do things I like. For example, fish mouths are different depending on what they eat. They suck in plankton, eat whole fish, eat algae... I think that if you look at them from the perspective that the shape of the fish's teeth and mouth is different depending on what they eat, it will make you wonder, "What are they eating?" and your imagination will expand. I think everyone at the museum is doing the same thing.

forest
It must be nice to see children actually looking at the exhibits and reacting to them. Were there any reactions from visitors that made you happy or shocked you?

Kitamura:
I was happy when people commented on the fish mouth-themed exhibit I mentioned earlier, "I didn't know you could make something like that." We bought fish that we thought were interesting and tried to make specimens through trial and error, so we were very happy to receive their reaction.

On the other hand, I had trouble explaining the question, "How do fish ingest plankton?", so I thought I could have made it easier to understand, and perhaps used a microscope or other device to make it easier to see. I think I can make use of the insights I gained from the exhibition, not just in the exhibition, but in the lab I run on a daily basis.

forest
Another great thing about Rokuto is that the special exhibitions and the permanent exhibitions are well connected. They do everything themselves, get feedback from the visitors, and use that to update the exhibition... I think that creates a very good cycle.

In preparation for the special exhibition to be held on July​ ​20th

forest
The July event is finally here, and people are already taking applications for participatory events. Are there any events you would recommend this time?

Kinoshita
Butterflies and praying mantises made by a plastic bottle artist. This is the 30th insect survey, but it's the first time I've lectured children on how to do it, so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm planning to teach them how to find insects and how to write a report.

forest
That sounds like a great summer vacation project. I think it's great that you're trying to encourage children to be independent.

Kitamura:
We have a flyer called "Rokuto News" that is published by the library, so please check it out at home and I would be happy if you could expand your imagination and conversation by saying, "This looks like a good idea for summer vacation independent study!" I hope that your interest will continue to grow from there.
*Information about this special exhibition will be published in Rokuto News No. 130 (July/August issue) https://www.tamarokuto.or.jp/archive/

forest
Will you be creating any original goods for this exhibition?

Kinoshita
In addition to the museum shop, there will also be a satellite shop at the entrance selling insect-themed goods, so please look forward to it.

forest
So, I'm looking forward to the event starting on July 20th. Thank you for today.

A message from the two curators to the children who visit the museum

Kitamura:
This will be a chance to see many insects, so I hope you will take a good look at the specimens and also participate in the "insect survey" organized by Kinoshita. I would be happy if it will be an opportunity for people to remember, "Oh, I saw something like this somewhere," or "I remember reading something like this," when they see an insect somewhere. And I hope that they will become interested in insects.

Kinoshita
This time, we have a lineup of rare insects not only from Japan but from all over the world, so we hope that it will inspire people to take an interest in insects, even just a little, by making them realize "there are so many different types of insects" or "there are so many interesting and beautiful shapes."

[Updated 7/22]
"30th Anniversary Summer Special Exhibition: Rokuto Insect Picture Book" is now open!

]