Hitachi High-Tech held a remote outreach class using a tabletop electron microscope for all ten pupils of Minamitane Municipal Hanamine Elementary School on Monday October 31, during Kagoshima Education Week .

In the first half of the lesson, an experiment was held in which each child shook a different type of yogurt pack and then checked to see if the yogurt had stuck to the lid. There was an exclamation of surprise from the child with a lid that had no yogurt on it, and an electron microscope was used to study why that was.

In the second half, the children operated the electron microscope remotely to look at samples they had chosen to observe. They enjoyed looking at samples unique to Tanegashima, such as locally produced salt, sugar, rice, indigo cotton, and a feather from an Ingi-chickens, a breed of fowl special to the island, while also thinking about the secret behind the delicious taste of the sugar and salt produced on the island, and discovering differences between ordinary rice and no-wash rice.

Comments from the pupils included “It was interesting to see the difference in the number of circles (rice bran on the surface) and shape of the rice” and “I enjoyed operating an electron microscope for the first time.”

We received the following feedback from the teacher: “I feel that being able to study like this while on Tanegashima, the wonder of the electron microscope and the magnificent power of science have enriched the way the children see and think about things. I think it has been an amazing experience that they will treasure.”

Hitachi High-Tech will continue to promote activities that support science education support, and to provide children living on islands or in various other regions with opportunities to experience science and technology.

Has the yogurt stuck to the lid?

The school selected many unusual local samples for observation, such as Tanegashima salt and sugar, and a feather from an island bird

Remotely operating the electron microscope!