The very next day I went to the Mitsubishi Science Museum, it is located near my office. The place is a great learning place for kids, and it has nearly all the interesting stuff displays in which Mitsubishi is involved in some way. The entry fee is just 300 Y. I asked if any one wanted to go there… but apparently everyone is more interested in sleeping than science.. so i went alone to this science museum
There are just two floors. The first floor has recption, shop on left, then a place featuring home appliance technological advancement in the back. Space, Underwater and Transportation section also. Above is the power/electricity technologies, old ships and aircrafts display, mechanical energy activities, video and books library, 3d theater and designign and flying facilities.
Nuclear Plant
The first thing that you get to see when you go up the stairs to 2F is the nuclear plant model. There are compelte descriptions of each thing and how each equipment work from reactors to fuel rods to recycling uranium. and there is also a game table for 4 persons that lets u tilt the table and objective is to hit all the pins on baord with balls (nucleus) so that nuclear reaction can start.
 |
 |
 |
Alternate Energy
Behind the nuclear plant was a full room dedicated to alternate and “green” energies and the importance of shifting to them. The solar energy interactive display allowed u to see that how much electricity is produced by how much light. And for wind turbines the display allowed you to change direction of wind and velocity to let u see how the wind turbine produces electricity and turns parallel to wind when velocity increases over 25 m/s to save its properller from being damaged. There were also flash cards with interesting questions and answers of them on back to give u quick facts in interesting way.
 |
 |
 |
There was also a huge diplay which let u see that if global warming continues at this rate then how much red hot earth will be in future (Armegeddon?) and rest were interactive games for children to play with includign animal and environment rescue games.
 |
 |
 |
There was also a conventional power plany display. You could slide the trays there to check the output. the left tray was for type of fuel and middle one was type of plant. the last one was fixed for ouput. so u slide any combination and the bulbs at end will show that how much energy in comparison is produced.
 |
 |
 |
Fuel Cells
Fuel cells have always been confusing elemnt for me, for the reason that i quite failed to grap the concept that how can water make so much electricty to run a car But the display here made if so simple that how the chargess are collected and water is just thrre left over of hydrogen and oxygen.
Space
Space exhibition was at 1F with different info of planets and small theatre giving that info in english and japanese langauges. There were huge rocket burners here and infront of them jigsaw puzzles realted to space.
 |
 |
 |
Satellites
The satellites display was right on top of entrance and these show the satellite and rocket used to send mitsubishi satellites in space. and ther was also info about the future plans of opening public visits to space on their ship.
 |
 |
 |
Underwater
Underwater exhibition had info about marine life and equipment mitsubishi provides to collect marine data. There was a submersion game too in which you go in a small cabin and all the circular windows of it show that u r in sea and then u control it to go down and then capture data and a unique fish after which you return to surface in time.
 |
 |
 |
Transportation
The transportation room was to show more conventional technologies and advencament in them which include magnetic leviated trains, automatic toll tax, a train simulator where u could drive a real like train in virtual yokohama.
Japanese love driving trains.. and Microsoft Train simulator was only able to sell in japan for this very reason. rest of ppl never bought that crappy game.
 |
 |
 |
Old vehicle display
Models of old ships, planes and trains were also available showing the remarkable progress Mitsubishi as gone in pushing these technologies.
 |
 |
 |
Design your own ship/aircraft
There are computers avialable here where u can also make your own aircraft and ship and then fly / drive them. And evalute their performance and also learn about their theory of working and driving them. I first made a super sonic plane which i would call F-16 (= Faggot 16) based on the color scheme i gave it 
which i flew very well and then also did somehow manage to land it without crashing (i was never good in flight sims regarding landing).
 |
 |
 |
and then i made a speeder yatch; sorry there was no option for a pirate ship 
.. and then took it from yokohama to australia.. sydney bay successfuly.
 |
 |
 |
3D Theater
3D theater is viewed using the specila 3D glases, which i had wanting to buy but no one knows where to get them. I even asked the attendants there if they knew where they got the 3D glasses from but they didnt know.. oh well! the show was a medical related story.. of fighting cancer diaplyed in 3D graphics and presented as an action movie in which the docotr rides the robo bike inside the body to deliver teh medicine in effect cells an cure the cancer.
Yes the movie was 3d and things did pop out but after the 3D theater in Dinsey Land.. this one just looked pathetic. disney had out done themselves with that.
 |
 |
Learn to fly a real helicopter
This was the main attraction fo the show and my turn came at 2:15 pm. I even had time to go out and buy new rechargable cells from PC depot. it was becoming a habit of old cells to die out prety soon.. so i did need new cells. so i returned at around 1:30 and then waited for my turn in this hydraulic powered helicopter simulator which is the same one as used for training real helicopter pilots.
Initially a briefing video was shown explaining the main controls of the helicopter and then i was taken inside. There is seating for 4 inside.. but since no one was with me today so i was the captain and the only passenger myself 
I had some rough start as i was not paying tht much attention to controls demonstration video… damn i am more used to W-A-S-D controls on a keyboard and a mouse… but i did take off and soon after i was flying easily in the cirtual skies of yokohama. The turning of chopper did take some getting use to but i was flying pretty fine by the middle of turn. then the scene turns to evening and u r then to land the chopper on helipad. a display shows trajectory i should follow and it also makes the live trajectory i am descending in… In the start it was way over shoot.. and i was jerking the chooper left and right (i have told before.. landing has never been my best quality… i am more of a .. jump with parachute guy). and in end .. i did land succefuly and my training was complete… one more task complete in become James Bond. I now know how to fly a helicopter
 |
 |
 |
btw attached here were only few pics.. u can view teh complete photo gallery over at picasa
Recent Komments