Miraikan Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Miraikan - The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation

Established	2001
Location	2-3-6 Aomi, Koto-ku, Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan
Type	Science Centre
Accreditation	Asia Pacific Network of Science & Technology Centres (ASPAC)

The Miraikan (which means "Future Museum" in Japanese) is an exciting science museum in Tokyo, Japan. Its full name is the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (日本科学未来館, Nippon Kagaku Mirai-kan). It was opened in 2001 by Japan's Science and Technology Agency.

Miraikan is a great place to learn about new science and technology! You can find it in the Odaiba area of Tokyo. Getting there is easy with a cool driverless train system called Yurikamome. It takes about 20 minutes from downtown Tokyo.

Explore Amazing Exhibits
- The Incredible Geo-Cosmos Globe
- Discover the Geo-Palette Map
Exciting Special Exhibitions
Gallery
See also

Explore Amazing Exhibits

Miraikan has many cool things to see and do. You can see real-time maps showing how Japan is always moving. These maps use many seismometers (tools that measure ground movement). They show tiny vibrations and even bigger earthquakes. You can also look up past earthquakes on their computers.

One special exhibit shows a piece of rock from a long time ago. This rock tells the story of a huge meteorite crash. Scientists believe this crash led to the end of the dinosaurs! You can also meet Asimo, a famous Honda robot. And don't miss the model of a super-fast maglev train!

The Incredible Geo-Cosmos Globe

One of the most amazing things at Miraikan is the "Geo-Cosmos." It's a giant, glowing globe that shows our Earth in incredible detail. It displays things like global weather, ocean temperatures, and how much green plant life covers the land. It even shows how people live around the world.

The Geo-Cosmos is made of over 10,000 special light panels. It was rebuilt in 2010 after the Tohoku earthquake in Japan. In 2014, US President Barack Obama visited Miraikan. He spoke to Japanese students in front of the Geo-Cosmos. He even said, "As far as I know, we don't have one of those cool globes..."

The Geo-Cosmos is part of a permanent exhibition called "Tsunagari." This exhibition also includes the Geo-Palette and Geo-Scope.

Discover the Geo-Palette Map

Miraikan uses a special world map called the AuthaGraph projection. A Japanese architect named Hajime Narukawa created it in 1999. This map is unique because it takes our round Earth and flattens it into a rectangle. But it does this while keeping the sizes of countries and continents correct. This means the map shows the Earth more accurately than many other flat maps.

Exciting Special Exhibitions

Every year, Miraikan creates three to six special exhibitions. These shows often mix science and art. They cover many different topics. Some past exhibitions have been about "Toilet - Human Waste and Earth's Future" and the "Making of the Tokyo Sky Tree." There was also a "Terminator Exhibition" about robots and our future.

In 2012, a special show called "The Story of the End of the World: 73 Questions We Must Answer" talked about the Tohoku earthquake and what happened after it. Staff at Miraikan can speak many languages. They give demonstrations about the newest Japanese science. The museum is led by a Japanese astronaut named Mamoru Mohri.