Part of the junior high school curriculum focuses on the geopark and is titled, "Hometown and Apoi Studies." This year's studies have been conducted in the following steps:

Step 1. Preparational studies

Step 2. Field trip on October 20

Step 3. Group research projects, including interviews with local experts on November 5

Step 4. Poster presentations on December 8

Group research projects began on November 5th. The flora/fauna group and the geology group came by the Visitor Center. The other groups (tourism, industry, history, etc.) visited other areas around the geopark such as the Samani Industry Department, Board of Education, Tourism Information Center, the Oyaki shop, Hotel Apoi Sanso, Tojuin Temple, the Agricultural Cooperative, etc.

The flora group was shown around the Visitor Center exhibits by Mr. T, then visited Cape Enrumu to see the site of the Apoi Dream Project. The Apoi Dream Project is a nature restoration project where the students grow endemic Mt. Apoi alpine plants from seed, then transplant the seedlings back onto the mountain.

The geology group listened to a lecture at the Mt. Apoi Scientific Research and Support Center and visited the plate boundary site. They also learned about the different rocks and the National Park that includes part of Mt. Apoi Geopark. Academic advisor, Prof. N, talked about a project called "Rock Density & Mineral Hardness Experiment," and had the students conduct their own experiments to explore the diversity of the rocks for themselves. The students were surprised when they had to use arithmetic to calculate the rock density difference between peridotite and limestone, even though they were here to study geology! I was impressed when the students started connecting the dots between rocks and other things outside of earth sciences. Some of the students began to wonder out loud about how they would take the knowledge they gained from these experiments and turn it into their poster presentation.

Due to the GIGA School Concept, all the students carried their own tablet and took many photos. They asked me a variety of questions while taking photos. I was rather impressed when the students began to answer each other's questions. Later they will summarize their group research project experiences to create a poster presentation. (K)