Date and Time: Saturday, November 2, 2024, 10:00 ~ 11:30
Venue: The sites of Japan Bird Festival (ABISTA and the Bird Museum)
Participants: 23 people (7 students, 5 family members, 11 volunteer teachers)
(No24-15)

On November 2, the Saturday Japanese Class visited the Japan Bird Festival (JBF) and the Bird Museum. This was the first activity outside the classroom. Although a light rain was forecasted, they decided not to call off the activity. However, the heavy rain in the morning caused the number of participants to decrease by half. Many students who had initially planned to attend cancelled their participation.

The students and teachers gathered at ABISTA, where families with small children changed the original plan and stayed to explore the exhibitions and participate in workshops. The other participants walked along the Lake Teganuma promenade to the Bird Museum in the rain, holding umbrellas.

In the museum, they were impressed by the large stuffed bird specimens and fascinated to hear the bird calls by pressing buttons labeled with bird names. While exploring the museum, they talked with one another, asking questions like “Which birds do you like?” “Do you have this bird in your country?”

After the museum tour, they enjoyed some free time, strolling along various booths and joining workshops held at the festival tents as the rain cleared.

It was very disappointing that fewer students could attend than expected due to the bad weather. However, getting out of the classroom and exploring different parts of Abiko together would be a good experience for the students to broaden their range of activities as well as deepen their relationship with the teachers.

(Translated by KOYAMA Hitomi)