Abstract
Together with the engineering students in our university laboratory, we experimented with the experience-based education of elementary school children. In the educational program "Toyota Monodukuri Festival 2006" we taught elementary school children to assemble and test a fuel cell kit. Our goals included increasing children's interest in fuel cells, and helping children understand the construction and workings of electrical generation in fuel cells. We also hoped that our instructors (our university engineering students) would develop their communication skills by teaching elementary school children. In our experiment, instructors first produced educational materials comprising an explanatory poster, a model fuel cell, and an assembly instruction sheet. Then the instructors taught children to assemble fuel cells and demonstrate their electrical generation. We achieved all our goals, both teaching elementary school children, and improving the communication skills of our instructors, through experience-based education.
