The "Kyoto Life-Shining Museum" conducted various activities in fiscal year 2025.

The four facilities—Kyoto City Zoo, Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden, Kyoto Aquarium, and Kyoto City Youth Science Center—have signed a cooperation agreement as "Kyoto☆Life-Shining Museums" with the aim of passing on and providing experiences and education about the irreplaceable natural environment to future generations. Throughout the year, they are developing various collaborative exchange projects. This time, we will introduce the activities conducted in fiscal year 2025.

■ April 12, 2025 "An Introduction to Wildlife Studies" @ Kyoto City Zoo
Under the warm spring sunshine, we held an event at Kyoto City Zoo called "An Introduction to Wildlife Studies."
This time, we held a workshop with the aim of helping people feel closer to and learn more about the penguins they usually see at the aquarium, rather than just "seeing" them.

At the venue, visitors could try out "penguin growth footprint stamps" that show the differences in growth based on foot size, plush toys that replicate the weight of a newborn penguin, and even the experience of touching a real penguin feather.
The children showed a variety of reactions, from nodding deeply as they listened to the animal care staff' explanations to gently touching the surprisingly fluffy feathers and being surprised by their softness.

By touching and feeling the weight of the penguins we see every day, we can gain a much closer understanding of their growth process and physical structure. It was a day where everyone could learn more about penguins while having fun.

■Special Workshop on August 2nd and 3rd, 2025 @ Kyoto Aquarium <br />A special workshop was held at Kyoto Aquarium for two days during the summer vacation period, bringing together four aquariums and zoos. On August 2nd, Kyoto City Zoo and Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden gave lectures on the theme of "nocturnal animals " in front of the large " The Sea of Kyoto " tank.
At the Kyoto Aquarium, Ishikawa from the freshwater team gave a presentation on the nocturnal giant salamander. He also spoke about the results of field research being conducted in collaboration with Kyoto City and Kyoto University. The botanical garden gave a lecture on "flowers that bloom at night," the zoo on " animals that appear at temples at night," and the science center on "insects that are attracted to light," allowing everyone to learn about a wide variety of nocturnal animals.

Following the lecture, each aquarium set up a booth in the workshop space on the second floor, "Communication Hall." Kyoto Aquarium offered a workshop where visitors could make can badges featuring animals eyes. They also displayed a model of a giant salamander's head and real teeth, allowing visitors to touch and observe them closely while the animal care staff explained about the giant salamander.

■September 27, 2025 "animals Plaza" @ Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden <br />While the heat still lingered, a lecture was held at the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden on the theme of "animals." From Kyoto Aquarium, a animal care staff in charge of fur seals spoke about "Chinowa," a fur seal born in June. The presentation included quizzes and videos to convey the growth of Chinowa since birth.

After the lectures at each of the gardens and aquariums were over, we moved to the plaza where the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden held a "seed spitting" event. When the staff members rode in a high-altitude work vehicle and squirted various seeds, the participants cheered and chased after the seeds, creating a lively and exciting atmosphere.

■ February 1, 2026 "National Museum of Nature and Science Festival" @ Kyoto City Youth Science Center At the "National Museum of Nature and Science Festival," we held a jellyfish lampshade making workshop. Participants painted baby jellyfish called "ephyra" and made lampshades. On the day, we also exhibited ephyra of blue cannonball jellyfish, Amakusa jellyfish, and Moon jelly Moon jelly. Participants also enjoyed observing real ephyra.

Furthermore, there was a live commentary on jellyfish by Mutsuura, the jellyfish animal care staff. He explained the process from ephyra to adult, and both children and adults seemed very interested and listened intently to his explanation.

≪AQTION! Partner Joins Oak Corporation≫
From February 1, 2026, Oak Corporation will be collaborating with us as an AQTION! partner. They created the logo for "Kyoto☆Life-Shining Museum" and displayed banners for it at the Science Festival.
In fiscal year 2026, with the continued support of Oak Corporation, we will continue to work on various activities for the "Kyoto Life-Shining Museum."

Kyoto Aquarium is running "AQTION!", a sustainability promotion project aimed at passing the baton to the future of our planet. We are working together with children and local communities to address global and societal challenges that can only be seen from the perspective of an aquarium.

For more information about AQTION!'s activities, click here.