Masako Tanemura

The opportunities of physics experiments for students have been decreasing even though science teachers realize that the physics experiments play an important role in science education. It may be one of the causes for the decline in scholastic ability. However, looking back on the history of science education in Japan, far more physics experiments had been conducted from Meiji period to early in Showa period. It can be expected that conducting the physics experiments in line with the science history may bring us positive educational effects. Therefore, the physics experiments, which had been carried out in senior high schools at that time, and the essential physics experiments in the history are presented in this paper. Students usually show a great interest in the series of experiments. It can lead students to understand the physical phenomena easily, know the scientists′ view points and find how useful and practical science is for our everyday life.

Nowadays, the depression of curiosity about science of young Japanese people markedly increases in Japan. The experiments in school, one of the way for making a sense for science curiosity, are very important. However, teachers in Japanese schools, especially graduated at literature courses, tend to hesitate for teaching the scientific experiments. This fact may enhance a depression of the scientific curiosity. The present study, therefore, reports on our first trial experimental lectures of science open for 4th grade students in the literature courses in our university.