The Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai (2025 World Expo in Japan) is being held until October on the artificial island "Yumeshima" in Konohana Ward, Osaka City. The "Electrical Power Pavilion" of the Federation of the Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC) marks its fifth exhibition at an expo. Following the 1970 Osaka Expo, the 1985 Tsukuba Science Expo, the 1990 Osaka Garden Expo, and the 2005 Aichi Earth Expo, this time the theme is " New energy possibilities for a brighter future." Science Portal visited this pavilion where visitors can have fun learning about the possibilities of energy, including nuclear fusion and wireless power transmission, which are expected to be put into practical use in the future.
Glowing, vibrating eggs serve as experience switches and memory devices
The FEPC 's pavilion, "Electrical Power Pavilion: Eggs of Possibility," located near the wooden "Grand Ring," has an exterior appearance of half a silver egg emerging from the ground. The surface appears to be made of combined polygons, adopting the Voronoi diagram of partitioned planes used in searches for the shortest route and urban planning. This uses architecture to express the pavilion's concept of "Eggs of Possibility."
When visitors enter the pavilion, colorful egg-shaped devices glow in the darkness. Visitors choose one egg they like and wear it around their neck. The eggs have sensor chips built inside and exhibit about 50 patterns of behavior, lighting up and vibrating. They serve as switches for visitors' experiences and remember which energy topics they learned about.
Wearing the egg around their neck, visitors proceed to the "Pre-show," where they are given an overview of the future energy topics they will learn about. Images switch across many screens, synchronizing with the eggs' behavior.
About 30 exhibits from nuclear fusion and tidal power generation to Udon
After the Pre-show, visitors proceed to the "Possibility Area," where about 30 energy sources, including nuclear fusion, tidal power generation, and hydrogen, are displayed as methods with the potential to open up the future. The eggs serve as switches for nuclear fusion, vibration power generation, wireless power transmission, and heat pumps, allowing game-like experiences such as chasing light with your hands, stepping, and shooting. Among these there is even an exhibit titled "Udon," which introduces efforts to convert uneaten udon scraps into biofuel through fermentation.
A glamorous space reminiscent of Takarazuka Revue
After learning about energy in the "Possibility Area," visitors move to the "Radiance Area." Electric decorations hanging from the ceiling create points, lines, and swirling patterns of light that shine brilliantly. Being in this glamorous space entirely enveloped in light and darkness reminded me of star revues performed on the grand staircase illuminated by light bulbs at the Takarazuka Revue.
Finally, visitors end by viewing the "Post-show" area with panel displays arranged like an encyclopedia, explaining all the energy sources introduced in the Power Pavilion. The pavilion is designed for visits of approximately 45 minutes from entry to exit.
Pavilion-hopping to learn about cutting-edge technology
The theme of the Power Pavilion at the 1970 Osaka Expo was "Humanity and Energy," and for the first time, electricity from nuclear power generation was transmitted from Kansai Electric Power's Mihama Power Plant to the expo venue. Following the Tsukuba Science Expo, which conveyed the scientific principles of energy, the Osaka Garden Expo, which used various lights, and the Aichi Earth Expo, which introduced environmental considerations based on the challenges of global warming, this pavilion—the first exhibition after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. The content of the pavilion is that "looks even beyond carbon neutrality and depicts the society of the future from the unique perspective of the electric power industry that supports the foundation of society."
I (the author) enjoyed learning about nuclear fusion, which I was interested in, through game-like experiences. There were also panel displays that included the latest information, but since I wanted to know more detailed and specific information about cutting-edge initiatives, I also visited the "International Fusion Energy Organization (ITER)" at the International Organization Pavilion.
At the organization's booth, there was also a model of the fusion reactor used in the world's largest experimental fusion facility, with participation from the EU, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States. While the Power Pavilion had sufficient information, I thought that searching for and hopping between other related pavilions, rather than visiting just one pavilion, is also a way to enjoy the expo.
(NAGASAKI Midoriko / Science Portal Editorial Department)
Original article was provided by the Science Portal and has been translated by Science Japan.