Seiko Exciting Clock School

It is Seiko's desire to help children appreciate the interesting aspects of time and timepieces, as well as the joy of making things and the importance of working together as a team. The Seiko Exciting Clock School aims to achieve this desire through an elementary school visiting program.
This program was started in 2017, and has been expanding in scope as the number of regions and schools involved gradually increases.

Introduction of Staff

The classes are conducted through the cooperation of Seiko staff from various departments. The staff take turns performing the roles of the students' teacher and teaching assistants (TAs) who sit in on each group and provide the students with advice and support. Below, we introduce just three of the many staff members.

Outline of Classes

The classes are for elementary school 5th and 6th graders. Through lectures and practical work, the students learn about the principles of timekeeping and the importance of working together to build something.

Step1

The children are asked to suggest situations in which they would need to know the time, to help them understand the significance of timepieces.

Step2

The children perform an experiment in which they try to accurately measure 10 seconds using a pendulum, a sandglass, and their own pulse, thereby learning that time is measured by multiplying intervals by the number of repetitions.

Step3

The children learn about the history of timepieces and how they have evolved to become more accurate and easier to use. They learn details about a timepiece's mechanisms and observe the actual parts.

Step4

The children combine gears with motor-driven clocks and create their own original timepieces that measure their favorite times.In doing this, they not only learn something of the concept of gear ratios, they also learn that the creation of a timepiece is made possible through the efforts of many people fulfilling various roles.

Original clock in the process of creation

Students’ Impressions

Students announcing the completed original clock

The thing that stuck in my mind was learning that the oldest type of timepiece is the sundial, followed by the water clock and the hourglass.
There were some things that I didn’t understand about the mechanisms of clocks, so I’d like to learn more. Next time I’d also like to make a watch.

The most enjoyable part was everyone working together to make our own original clocks.
I was also surprised to learn that the rotation of a clock’s hand changes according to the gears. Next time I’d like to learn more about the history of timepieces, which I didn’t know much about.

It was fun doing the 10-second measurements. I was so surprised to see how all the parts of a clock differ from each other and how small they are. I think clocks are amazing. I’d like to visit the Seiko Museum.

Teachers' Impressions

I think it was very good that each group of children had one teacher overseeing them and teaching them carefully. The children enjoyed it immensely, and I would certainly like to bring our students here again at the next opportunity. Thank you very much indeed.