A project proposed by the OKUYAMA Masayuki Seminar of Meiji University’s School of Political Science and Economics — KATO Fuka, KIMURA Daichi, KATO Shota, KIMURA Sana, TASHIRO Haruka, YOSHIDA Rio, and SUZUKI Nanako (all third-year students in the School of Political Science and Economics) — received the Grand Prize in the Realized Dream Category of the Park Dream Plan Award organized by the Parks and Recreation Foundation.
This award is a nationwide commendation program that recognizes creative activities and ideas staged in parks and aims to create new value in parks and promote their utilization. From entries submitted by a wide range of actors, including local governments, companies, and civic organizations, outstanding initiatives are selected based on criteria such as social relevance, creativity, and feasibility.
The seminar’s project, Immersive Night ZOO — Yoru no Yume Dobutsuen, is a hands-on event that brings a virtual zoo to life in the evening at Tama Central Park (Tama City), with families as its main target audience. Rather than exhibiting live animals, the event created a space that made visitors feel as if the animals were actually there, using mechanisms that stimulate the five senses, including sound, light, and touch. At the park, the team set up interactive booths where participants could, for example, take quizzes to identify animal calls, experience educational materials modeled on elephant dung, and make bookmarks using bird feathers, allowing visitors to learn through play. In addition, animal-footprint projections on the ground and glowing animal objects transformed the entire park into a dreamlike nighttime zoo.
The proposal by the OKUYAMA Masayuki Seminar was highly evaluated for redefining parks not merely as places to be used, but as co-creative spaces where relationships, experiences, and learning emerge. In particular, by leveraging existing park infrastructure and local resources while presenting new modes of experiential value and participation, the project was recognized as an effort that broadens the possibilities of parks.
In recent years, parks have been expected to play more diverse roles than ever before, including those for disaster preparedness, health, social interaction, learning, and tourism. In response to these social demands, the OKUYAMA Masayuki Seminar has undertaken educational research, through investigation, planning, and practice, on creating community value originating from parks and on reimagining the nature of public spaces. Encouraged by this award, the Seminar will continue practical research and educational activities that make use of parks and public spaces, in collaboration with local communities and together with its students.