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Peace Memorial Museum East Building reopened on April 26, 2017
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The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum has been carrying out the comprehensive renovations to convey the reality of the atomic bombing in more accurate ways.
On April 26, 2017, the renovated east building was opened.
In the new permanent exhibition, there are new display methods combining models and videos used, large devices with touch panels installed for information searches, displays of materials that can actually be touched, and more.
As a result, visitors to the museum can search independently for things that they have questions about or are interested in.
【New Viewing Route】
The main building was closed for renovations at the same time as the east building was reopened.
Along the new viewing route, visitors can take the new escalator from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor, and view the exhibits there, starting from Introductory Exhibit and The Dangers of Nuclear Weapons and then moving to the Hiroshima History exhibit on the 2nd floor.
【Exhibits】
• Introductory Exhibit
When visitors go up the escalator there are photographs of lively shopping districts and children's smiling faces along the wall, telling a living story of the lifestyle of many people in Hiroshima before the atomic bombing.
However, with the bombing such scenes completely changed.
There is a model of a street scene in the exhibition room, and above the model are projected videos of the atomic bombing using films and computer graphics made from aerial photographs taken after the bombing.
The exhibit demonstrates how the city that many people were living in was devastated in an instant.
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East building, 3rd floor: A Lost Way of Life
Projection of a video on to a model of an area of 2.5km radius from the hypocenter
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• A-bomb Survivor Video Testimony
Following the Introductory Exhibit is a visitor's lounge, and just behind that is the Video Theater where people can watch videos of atomic bomb testimonies.
There are new individual video viewing booths, and over 1,000 testimonies available for viewing.
• The Dangers of Nuclear Weapons
This exhibit communicates the background from the development to the dropping of the atomic bomb;
the menace of the bomb from the heat waves, blast and radiation;
nuclear weapon development;
and the reality of the damage inflicted by nuclear weapons.
In addition to exhibits using photographs and videos, there are also exhibits that visitors can touch.
There are models of Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall and A-Bomb Dome, and displays of tiles before and after the bombing, and by actually touching the exhibits visitors can truly understand the damage from the atomic bombing.
Using the large information search devices with touch panels, visitors can also search for topics they are interested in.
There are 20 displays, which means that many people can use them at the same time.
In the children's version, easy-to-understand expressions and questions are used to guide the children through the screens, to encourage them to take an interest.
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East building, 3rd floor: The Dangers of Nuclear Weapons
Media table
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• Hiroshima History
This section shows the situation and way of life of people living in Hiroshima during the war, including Hiroshima's recovery from the damage of the bombing and the peace initiatives of Hiroshima City and its people.
Photographs are projected onto the upper part of the wall showing people recovering from the devastation and taking steps toward reconstruction of the city.
At the end of the exhibits is a projection of messages from Nobel Peace Prize winners who visited the museum.
There are also large information search devices on the 2nd floor, and visitors can search for petitions against nuclear testing and the Peace Declaration documents.
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East building, 2nd floor: Hiroshima History
Exhibits
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【August 6, 1945－Outline of Atomic Bomb Damage exhibit on the 1st floor of the east building】
The 1st floor is the zone that is free of charge, and includes an information corner, museum shop and Special Exhibition rooms.
As the main building is closed, in the Special Exhibition rooms are exhibits on the reality of the atomic bombing, including items moved from the main building such as a tricycle that was bombed with children and the objects left behind by three junior high school students.
As the exhibits in the main building after the renovations are complete will be focused on showing the actual damage suffered by individuals, special efforts are being made to exhibit articles in a way that evokes the sight of individual people.
As well as artifacts, there will also be portraits of the deceased on display as well as the thoughts of their families, to communicate the fact that the deceased were irreplaceable for their families.
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East building, 1st floor: August 6, 1945－Outline of Atomic Bomb Damage
Exhibits
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【Work on the main building】
In line with the opening of the east building, renovation work began on the main building.
The newly renovated building will be opened in 2018.
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| (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Curatorial Division) |
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