Interactive Children’s Museum and Library

Exhibits in this interactive area introduce Mt. Sanbe’s natural world through touch, sight, and smell. Press buttons to hear the calls of insects and birds that inhabit Sanbe’s forests and grasslands and feel real fur samples from animals native to Sanbe. Some exhibits are meant to be smelled—specimens of Japanese cherry birch, spicebush, Japanese pepper, and the mushroom Sarcodon aspratus all introduce your nose to more aromatic aspects of Sanbe’s plant life.
In one corner, the “Nighttime Forest” exhibit displays mounted examples of some of Sanbe’s rarely seen nocturnal residents, such as the red fox and Japanese marten. Along the rear wall of the main area, a large row of windows looks out at the forest surrounding the museum. This space is equipped with chairs and binoculars, and patient visitors may get a glimpse of animals visiting the stream just outside the museum walls. In a nook to the far right, the children’s library is stocked with beautifully illustrated books about the area’s animals.