Toyota to Hold "Waku-Waku World" Interactive Event

Tokyo — TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced plans to hold "Waku-Waku World", a free, interactive public event at the Toyota Sports Center in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday, October 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event will be jointly sponsored by Toyota City, the Toyota Engineering Society (TES)*1 (a TMC voluntary group headed by TMC Executive Vice President Kazuo Okamoto) and the Expo 2005 Aichi Toyota Regional Promotion Council*2 (headed by Toyota Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Shoji Watanabe).

Waku-Waku World is being held under the themes of "Future Technologies" and "Making Things", and it is comprised of the 2005 TES Festival and the 2005 Toyota City "Making Things" Festival, sponsored by Toyota City and the Expo 2005 Aichi Toyota Regional Promotion Council.

The 2005 TES Festival

The theme of the 2005 TES Festival is "Enthusiastic Techies Breaking Through to the Future". The event features time trials by bipedal robots, created by members of TES with a focus on creativity and innovation, as well as races by model cars powered by gravity, wind and other natural energy sources. Also included will be a musical performance by the Toyota Partner Robots, which were displayed at Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan, along with a demonstration of the i-unit, exhibitions of technical skills from both TMC and non-TMC technicians as well as other events that children and families can enjoy. By coming into direct contact with these future technologies, which normally only TES members have access to, and by experiencing "making things", members of the general public can experience first hand the prosperous society of tomorrow made possible through technological innovation.

The 2005 Toyota City "Making Things" Festival

The 2005 Toyota City "Making Things" Festival has as its slogan, "Things Made by Toyota—Make Discoveries Together! Experience Things Together! Feel Excited Together!" The festival will feature numerous participatory events, including science shows, lectures and demonstrations by local residents engaged in "making things", a exhibit of 2005 Toyota City "Making Things" Grand Prize winners, manufacturing workshops by local groups, test drives of a hand-made, battery operated car and an earthquake simulation vehicle.