In the summer of 2022, the Hiroshima University Museum held a special exhibition titled “Natural History Museum is Coming to the KEN-OU central prefecture region!?” A symposium was held in February 2023 at Toyosaka region of the central Hiroshima prefecture (KEN-OU region) to reflect on the exhibition and consider its future prospects. In addition to participating in the symposium, the participants took an eco-museum tour to observe the giant salamander conservation facility. Eco-museum tours by the Hiroshima University Museum have been held several times a year since 2019, and information has been collected each time. This report summarizes the results of the participant questionnaire of this tour in 5th February 2023.
Based on the results of the questionnaire, we gathered that many of the respondents participated in the tour to see the giant salamander and deepened their understanding of giant salamander conservation issues. The involvement of local high school students in the project was favorably evaluated, and expectations for the educational aspect of the giant salamander were high. Concerns regarding tourism use were noted by some questionnaire respondents. Interest in the giant salamander conservation facility is expected to generate increased interest in the Toyosaka region.
Overall, the eco-museum tour was highly rated by participants. However, there was a gap noted between the desired participation fee and the actual cost. However, this difference could be eliminated by increasing the number of participants. In the future, the museum should focus on marketing to increase the number of visitors to the museum and its facilities.