Establishment of database of the exhibitions in the main building of the Yonezawa Higher Technical School in preparation for renovation following the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

All industrial products are destined to be museum someday. This means that industrial products are cultural property. When a cultural property is lost, society as a whole is damaged. However, if cultural properties take money and space to preserve, the owner as well. When encountering such a dilemma, law and government can help solve the problem. The Yamagata University Faculty of Engineering was established in 1910. The University owns the main building of the Yonezawa Higher Technical School, which is an important cultural property. Many industrial products, which have completed their mission in life, were on display in the building before the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. The school building was planned to be renovated in order to overcome the effect of the earthquake. However, Yamagata University ran in to big problem, with the management of the exhibits in the school building. Therefore, we built a database system by utilizing information technology, and this database grew over time. In addition, students worked on conservation activities for their own learning experience. As a result we could finish the creation of the management records and the database of exhibits in a short period of time.