KAWASAKI, Japan (KTRK) -- Giggling and laughter filled every inch of the Toshiba Science Museum. School kids in yellow and blue caps scrambled from one science experiment to another, squealing with delight.
For these Japanese school children, it's all part of the learning process, a fact not lost on the Houston trade delegation as they toured Toshiba.
"One of the things we noticed during our travels is how hard young children seemed to be working," says Ravi Srinivas, an Associate Vice President at the University of St. Thomas. Srinivas has spent the past few days meeting with various Japanese universities His goal is to not only attract more Japanese students to Houston, but also learn how the Japanese education system works.
"The students seem to be tracked into different areas of study, science and technology definitely one of those areas," said Srinivas.
Toshiba, for example, wouldn't be nearly as successful without its engineers and scientists. It's part of the reason the company built the science museum. It not only showcases Toshiba's innovations, but helps inspire a new generation of scientists.
"Education in general is the tool in which countries will compete. And science and technology and math, we have to compete at that level," said Council Member Jack Christie, who once served on the Texas State Board of Education.
Christie says Japan's focus on science and math for their students is to be admired. While there are some US education systems that do similar things, more needs to be done.
"We have to educate all," said Christie, who also would like to see Texas provide more funding for public education. "Preschool all the way up to high school, rich and poor, we have to educate them all, where they compete in the whole world. You won't have a job without an education in the future."