Nissan launches educational website for children

Nissan’s Barcelona plant has launched a new educational website to coincide with the start of the new school term fabricanissan.com. The child-friendly website aims to teach all about the daily operations of a car factory whilst making learning fun for the younger audience. Pupils will also have the opportunity to take a virtual tour of the factory at Nissan’s Zona Franca plant in Barcelona.

Following the success of the plant’s school visit programme, the project was developed to inform students further afield on the Spanish facilities and is provided in three languages; English, Spanish and Catalan.

The contents of the site were developed using the basis of the national curriculum and also with consultation from the Catalan Government’s Education Department.

The website is focused on the social and cultural aspects of the manufacturing process and is organised into three sections: progress, security and environment. The website also includes interactive questions, games, historical data and a dictionary where the three focus sections are summarised. Furthermore, amusing characters guide the visitor throughout a virtual visit including commentaries on the content, advice and practical information. Each of the characters represents an employee category or object which can be found in a production plant, such as production line workers, office staff or robots.

Although the site is designed mainly for students between 8 and 12, it will also appeal to other audiences. For example, a special section for teachers has been created so they can use the tools in the classroom.

During the academic year of 2008-2009, children who visit the website can participate in an online competition called ‘Draw a Nissan’ and all the necessary tools are provided to make simple illustrations.

The school visit programme is part of Nissan’s global corporate social responsibility commitment of ‘enriching people’s lives’ with a view to developing a sustainable society for future generations.

The number of school visits to the factory has grown by 500% over four years. During the last school year, 61 schools, 24 professional institutes and 15 universities visited the plant facilities in Barcelona and in total the plant of Zona Franca received 5,609 visitors.

fabricanissan.com