Pretend to fly in this anti-gravity mirror.

Twenty years ago, Science and Math started to become fun!

In a bid to change the mindset of most students about the subjects Science and Math being boring, then Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Dr. Ceferino Follosco, through the Philippine Foundation for Science and Technology (PFST), built the Philippine Science Centrum (PSC), the country’s first interactive science museum.

PSC aims to make the said subjects more fun, exciting, and easy to understand through exhibits that translate concepts into various applications. Through two decades, PSC along with its four traveling exhibitions, have attracted some five million visitors.

But not all have been great and rosy though.

First, PSC couldn’t find an ideal location that could house it permanently. From its original location in Manila Film Center at the CCP Complex in 1990, it transferred to the University of the Philippines Manila, and finally to its permanent place at the E-Com Building of the Riverbanks Mall in Marikina City.
And then just when everything seemed to be going well, the Science Centrum was almost swept away by raging floodwaters of typhoon Ondoy in September 2009. PSC executive director May Pagsinohin says the place was submerged in nine feet-deep of muddy floodwaters, damaging furniture, equipment and half of PSC’s 160 exhibits. Ondoy also almost claimed the lives of its five staff who were trapped inside the museum premises.

“A few hours before the flashflood occurred, we even hosted 160 students for a field trip to the museum.

When all the visitors left, five of our staff were trapped inside when water levels rose very fast. They held on to the highest exhibit called the Sympathetic Swing, which really sympathized with them until they finally found a way to escape,” recalls Pagsinohin.

Needless to say, the museum was left in shambles.

Some even gave PSC a year to recover. But they did it in only six weeks, proudly shares Pagsinohin.

Engineer Filemon Berba, Jr., president of PFST, says the cost of damage reached up to a few millions but it didn’t matter because they were able to bounce back through the resiliency and dedication of their staff, and a fund-raising campaign which helped raise nine million from generous supporters.

Today, the PSC is a fully-restored facility that attracts busloads of students on a daily basis. At peak time, the number of visitors reaches up to 3,000 a day. The Department of Education has declared it as among the recommended fieldtrip destinations in the country.

EXPLORE AND EXPERIENCE

For only P100, students and even adults will have a great time exploring the Science Centrum’s interactive exhibits categorized into nine galleries: Earth Science, Mathematics, Body Works, Lights, Vision and Perception, Electricity and Magnetism, Mechanics, Space, Water, Bioethics, and Biotechnology Gallery.

Earth Science describes how natural phenomena like cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis are detected.

The Mathematics Gallery allows students to gauge their analytical skills. Body Works reveals the strength and agility of guests. Students will be amazed at how lights reflect and bend in different directions using various lenses in the Optic Land exhibit or capture the shadow of their best pose at the Frozen Shadow Exhibit. Test your analytical skills in the Wall of Illusion at the Vision and Perception Gallery. A hair-raising experience awaits everyone at the Van de Graaff Generator and at the Tesla Coil exhibit of the Electricity and Magnetism Gallery.

Visitors can take the Gyroscope ride at the Mechanics Gallery and learn how it is to float in space. Get to know more about the Solar System, the planets and take your picture in an astronaut suit at the Space Gallery. Make bubbles of various sizes at the Water Gallery. Learn about timely issues such as cloning at the Biotechnology Gallery.

Apart from these, visitors may also explore science online through 3D animation and other interactive games at the IBM Try Science Kiosk; explore the whole process of electricity generation and distribution at the Meralco corner; and read complementing science and math materials and workbooks at the Diwa Reading corner.

WIND, QUAKE AND TRAVELLING SHOWS

Moreover, two new exhibits called the Feel the Shake (earthquake simulator) and Wind Zone (wind tunnel) were launched during its 20th year celebration recently to raise awareness on disaster preparedness among the youth.

Each exhibit has a how-to instruction guide and a brief description, enabling visitors to learn in a fun and easy way. Demonstrations and science shows complete the experience.

“Our goal really is to complement DepEd’s curriculum through a non-technical, informal setting with very simple explanations to make science fun. Para mawala fear ng bata sa science at makita nila yung practical application.

Unlike sa classroom na puro theories na hindi mapicture ng mga bata,” points out Pagsinohin.

To fulfill their mission of bringing science closer to students, the PSC has built four differently-themed travelling exhibitions with 40 modules that are mounted in various provinces with the help of local government units. These come in micro-type containers that are handy and easy to transport.

Berba says these traveling exhibits which are usually displayed in basketball gyms and municipal halls, get very good responses especially during Science and Technology Week. He says the revenue generated from it is shared by them and the city or municipal government.

The Foundation also conducts teacher trainings to help mentors in teaching science properly and effectively.

“So it’s a combination of students getting exposed, and teachers being encouraged and trained by a pool of experts. At the museum, we also hold competitions for students of science high schools to showcase their own exhibits and inventions. It’s giving them the opportunity to further hone their skills in the fields of science and technology,” Berba relates.

A PSC impact study conducted in 1995 revealed that majority of the students both in elementary and high school who visited the Science Museum have increased their interest in science and were enticed to pursue careers as engineers and scientists. Teachers, meanwhile, found the exhibits to be useful in helping them teach their lessons.

“The Science Centrum is very effective because students are able to play and get hands-on learning at the same time. If all schools apply this concept then a greater number of the youth will be more interested in science,” says Sally Mendoza, a biology professor at Batangas National High School (BNHS) who was among the visitors at the museum.

Her students all had a wonderful time exploring the exhibits which they say truly reinforced their learning.