For her Christmas gift to us, my daughter Cheska gave all of us passes to the Mind Museum which she bought, at the discounted price of PhP450 each, from Deal Grocer. As we were all busy during the holidays, Grace, Jandy, Cheska, Marve and I, with my 1 year old grandson Kyle, only availed of it right after the New Year.
The Mind Museum
This educational facility, the first world-class science museum in the Philippines, aims to foster the public understanding of science and art in a different light. Formally opened on March 16, 2012 (after a Pre-Opening Ceremony that took place on December 15, 2011) and located on a 1.2 hectare lot within the 12,500 sq. m. J.Y. Campos Park, this PhP1,000,000,000 (US$ 23.5 million) museum was totally funded by private donations from corporations and individuals.
The 7 ft. high robot named KAL
With Lor Calma & Partners as the building architect and Science Center Singapore as museum planning consultant, this museum has more than 250 hands-on, minds-on interactive exhibits, 90% of which were designed and fabricated by Filipino designers, scientists and engineers to clearly and beautifully flesh out a science principle or fact in 5,000 sq. m. exhibition halls designed by master planner Jack Rouse Associates (recognized as among the top ten museum and theme park designers in the world).
The reception desk at lobby
The Mind Museum Store
This interesting, awe-inspiring building has a futuristic, space-age yet organic look based on cell growth and molecular structures. Its innovative and sustainable design, mirroring the functionality of nature and contributing to more energy efficiency, features slanted exterior walls (to minimize sunlight entry), a specially curved roof (for more efficient rain collection) and strategic orientation (to utilize the shadows of adjacent buildings). The National Geographic Channel provided the required footages and stills for the exhibit.
The 1904 Richard Brasier Roadster
We had 3 hours to interact and experience the science exhibits and we were allowed to take photos. Sony Philippines, itself a technology giant, enhanced the experience by providing top-of-the-line and state-of-the-art gadgets such as Bravia LCD television sets, touch screen VAIOs, and 3D Projector Systems. The rest of the exhibits are privately sponsored.
Aedi the welcoming robot
Beside the museum entrance is the 7 ft. tall KAL . Made with recycled vacuum cleaner parts, among other things, it is all about Environment Sustainability – how technology and innovation (such as robotics) can be used to improve the quality of life.
The 10 Most Beautiful Experiments Exhibit
Within the lobby is a souvenir shop and a 9-horsepower, 2-cylinder 1904 Richard Brasier roadster, the first car to ever grace the Philippine roads. It was brought into the country by the trading firm Estrella del Norte in 1904 and is on loan from Pilipinas Shell.
The Philippine Science Hall
An anthropomorphic robot named Aedi (“idea” spelled backwards) welcomed us at the lobby and introduced us to the museum, informing us on what lies ahead.
The Atom Centerpiece
Our first stop was the “Hall of 10 Most Beautiful Experiments,” a visual set of LCD displays of experiments based on acclaimed philosopher and science historian Robert P. Crease’s book The Prism and the Pendulum: 10 Most Beautiful Experiments in Science.
Jandy tries out the Van de Graff Static Ball
At the center of the museum is the Hall of Philippine Science which showcases the passion for science of world-renowned Filipino scientists, both here and around the world, via digital photographs featuring their lives and achievements, and local scientific endeavors spanning local issues such as sustainable communities, rice culture, etc.. Interactive stations here spew out random facts and trivia questions.
The Whirlpool
After this hall are five main galleries, Atom (has the most interactive exhibits), Earth, Life and Universe, stretching from left to right, at the ground floor, and Technology (the largest exhibit) at the second floor.
The gigantic Human Brain
The Atom Gallery has exhibit pieces that show the strange world of the very small in terms of forces and particles. The Van de Graff static ball, where one can explore how electrostatic energy is generated and what effects it produces, is my favorite here. When I touched the static ball, I experienced my hair standing on end. Other interactive exhibits here include the Atom Centerpiece (a 3D visualization of the atom), Everything is Made Up of Atoms (a sculptural exhibit that shows the many levels of spaces inside a chocolate bar), Whirlpool (an enthralling exhibition of gravity and centripetal force), Carbon: Basis of All Life on Earth (a game area where guests can create their own allotropes), Periodic Table (learn about the 118 elements), Electric Table: Magnets and Current, Energy Forms (convert kinetic energy to mechanical energy to electrical energy and then to heat), Newton’s Cradle (Isaac Newton‘s Third Law of Motion at work), Frequencies (see what a pitch looks like) and Shadow Box (leave your mark on the phosphorescent walls).
Bernoulli’s Principle at work
The Life Gallery provides us a deeper understanding of how life surrounds and inhabits us – from microbes to large animals and from DNA, cells to a giant, lit-up human brain model. The latter, one of the largest exhibits in the entire museum, is a walk through exhibit where you can identify what brain part lights up when you sense, feel or think. Its other exhibits include The Human Story (a faithful replica of our prehistoric ancestors), Bernoulli’s Principle (the principle that explains how birds are able to fly), Whale Shark (a suspended life-size and life-like model of a whale shark, locally called a butanding), Small Worlds Within (a multi-media interactive program that will help guests learn more about cells) and the Web of Life.
The Butanding (Whale Shark)
The Human Story
The Earth Gallery tells of the story of the planet and our archipelago across the breadth of time. Stan, the most impressive towering exhibit in the museum, is the first permanent T-rex exhibit in the Philippines. This life-sized replica of a tyrannosaurus rex skeleton was named after Stan Sacrison who, in 1987, discovered the most complete male T-rex in 1987 in Hell Creek Formation, South Dakota, USA.
Stan the Tyrannosaurus Rex
Nearby is an exhibit of petrified dinosaur bones and coprolite (dinosaur poop) while underneath the dinosaur is a fossil dig where visitors are allowed to dig, with pails and shovels, for their own fossils. At its Nature’s Hourglass, a mini-theater that acts as a virtual time machine, we watched (with 3D glasses) a 12-min., fully animated 3D film, made by an all-Filipino crew, entitled “Birthplace,” that tells the story of Earth’s 4.6 billion year natural history and evolution.
The 3D movie “Birthplace” at Nature’s Hourglass
Other exhibits include Air (pass your hand over the sensor and watch a tornado form), Rock of Ages/Mass Extinction (depicts the layering of the earth’s crust and illustrates the different geological ages and 2 of the 5 mass extinctions that have occurred over the span of earth’s history), Volcano (see how volcanoes erupt), Knowing Home: Floating Globe (watch a live feed that displays the current state of the planet earth), Spin Browser (watch plants grow or animals move in high speed or slow motion), Fungi: A One Billion Year Old Kingdom, and Beneficial or Harmful Bacteria.
Air
On our way to the Universe Gallery, we passed through Tunnel Craft, a spinning, 2-way revolving tunnel, with moving imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope that simulated travel between outer space and earth but made us dizzy.
Getting dizzy at Tunnel Craft
The Universe Galley, which shows how we, with the tools we invent and innovate, are able to express our evolving humanity, features the mysterious vastness of the universe and holds clues as to where we came from and where we are going. The centerpiece of this gallery is an unique, 8 m. diameter, 35-50-pax mini-planetarium that uses, instead of chairs, memory foam where visitors can lounge on to simulate literally lying on the ground and staring at the stars in the night sky. Here, we watched films that discuss the other planets and starts, as well as debates, the existence of extraterrestrial life. We also tried out pods where we could hear sounds from outer space.
The Space Shell – a mini planetarium
Other exhibits here include Look at the Moon (an interactive wall display that shows the moon’s different phases, and includes other information about the moon’s cycle and path around the earth), The Lifetime of a Star (describes how stars are born and how they die), The Solar System, Dressed for Space (an astronaut suit) and Space Quest History (1990-2011).
Look at the Moon
Dressed for Space – an astronaut’s suit
The Avenue of Life, the escalator to the second floor, was an exhibit in itself. On the way up, we immersed ourselves in sights and sounds that showcased five of the Earth’s major habitats such as the temperate regions, polar environments, deserts and even the cold, sunless existence in the deep waters of hydrothermal vents.
The Avenue of Life escalator
The second floor, which houses mostly Technology exhibits, is divided into 5 sub-galleries – “Who We Are,” “How We Know,” “How Things Work,” “Here to There” and “How We Live.” Here, we found a fun toilet display, an interactive presentation of an archaic Gutenberg printing press and a Timezone-like row of arcade consoles illustrating how video games (Pong, Pacman, etc.) changed through the years.
The Gutenberg Printing Press
You would also enjoy the Laser Harp, the Night Vision Goggles Exhibit, MIMO (an in-house obstacle avoiding robot), Solar Bugs (shows how solar panels serve as power sources), Mathematics: Cars with Different Wheel Shapes, Mathematics: Elliptical Billiard Table (hit any of the two balls and it is sure to rebound and hit the other ball), The Malampaya Project (a representation of the discovery of 2.7 trillion cubic tons of natural gas near Palawan), Scents (check the scents in these spheres and see if you recall a specific memory because of it) and Beauty Symmetry: The Beauty is in the Phi of the Beholder (highlights the technologies that we come up with – in cosmetics, architecture, and art – to express the role of proportion in our lives).
MIMO the in-house obstacle avoiding robot
The museum also has a 198-seat (with space for 2 wheel chairs) auditorium, 2 40-seat classrooms (Mind Pods), a 35-seat laboratory (Mind Lab) and an outdoor Science-in-the-Park where visitors can experience playful science through four-themed pockets: Music, Math, Living and Water.
The Malampaya Project
All in all, we found ourselves thoroughly enjoying relearning about the human brain, solar system, and evolution in ways that we never did in grade school. Anyone, no matter how old, educated or well-read, even indifferent adults, will discover reasons to view, try out and marvel at the exhibits.
Cross section of a toilet
Mind Museum: J.Y. Campos Park, 3rd Ave., Bonifacio Global City, 1634 Taguig City. Tel: +632 909-MIND (6463). E-mail: inquiry@themindmuseum.org and tickets.themindmuseum.org. Website: TheMindMuseum.Org. Facebook: The Mind Museum. Twitter: @themindmuseum.
The Technology Exhibit Hall
The Universe Gallery
Ticket Prices (with 3 hr. limit): adults (PhP600); children and private school students up to college (PhP450); and public school students (up to college) and teachers with valid school ID (PhP150). Senior Citizen rebate will be given at the gate upon presentation of ID. Children 2 ft. and below are free. Ticket time slots are 9 AM to 12 noon; 12 noon to 3 PM; 3 PM to 6 PM; and 6 PM to 9 PM. An all day pass costs PhP750.