Disappointed with the SM Science Discovery Center

There’s much hype about the SM Science Discovery Center these days. For a while I was excited to bring my daughter there because its ad said it’s the only high tech interactive museum in the country. We both love to go to museums and I, for one, am one who loves to bring my daughter to those places because I know it will benefit her. So, since it is only a few days till her classes start, I decided we needed to see it.

When we finally visited, I got a little disappointed. The fee is 330 pesos. It is rather expensive so I had expected much from it. I mean I didn’t really want to compare it to the Singapore Science Center or the Hong Kong Science Museum but for the price, it must be at par with those. But no… it does not even come close.

For one, the SM Science Center is just 2 storeys high with a floor area that’s not even as big as a single floor of the Hong Kong Science Museum. The ground floor of the Philippine National Museum is probably even bigger than the whole center. Not that the size affects the exhibit itself but you can’t put much in a birdhouse, can you? There were only a few themes because there wasn’t space to put additional ones in the first place. A little space equals a few themes equals minimal exhibits.



Another thing is that the tour guide was not so enthusiastic about the place nor was he able to talk much about the exhibits. He gave us info that we can read about in the exhibit. In fact, we were just halfway through the tour before we went to see the planetarium and were told that we’d meet up with the guide right after the show. Did we bother to show up again? Nahhhh… we’d rather have our Kopi Roti.

One good thing about the center is the planetarium. Still, with it, the price was expensive. The show, despite the fact that it came from the Museum of Natural History of the US and was hosted by no other than Harrison Ford, is just as good as the one from the now-closed Manila Planetarium.

One thing I particularly liked which my daughter and her friend enjoyed was the virtual sport where we got to play volleyball and basketball with a computer. There were a few other items which were good enough like the grossology game where 4 players can play against each other to test their knowledge on things that are gross in the body. I won, of course... against 3 elementary kids.



My friend Ruby and her daughter were with us too. Shobe liked the echo dome (a dome that produces an echo... hello?) and the the marine center where the virtual fish, Mr. T, was. Mr. T. tries to entertain and interact with his visitors, giving special attention to kids. She also liked sending herself a message into the future - something like a deferred post.

I hope the management can go see the other museums in Asia. I’m sure they’ll be able to pick up some things here and there to improve it to make it prove worthy of its name.

Exploring the Outdoors at Anawangin (Part 2)

continued from part 1


It was a good thing we took the package from Voyager Adventures Club. They had prepared practically everything. Food, van to and from Pundaquit, boat from Pundaquit to Anawangin to Capones Island and back to Pundaquit, and the tents. There were a few things that were missed during the orientation like we were not told that we needed to bring our own plates, cups and utensils. Thus, we ended up borrowing the wares from the organizers (it's a good thing they had some), and had to eat with our hands too. Another thing they missed telling us was that we should have brought something to make our sleeping area softer. It wasn't our first time to camp but it was a first time for us to join an outdoor adventure group. But those are minor things which didn't affect how much we had enjoyed the trip.



So, as I was telling you guys earlier (last night actually), we went for a swim at the river. Some say it is a lake but when you get to the end of it, you'll find out that it actually drains to the sea, unlike lakes that do not connect to any other body of water. Both sides of the river had pine tree or fir trees if you prefer to call it that. This particular river has varying depths because the water level is affected by the tide - high tide equals deep water, low tide means no water.



We ate lunch at 2 pm. Everyone was just so excited to get as much of the place as possible. I noticed that the later in the day it got, the more people came in. In the afternoon, what seemed to be an almost deserted forest was filled with tents of different sizes and colors. There must have been a hundred or so of those dome type ones. It was a good thing we got there ahead of the crowd and got to pick a nice spot for ourselves. There was even a large spot in the middle of our group's camp to hold a bonfire. But of course, our organizers, being mountaineers and nature conservationists, did not really want one. Noone wanted any anyway. I guess most of us were tired.

The following day we got up at 5:30 am. The call time was at 5 but I didn't hear anyone call me. hehehe... anyway, we packed all our things and rode our boat to Capones island without breakfast. The schedule was that we'd go there for a short 1- hour trip and would proceed to Pundaquit where we would have breakfast and lunch. But our boatman, old man Amando, didn't want to bring us to a part of the island close to the lighthouse. Naturally, we walked without any idea that it would take more than an hour to get there. I didn't get to the lighthouse because my daughter tripped on some rock and I stayed with her instead.

It was already 10 am by the time my husband got back to the drop off place. He and the others were picked up by a boat from the lighthouse. I was all fumed up when I learned that it was really possible to be brought to the foot of the hill where the lighthouse was. It was even worse when we couldn't find our boatman when we wanted to leave so we contracted some other guy.




Right in the middle of the sea between Pundaquit and Capones, our boat stopped and wouldn't start. It was the curse of the abandoned boatman! hahaha Almost at the same time, we were met by Mang Amando who was trying to explain why he was late and why he had left. He was urging us to transfer but we didn't want to. In the first place, we didn't want to risk having anyone or anything fall into the water. Sensing our hesitation and stubbornness, he offered to tow us to shore instead to which our new boatman agreed since it was the only way we could get back to the mainland.

When we got to the Pundaquit beach, we paid the boatman 200 pesos just for the effort of trying to do us some favor. He was happy and we were... uhhh... happier of course that we got to land dry and in one piece. Lunch was served as soon as we got there. obviously, they were just waiting for us to arrive to start the feast. It consisted of smoked fish, ensalada of radish and apples, pork menudo, some steamed veggies but to my family, it was the best meal ever... we were soooo hungry!

An Outdoor Adventure At Anawangin, Zambales

We're back from Anawangin. It's been a really tiresome and draining trip. But it was worth it. Anwangin is just as it has been described on the net... the water is pristine, the place is enchanting and appears peaceful but has some dreadful secrets at the same time.

Our trip started from the McDonald's Eastwood where we met with our trip organizers. There were about 40 or 50 persons in our group so I could imagine that herding all those was a challenge. We left the place at 12:45, 45 minutes later than scheduled. But that's the advantage of meeting at Eastwood - you can go around the place so you don't get bored.



It took about 4 hours to get to Pundaquit beach where the boats we were to take were docked. Dhang, our organizer, had pre-arranged for the boatmen to meet us. The man assigned to us was Mang Amando who is maybe in his late 50's, a Cebuano, I was told. He brought us from Anawangin to Capones Island too. But I'll tell you about it later.

Mang Amando's boat, named Leonel, is a small and sits 4 people. If you don't mind not breathing well for a whole 40 minutes, you can squeeze 6 people in. Although it had rained the day before, the sea was rather calm and the weather was fine when we got to our destination. A beautiful fir-lined beach wowed us there. It was just 6 am and there were about 4 tents pitched already. It seemed like they had been there the night before.



We were all hungry already when we arrived. However, my family and I took our nap in our tent because I didn't want them to go for a swim without having breakfast yet. The meal was served at about 10 am. It was late but the food was good. After breakfast, we changed clothes and went for a swim at the river at the back of our campsite. The water was clear, got murky when we walked but quickly became clear again a few seconds after.

- continued on Part 2

Hot Off the Press: Air Philippines Zero Fare

When it rains it definitely pours! My, oh my, another zero fare special this time from Air Philippines. So, if you want to go to Busuanga, Bacolod, Puerto Princesa, Davao, Cebu or Caticlan or any of the domestic hubs of Air Philippines, you'll just have to pay for surcharges and taxes. The fare is free. You may book anytime between 16-25 May 2008 and the Travel period is between 16 June - 31 October 2008.

This should be perfect for those who are planning to get married in June or those who you wish to give wedding gifts to like maybe your mother-in-law who you don't want to see for a while? hehehe