EDIT: To all those who shared this post via Facebook and/or Twitter, thank you very much! I wish there was a way to trace the people who shared this entry so that I can give my thanks to each one of you. :< Anyway, keep on spreading the link to this entry. If you’re not very busy, try to read my other posts in this blog. I’m sure you’ll like it especially if you looooove food. :>
Finally! The museum I’ve been anticipating since last year is now open to the public. I invited my best friends right away since I know that they will totally looooove this place. What made us more excited to go to this museum is the fact that we only get to pay PhP150 since we are college students from a public university.
(leftmost: Kim and Mico; bottom right: Me and Kim)
If it isn’t obvious from the title of this entry and from this picture, the museum is called The Mind Museum. It is located in Bonfiacio Global City, Taguig City (near Deutsche Bank). I still have a hangover from visiting this place so I’ll try my best to give a detailed entry on what’s in store for you. And yes, based on the numerous pictures I have for this entry, picture taking is allowed inside the museum. Perfect!
We (Kim, Mico, and I) were greeted by a female robot called Aedi. She said that it would take more than one visit to fully enjoy each section in the museum. We would also embark on our own adventure because we are the ones who will choose where would we start. At this point, my best friends and I could not contain our excitement anymore. We wanted to start the tour already. Good thing that Aedi’s speech was just short and upon bidding us goodbye, the people went their own ways.
First stop: Philippine Science Hall
This was the section nearest to Aedi’s. There was one part where it was full of trivia related to science organizations. Mico and Kimberly said in a sarcastic tone that the stuff there was not bias since they saw a few answers (i.e. Institute of Physics, Institute of Chemistry, Institute of Mathematics) related to the University of the Philippines. Famous tourist spots in the Philippines, such as Donsol and El Nido, had their own exhibit in the museum. Donsol boasts the abundance of whale sharks (butanding in Filipino) in their province. There were buttons in the whale shark figure which made learning more fun.
Before leaving the area, there was a touchscreen TV where you have to drag each animal (except for the rafflesia) to the corresponding Philippine province where they can be found.
Second stop: Universe Gallery – The Majesty of the Universe
We just could not ignore this area because of the star-like lights that illuminate the place. Besides, we just totally love everything related to the universe so we proceeded to this place right away. We were so envious of the people who donated to the museum because they got their own star.
I saw the constellation of my zodiac sign but I found out that it was already bought. Damn! Someday, I’ll buy the Virgo constellation. Or better yet, the Milky Way galaxy. Haha! There were lots of interactive thingimajig in this section, such as controlling a moon buggy and moving the planets in the solar system. We decided to leave the area by going through the tunnelcraft called “Universe to Earth Corridor.”
Something to take note of in this area. They have a planetarium here but, sadly, it can only accommodate a maximum of 40 people. Also, seats are limited slots and the passes are given for the early birds. We arrived at exactly 3PM so goodbye to the chance of visiting the planetarium.
Third stop: Earth Gallery
Got a bit dizzy upon entering this place since we went here via the tunnelcraft with spinning space objects around us. The highlight of this section is the replica of the skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex (T-rex). I wanted to hug the T-rex after seeing it! Not a lot of people know that I am very interested in dinosaurs. 🙂 Stan, the T-rex, is actually the first thing you’ll spot in this gallery. Another attraction here is a device where you can create a tornado ala-Storm from X-Men.
Fourth stop: —
I forgot to look at the name of this section because at this point, I was already too excited to look at each exhibit. Anyway, one of the interesting exhibits here is the Fractal Wall, where you will see the same pattern as you keep on zooming in the image that you see on the screen. Our (Kim’s and mine) favorite pattern was the Spider (Math Equation).
We just kept on zooming and zooming until the image said that the computer is already out of memory.
In the fungi exhibit, we found different mushrooms that looked like plushies. I wanted to take them home and put them in our living room. 😀
Fifth stop: Life Gallery – The Exuberance of Life
The whale shark was one of the main attractions here and lots of people just can’t help but take a picture in front of it — pretending to be eaten by the whale shark. But of course in reality, it is close to impossible for whale sharks to eat humans since they only feed on plankton. There are lots of interactive stuff here such as the following: learning the different parts of the human cell, exploring the human body (e.g. muscular, skeletal, digestive), understanding how food webs work, and finding out the principle responsible for making birds and airplanes fly. Mico and I played a quiz game related to DNA but there was a technical mishap since the program went back to the 1st question when it was supposed to display the 6th question.
Sixth stop: Inner-Space Track
On one of the walls, there is a video projection about the DNA — its purpose, how it works, the pairs of proteins, and many more.
Seventh stop: Atom Gallery
(RIGHT – top to bottom: Formula for paracetamol; Static exhibit; Shadow box exhibit)
This was Kim’s area (she’s a Chemical Engineering major!) and we just can’t help but get excited after seeing organic chemistry stuff. There was also an exhibit related to the principle of static. It was funny seeing people whose hair just stood out. Literally. I was not able to try this since my palms were sweaty and I’m sure I would get electrocuted if I tried it. Bummer. Interactive exhibits included “seeing” what a pitch looks like, how whirlpools work, and taking a picture of your shadow.
Eighth stop: The Lightbridge
They constructed their map here based on the different light waves that we know of — from gamma rays to radio waves. Definitely cool! Not much of interactive exhibits here but lots of helpful information to store in our brain.
Ninth (and last) stop: Technology Gallery
At this point, I was quite tired from walking. Still, not a reason to stop me from enjoying and exploring this place. This is the only gallery in the museum located at the second floor. It was fun smelling stuff like lavender, citrus, cedar, and cinnamon. I definitely loved the scent of the first two.
(BOTTOM, L-R: Mico plays the binary dance; Kim polishes her drumming skills; My best friends playing the harp with laser thingimajig as strings)
Exhibits with touchscreen stuff included trying out different shoes for an avatar, listening to random songs from different decades (from the 60s up to the 00s), and playing arcade games (from the 60s up to the 00s). We also got to try how security people in airports inspect bags. There were also nerdy games here like playing binary dance ala-Dance Dance Revo and fitting eleven cubes within a limited space.
Kim and I just had to take a picture here because the caption above us has a special meaning for us. We call each other “propphi” which is a combination of the words “prop” and “phi.” “Prop” is the prefix used in organic chemistry for the number three while “phi” is magical and perfect number in the entire universe. These are our favorite numbers so we decided to combine them and voila! Propphi is born. How nerdy, huh. 🙂
Speaking of beauty, there is a mirror in this gallery where you get to see if the different proportions in your body are perfect. If they are, then you have the perfect body! Turns out I don’t have it. Height pa lang, bagsak na! Oh well. Can’t do anything about that. Haha!
We managed to have a free souvenir from The Mind Museum when we checked out the exhibit where the staff will demonstrate how the first printing press worked.
We were about to leave the place when one of the staff stopped us and told us to watch their 3D short film of how the planet Earth and its inhabitants came to be. It was around 15 minutes and it was so coooool! Definitely loved the part where the dinosaurs were the stars in one part of the film.
Being with awesome people in an awesome place makes this day an awesome one. Too much use of the word “awesome.” Haha! By the way, we had the 3-6PM tour and explored the museum on our own. We’re thinking of having a guide next time.
We’re definitely coming back for you, The Mind Museum. 🙂
PS. We went to Market! Market! afterwards and ate at Buddy’s. The restaurant is famous for their Pancit Lucban and I’m glad that Mico and Kim loved it since I’m actually a fan of this dish. Yep, I can’t resist the urge to include food in this post.
Note 1: The Mind Museum ticket prices are as follows:
Adults – PhP600 | Private School Students (up to college) – PhP450 | Public School Students (up to college) – PhP150 | Teachers – PhP150
Note 2: Time Slots –> 9AM-12NN | 12NN-3PM | 3PM-6PM | 6PM-9PM (during weekends only)
Anne Goes to Places 