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Iloilo museum offers interactive science
Source: Inquirer
Author: Nereo C. Lujan
Date: 1999-10-07
 
JAN Marie, 3, pulls a nylon cord to

raise a four-foot pipe from a tray of

liquid soap to stretch a thin film where

constantly changing colors can be

seen.



She blows gently on the

film and varied spherical

shapes appear. More

colors flash. After several

seconds, the film breaks

and vanishes.



Delighted at what she saw,

the little girl kept on

repeating the experiment

for 10 minutes.



Jan Marie may have been entertained but unknown to her, she

has been experiencing the science of light frequencies, where

colors are created in the film from a mix of different beams of

light.



She has been playing with Rainbow Bubbles, one of 38 exhibits

at the Iloilo Science Centrum (ISC), a 700-sq. m. museum inside

the Iloilo National High School campus.



''This center was built to make learning and discovering science

by children a more personal and enjoyable experience,'' said

Elena Jison, chair of the Iloilo Science Society (ISS).



The ISS runs the museum, which was opened in 1995 with the

assistance of the Department of Science and Technology and

the Department of Education, Culture and Sports.



The center has 11 galleries showcasing educational and

interactive exhibits on mathematics, energy, sound, force and

motion, electricity and magnetism, environment, reflection,

perception, light and color, electronics and liquids.



It also has a Personal Science Laboratory (PSL), a

computer-based science exploration tool consisting of quality

probe ware, curriculum and easy-to-use software.



Then Iloilo City Rep. Rafael Lopez-Vito provided the funds for

the construction of the first interactive museum in Western

Visayas.



Critical thinking



Jison said the ISC sought to increase children's critical thinking

skills and help develop their intuition.



''This way, children can more readily establish their own place in

the world with the power to question, create and contribute to

the betterment of the world,'' she explained.



The ISC has become a favorite destination of study tours of

pupils from public and private schools in Panay. ''There were

even classes from Bacolod City who had to come over to Iloilo

City just to visit the center,'' Jison said.



Bacolod is about an hour's ride by fastcraft from Iloilo.



Science and technology become more fun and exciting when

people see their relevance to their day-to-day life, and when

difficult concepts are presented in simpler ways, Jison said.



''This is why we wanted to make learning science a more

personal and relevant experience by introducing interactive and

participatory exhibits.''



She added that learning by doing at one's own pace and actions

was the heart of interactive learning. Thus, in the ISC, children

and adults are encouraged to manipulate the exhibits, ask

questions, make decisions and experiment.



''This is our way of promoting science and technology

consciousness among the youth and the various sectors of

society,'' Jison said.



Favorites



Among the favorite exhibits are the Bicycle Wheel Gyro, the

Bernoulli Blower, the Whispering Discs, the Echo Tube, the

Anti-Gravity Mirror and the Moebius Bar.



The wheel gyro explains the conservation of angular momentum

where a person is asked to sit on a swivel chair holding a

rotating bicycle wheel. When the person tilts the wheel on its

side, a force created by the rotation turns the chair the other

way.



This means that any change in the direction and speed of any

component of a system must be accompanied by an equal

opposite change to maintain balance.



The Bernoulli Blower is a cone-shaped instrument where a ball

is kept afloat several inches over it, demonstrating the principle

that the faster the air moves past a surface, the smaller the push

in that area. Such principle makes airplanes fly.



The Whispering Discs allow one standing before a disc to hear

a friend's whisper from another disc 10 meters away. These

explain the reflection of sound waves.



The Echo Tube also explains reflected sounds. When one claps

near the mouth of a big tube, it creates a disturbance in the air

column inside, causing a vibration and generating sound waves.



Floating in the air



The Anti-Gravity Mirror demonstrates symmetry in mirror image.

A person appears to be floating in the air in the mirror when

lifting one foot and standing on another that is hidden behind

the mirror.



The Moebius Bar is circular jungle gym where children, walking

along the surface of a twisted bar, observe that they always

return to the same spot after traversing the entire surface of the

band.



''We will put more exhibits once funds are enough, especially

after we collect the various pledges that we got,'' said Genaline

Dignadice, ISC managing director.



The center raises funds through pledges, annual membership

dues and entrance fees.



Science Secretary Filemon Uriarte Jr. has pledged P500,000 for

the museum when he was guest speaker during its 4th

anniversary celebration on Sept. 10.



Donations



A number of benefactors have also donated money for the

maintenance of the exhibits.



The ISC has three types of annual membership, which is also

aimed at raising funds. For P500, one can become an individual

member, entitled to one unlimited pass; P1,000 for family

members, four passes; and P5,000 for corporate members, 20

passes.



Students are encouraged to become members of the Junior

Interactive Explorer's Club for P50, which entitles them to a

three-month unlimited entrance to the ISC and discounts on

special events.



Students are charged P15 entrance fee and adults, P30.



Dignadice said birthday parties can also be held inside the

center on special arrangements.
 

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