Amazing Science Field Trip for your Preschooler & Big Kid: The Philippines’ First Mobile Digital Planetarium

SP had the privilege of getting a star gazing session at the Philippines’ first Mobile Digital Planetarium located at the Diliman Preparatory School along Commonwealth Avenue last May 18, 2010. We first heard about it on the news and we definitely wanted you, our dear SP moms and dads, to be one of the first to hear about this educational facility. Go on an amazing science field trip. Bring your preschooler or big kid to this fantastic planetarium and spark their interest in the sciences.

 

Built for Future Filipino Scientists, Astronomers and Astrophysicists

“I didn’t bring this planetarium to the Philippines for college and postgraduate students,” says former senator and President & CEO of Diliman Preparatory School, Anna Dominique “Nikki” M. Coseteng. “I brought it here for the kids. I don’t want to limit the big dreamers and the future leaders just because they don’t have the proper equipment and the chance to see what’s possible. This is for the future Filipino scientists, astronomers and astrophysicists.”

Ms. Coseteng personally invested in the planetarium, called SkyXplore, and made sure that it was mobile in structure so that it could be toured around the Philippines. Right now, it is located in the Diliman Preparatory School which was put up by Ms. Coseteng’s mother, Alicia M. Coseteng, 41 years ago.

 

Advocating a Love of Learning: Doman System, EPIP and Robotics

“I believe that learning isn’t all theory and concepts. Life is about knowing how to solve problems practically. Kids are very astute and eager to learn. It is us adults who actually stunt their capacity to learn by putting limits to what they can study,” further explains Ms. Coseteng. This is why she brought the Glenn Doman Gentle Revolution System to her school and made it part of the Early Childhood Education curriculum. This system can be used by parents with babies as old as six months. As long as parents don’t use the tools as a way to pressure their children but rather, as a way for kids to just naturally learn and enjoy the process, the system has been guaranteed to be effective. Coseteng not only invested in the Planetarium and the Doman System but also in a proprietary English Proficiency Intervention Program (EPIP) and a robotics lab for kids as young as preschoolers.

 

Highly Interactive and Based on Actual Scientific Observation

The planetarium is inside a bubble tent, seven meters in diameter and can be set up from scratch in about twenty minutes. According to Coseteng, the planetarium itself was made in Argentina but the technology behind it comes from the U.S. “This planetarium is highly interactive and is based on the current location of the heavenly bodies in relation to the earth. Kids will be exposed to the fascinating world of astronomy and physics by simply being inside the planetarium,” she adds. Astronomy is actually an ancient science and one in which scientific observation is very evident. Scientists from long ago wrote down their observations of the night sky and recorded them over thousands of years, creating very precise predictions and measurements.

First, we all saw a 180 degree view of the sky with a glaring sun. We weren’t really impressed yet. But when Eyna Domingo, our astronomer guide, informed us that she was going to remove the effects of the atmosphere from the picture and expose us to the real sky, we waited with baited breath. The effect was dramatic. The planetarium darkened and we were all amazed at the sight of the stars as they were positioned over the daytime sky.

Click here to learn more about the SP team's Digital Planetarium experience.

 

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Read on about the amazing features that the Digital Planetarium provides for exploring the heavenly bodies.

 

Celestial Fireworks

Eyna went on to explain that she could move our perspective from the earth to the moon or to any planet we chose. Using real images captured by NASA, we marveled over the view of the earth and the other planets, getting dizzy in the process. We had to sit on the floor and lie back to really appreciate the celestial fireworks in front of our eyes, especially when we witnessed meteor showers.  Professor Camilo Dacanay of the Philippine Astronomical society, an astrophysicist working with Coseteng on SkyXplore, was seated beside me, exclaiming excitedly over a super nova that is visible to our telescopes today but that occurred in 1054 A.D.

 

A Time Machine

The planetarium is also a time machine of sorts. Eyna could change the date on her controls to reflect the sky at the exact date and time of anyone’s birthday. She even showed us the exact location and time (it was exactly 7:38 p.m.) when the crescent moon was right below Venus last May 16, Sunday. Towards the end of our session, she showed us the date 100,000 and how Polaris was no longer the North Star because of the Earth’s subtle “wobble” changes (called the earth’s precession).

We saw constellations, galaxies and stars far, far away, each one conveniently labeled, sometimes with images of Orion, lions and bears that were imaginatively identified during the time of the ancient Greeks. We also got an extra treat: 360 degree movie trailers of educational shows that gave us beautiful views of space and the inner workings of molecules and electrons. The real movies are coming soon.

 

Book a Science Field Trip Now

If you want your preschooler or big kid to experience this amazing, interactive and very educational science field trip in astronomy and physics, call up Joy Onguda or Chris of the Marketing department of the Diliman Preparatory school at 951-0382 and book your seats for a special show on May 28 (followed by an actual star gazing session). The session on May 28 costs P300/ per person. Or check the schedule of the planetarium tour. Maybe you’ll be able to visit it at a nearby school soon.

 

 

Photos by:
Stephanie Esguerra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flyingsinger/ / CC BY 2.0