I had an interview at ABS CBN that morning because I was invited as a guest speaker for their Sakto show. My family was with me as usual. Since we were already in Quezon City, I suggested to my husband that we also have a field trip in Marikina because the Philippine Science Centrum has a promo wherein the entrance fee is heavily discounted.
He checked Waze to calculate our travel time and agreed. Hurray! We went to the Philippine Science Centrum after we had our lunch instead of going straight home.
We were all glad that we did push through with our unplanned field trip. We enjoyed ourselves. It was also our first time there, including my husband and I.
I’m so grateful that I got to see and confirm the promo before that day.
Since it was a weekday, the place was not crowded. This is one of the things I love about homeschooling. We can go places even on weekdays to have a field trip and these places are not full of people on those days because most are in school or at work.
The regular entrance fee to this place is now P200 per head. Teachers with ID and children below 2 years old are free of charge. Senior citizens with ID get a 50% discount.
Since they had a promo, we only paid P29 per head. My husband and I teach our children in our homeschool but since we do not have IDs as teachers, we had to pay. It was okay with us since we already got a big discount from the regular rate.
What We Liked
There are a LOT of things to discover and learn from this place! It’s a big place to explore. You and your kids can learn a lot from the displays and activities provided.
There are labels that can be read about the exhibits or displays. This is helpful when there are no tour guides. But we had a tour guide that day so we learned more because of her help. After our guided tour, we explored some more and lingered on exhibits that really piqued our interest.
Visitors can experience some of the concepts presented. I like hands-on learning. This is an effective strategy both for adults and kids, especially for kids.
Tips
Watch out for promos like what we availed last March.
Bring your own water and packed snacks to save on food expenses. You cannot eat inside but if you have brought your packed snacks, you can consume them outside after your visit. We had buco shake afterward because we felt warm after our tour.
Bring face towels that you can use to wipe your sweat and put on the children’s backs. The place was air conditioned but we still perspired while going around. What more if the place was crowded? Plus, there are challenges where you will really exert effort.
Eat lunch or heavy breakfast first before going here. That way, you and your family members will not get hungry easily. The place is big and there are a lot of things that you can check out and try.
Encourage the kids to read the labels. If they are not readers yet, read the labels to them and explain them in simpler terms so they would understand what the exhibits are about.
Ask if there is a tour guide available to help you.
Encourage the kids to try some of the activities. People, not just kids, learn best and remember more when they experience things. the more senses were used, the better. Let them see you doing the activities as well so they would do the same.
There is a maximum time indicated on their website for visitors. The maximum time allowed is 1.5 hours. But we didn’t experience being told that we have a time limit. We got to explore freely and without being conscious of the time. We probably went beyond 1.5 hours that day because we stayed longer in some exhibits and we even took photos and videos in some.
Anyway, for your guidance, let me share the time slots published on their website:
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.; 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.; 11:00 a.m. -12:30 p.m.; 1:30 p.m. -3:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
If you have any questions about this facility and their schedule or upcoming promos, you can contact them here.
The Philippine Science Centrum is in Barangka, Marikina and along the Marikina River. Thus, if you have plenty of time on your visit, you can include introducing the river to your kids and eating near it. There are restaurants also nearby so, if you want to have lunch or dinner there, there are plenty to choose from.
Last tip: do not go there when the rains are heavy since the place is just beside Marikina River, which is known to rise above critical level during heavy rains or when there are typhoons.
I hope you make time to check out this place with your children in the future. It’s a good place to bring science to life and teach kids science concepts.
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