The Mind Museum Experience

I finally made good on my promise to take Garrett to the Mind Museum at Bonifacio Global City (BGC). It’s been been several months since he made his part of our deal. The deal was for him to work his way to advancing 1 level up with Kumon Math. That he did, and in February made it to the Gold status, which means he is now in the group of Kumon students doing Math drills three-four years advance of their grade level. Hooray for Garrett!

I am going to share more on logistics of the trip and leave the story telling on the exhibits to Garrett. I will share his own blog post once he has gotten around to writing it.

We timed our visit on a holiday (Eidul-Fitar – end of Ramadan), which was last Friday. It was a good decision as traffic was light and the museum had only a thin crowd. I imagined it would be crowded had we gone on a weekday as there might be groups of students on a field trip.

The Mind Museum is on the 3^rd Avenue of BGC, easily accessible if you enter BGC from EDSA or C5. Take 32^nd Street and turn right on 3^rd Avenue from EDSA (at Jollibee) or left from C5 (last left turn before exiting to EDSA).

It is flanked by two parking lots across the roads. It was already almost full around 11am when we arrived. I thought what more if we came on a work day or on a Saturday. Our timing was perfect! And I couldn’t be happier as I was the designated driver.

EXCITED!

We went with my mother and sister. Senior citizens can enter at a discounted price of P430, adults at P600 and students from private schools at P450.  This is for a 3-hour visit. Unlimited pass is at P750.

The museum opens at 9am and closes by 9pm. Tickets are for 3-hour time slots: 9-12, 12-3, 3-6, and 6-9. We got the 12-3pm slot. As it was our first time, and I was lousy with following map directions, we came earlier, secured a parking and went on to find a place to eat.

There is a nearby strip of fine restaurants at Forbes Town Centre, Rizal Drive Corner Burgos Circle. We chose the least intimidating one, and happily got a table at Uncle Cheffy. We had little time so we opted to get their complete breakfast plates plus pumpkin flower soup. We headed back to the Mind Museum a few minutes before our designated entry time of 12nn.

 

Voila! There goes Garrett, jaws dropping in awe. This was a much-awaited treat for him, about a year since he first knew about the Mind Museum and requested to see it. He has been to the Science Center in Singapore twice, so he had some ideas and expectations. Science Center in Singapore is his most favorite place. He would not trade it for Universal Studios.

On the way out, I asked him his impressions. He said the Mind Museum is awesome but he still likes the Science Center in Singapore better. A bit exaggerating, he said that it only took him a few minutes to go around all the exhibits.

Static electricity

What's in a cell?

Garrett was like in a trance upon setting foot inside the Museum. I could not keep up with his pace, and it was hard to talk to him, and harder to request that he take my photo. Mindful of the time, he was in a flurry the whole time, trying out exhibits with interactive platforms, going around and around, again and again, up and down the two floors.

Gabee also enjoyed although she is not able to appreciate it yet as much, being only 5 years old. She was interested in the exhibits with buttons and those which produce sound or motion when touched. She had more fun at the outdoor Science in the Park, playing with bubbles, on the slides, and hitting drums.

Bernoulli's Principle

Seated on an atom

Volcano eruption

Phases of the moon

Hearing animal sounds

Inside a plant cell

The museum’s exhibits are laid out in five thematic galleries: universe, atom, life, earth, and technology. It is, in fact, inspired by the Science Center in Singapore but in a smaller scale. But, it is by far the most advanced museum of its kind in the country. The architecture is spectacular and gives you that “wow” feeling. Located in the booming, clean, and green BGC, the Mind Museum is not a far cry from Singapore’s original version.

The Universe Gallery

T. rex

Souvenir photo before heading out

My turn for a souvenir photo :-)