Breaking the Ice: Ice Worlds shown at the NIDO FORTIFIED Science Discovery Center

Ice Worlds had an advanced screening at the Nido Fortified Scinece Discovery Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City on June 20, 2009, 3:00 PM- 5:00 PM. The event was presented by SMART and sponsored by Nestle NIDO FORTIFIED, Coca-Cola and BDO. It was supported by WWF Philippines, Mrs. Fields Cookie Cafe, Digipost, A-Z Direct Marketing and Timelife. Yehey.com was the online media partner. 

uber yummy cookies from Mrs. Fields & more desserts from Delifrance

L: with Sire; with Eric

with Azrael in the middle

During those days when I was still training with Publicis and doing a lot of malling, I have passed by the Science Discovery Center at SM Mall of Asia a couple of times but I never really got the time to explore what’s inside it. Fortunately, I got invited to see the advanced screening of ICE WORLDS which truly blew my mind and transported me back to my childhood. I was even a bit teary eyed. I was like “Wow! I can’t believe I’m experiencing this! I hope I had this when I was much younger…”

The FORTIFIED Science Discovery Center is the Philippine’s premiere science museum today. The center features over 400 exciting and interactive exhibits in nine walk through galleries and houses the country’s most advance planetarium and dome theater. The NIDO FORTIFIED Science Discovery Center is located at the Southside Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City and is open daily from 10 AM to 10 PM. It is a member of the Association of Science Technology Centers Incorporated (ASTC), the international association of science center and museums that promotes understanding and appreciation of science. Founded in 1973, ASTC now has more than 540 members in 40 countries.”

So there I was with my hubby, Peter, trying to explore every nook and cranny the center has to offer:

Digistar Planetarium (shows start at 10 AM and ends at 9:20 PM), Transportation Nation, Holopod, Flight Simulator, Robotics, Virtual Reef, Earthquake Experience Room and Grossology.

Grossology is the impolite science of the human body which gives you the perfect excuse for grossness education.

-    Burp Man tells you how burping happens; Urine game shows you how the kidneys work;  Sniff Sniff lets you experience smelling the odors that some parts of our bodies make when they are filled with bacteria and fungi; Patients Please helps you learn the parts of the body by attempting to remove them from the game table without touching the sides of the hole; Vomit Center is where you try to guess the correct “process” order by pressing buttons to make the barf guy BARF;   Let’s Play Grossology is where you test your grossness I.Q.

Then it was show time! Oh before that, we were very lucky to have with us as our keynote speaker, Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, CEO and vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of WWF Philippines. Concurrently, he sits as chairman and president of the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation. Mr. Tan also serves on the Technical Adviser’s Group of the Secretary of Agriculture. He is an NGO member of the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Eco-region Tri-National Committee, the Management Board of Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, and the Joint Management Committee of the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area that covers Malaysia and Philippines. That’s not all. As a published author, Mr. Tan wrote two books, A Field Guide to Whales and Dolphins of the Philippines and The Last Great Forest, which both won the National Book Awards for Environment.

He talked about how ice and climate are interrelated. Basically, drastic climate changes are caused by the amount of coal/fuel that we consume. Climate changes in turn are drastically affecting the melting of snow in key parts of the world like the Arctic and Antarctic regions. If left unchecked, there is a huge possibility of having dramatic increases in sea levels worldwide which means, a lot of the countries we see now will be submerged underwater pretty soon. Ack! Huge efforts are definitely needed to help stop this phenomenon now. It’s not enough that we plant trees or stop using coal and fuel. We have to do this, all of us, worldwide. All of humanity must stop using fuel and resort to other means. This is the best time to support the use of electric and/or battery-powered vehicles, appliances, etc. It’s easier said than done but we have officials in the government who are doing something about it, like Mr. Tan, who will soon be attending a global summit where all global leaders will have to decide on the best way to help save our planet. By showing ICE WORLDS to the public, people, especially today’s youth, will have a better understanding of our planet’s situation and hopefully get inspired to act now and in the near future.

We then headed to the Digistar Planetarium. It was soooo nice! I almost got teary eyed thinking how privileged we were to be in that room. It was huge and it’s like the stars were all around us!

From the coldest parts of the Earth’s regions comes Ice Worlds, a documentary that probes the delicate balance between ice, water, and existence of life, which has been a topic of science exploration and discovery for generations.

The documentary examines the cosystems that live and thrive the Earth’s Arctic and Antarctic regions and how their survival is connected with human being’s own survival. Beyond Earth, Ice World’s looks at how the existence of ice shapes the landscape and the natural systems on other planets and moons in the solar system.

Narrated by Bitish actress, star of The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Ice Worlds is produced in cooperation with the University of New Hampshire, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, with the support of the National Science Foundation.”

Before the event ended, a raffle darw took place. Peter and I were lucky to have won a SMARYT jacket each. The grand price, which was a cell phone, was bagged by a very young kid. So lucky! 

For more information about the NIDO FORTIFIED Science Discovery Center and ticket reservations, call 556-2153 or for group booking inquiries please call 556-0331.

  MORE PHOTOS HERE.