Science Explorer brings Science Film Festival to Mountain Province

Around 700 elementary students and teachers from five municipalities of the Mountain Province got a taste of fun and exciting science experience while watching science films as the Science Education Institute’s (SEI) Science Explorer brought the Science Film Festival to the Cordilleras last week.

The Science Explorer, the Philippines’ first and only mobile science learning facility, brought to students and teachers of Bauko, Sabangan, Bontoc, Sagada and Besao a brand new experience in science and technology through interactive science activities coupled with international films to excite the pupils on the wonders of science.

SEI Director Dr. Filma G. Brawner expressed her gratitude to the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) and Goethe Institut (GI), and the Department of Education (DepEd) for the opportunity to serve the people of Mountain Province through the Science Film Festival which is now on its second year in the country.

“We hope that through the Science Explorer we were able to show to the elementary students of Mountain Province how exciting it is to be a scientist. We thank AFI and Goethe for the chance to serve the people of the Cordilleras through fun and exciting science experiments,” she said.

For the Mountain Province Road Trip of the Science Explorer, all modules featured a film featured in the Science Film Festival that is held simultaneously in Metro Manila, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan de Oro. Fun and interactive activities are incorporated in the film showing, which is a unique feature of the Science Explorer.

Films shown in the Science Explorer were Mouse TV: Fuel Cell (2009), I Got It! – The Sugar Episode (2010), Of Forest and Men, Universe of the Ocean and Wonders of the Solar System. The same films and more were shown at the different venues of the Science Film Festival.

To date, the Science Explorer has served more than 1,200 students this year alone from various parts of Luzon.

“However, we cannot rest yet and we hope to reach more students next year in other parts of the country. We believe that an experience in the Science Explorer can be a spark to stir up the interest of students in science and technology,” Brawner noted.

The Science Explorer is a 30-seater bus furnished with laboratory equipment, audio-visual equipment and instructional materials tailor-fitted to give the students an interactive, fun and interesting experience in science.

Unveiled in 2010, the Science Explorer was conceptualized to help bring to schools that are under-equipped or has no science laboratory a hands-on experience in experiments and discover the world of science.

“The Science Explorer is not a replacement of science laboratories but a mere catalyst to implant amongst schools, teachers and students the importance of hands-on learning in doing experiments in science and technology,” Brawner stressed. Mark Ivan Roblas-SEI-DOST