Discoveries at SM Science Discovery Center

It’s been almost a month since I went to the SM Science Discovery Center at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, but it’s only now that I decided to blog about my unpleasant experience because I thought I’d forget about it. But I couldn’t. The sentiment got stuck in me like a clingy, oversized booger—a little more effort is needed to get it out of my system.

And to expedite my permanent separation from the unpleasant experience, I’m listing down my top 3 discoveries as a result of visiting the SM Science Discovery Center.

Discovery 1: Walk-in visitors must come with their own tour guides. Throughout the tour, not a single guide attended to us. In the earthquake section, no attendant was in sight to help us experience the simulation. We had to wait for the preschool kids (who were there on scheduled field trip) to enter the room before an attendant activated the machine. Then we discovered the wait wasn’t worth it.

In the Virtual Reef section, we had to come back three times to be able to speak with Mr. T, the talking Titan fish. The first time we went inside, the attendant walked out of the booth and chatted with another attendant, despite seeing us foolishly standing before the monitor waiting for Mr. T to appear. Our second attempt was no different; the attendant simply ignored us. The last attempt was successful only because there were children in the room. We finally heard Mr. T talk, which led me to my second discovery.

Discovery 2: Dory is still the most amusing talking fish. Hearing Mr. T talk was painful because he struggled with his English, his diction was awful, and his regional accent was too obvious it diminished the animated character’s charm. I couldn’t even stand the way he responded to the questions so I stepped out of the room and proceeded to the City Science section where an attendant was discussing the world’s tallest buildings to children.

Then I heard him say: “…is considered one of the tallest buildings in the world because it has over a hundred floor. It has over a hundred floor.” A hundred floor? So is this like Pangasinan’s Hundred Island?

Discovery 3: Never settle for the second choice. My colleagues and I were supposed to check out Ocean Park, but we were one day ahead of its public opening. Disappointed, we went to the SM Science Discovery Center, which seemed the logical second choice. We were very wrong.

The Spaceship Earth wasn’t working; the environmental video projection was so blurry I tuned out after five frames. Some parts of the Transportation section were too dark we assumed they’re off limits to visitors. The Robot, Inc. section looks like a badly lit warehouse with old, defective robots.  The Lego Mindstorms Robotics Center, which I was most excited to visit because I’d be able to program my own robot, was closed.

The only saving grace of the trip was the Grossology section and the 3D planetarium show “The Search for Life: Are We Alone?” narrated by Harrison Ford. But even these two sections and Harrison Ford’s voice couldn’t dissuade me from believing that SM Science Discovery Center is overpriced and overrated.

I’ll surely get some flak for saying this because most of the online accounts I’ve read about the Center are positive, complete with charming pictures (I only used my Nokia phone). Some might accuse me of nitpicking; label my experience as an isolated case. But really, what will SM Science Discovery Center gain from hearing all good, but not knowing how to be better?