On the Radar

WATCH: New exhibit gives peek of life on Mars

Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo - Philstar.com

May 3, 2018 | 1:32pm

MANILA, Philippines — What would await the Earthlings that would soon become the first Martians, should the Mars missions succeed?

This is among the questions that a newly opened space-themed exhibit in Taguig City aims to answer.

Launched last month, Space Adventure invites kids starting from two to embark on an adventure into the wonders of the universe. The interactive exhibits and play areas aim to engage the imagination and curiosity of toddlers and young kids. Meanwhile, K-12 students will find their space science lessons in the new DepEd curriculum come alive through the exhibits.

Located at The Mind Museum, the traveling exhibition has been conceived and created by the museum, with the support of exhibit partners Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Neltex, LEGO, Celestron, Urban Greens, Datem, and Daegu National Science Museum.

The exhibit is divided into three areas, beginning with “Fantastic Universe.” Here, guests will learn about humans' links to the stars. In fact, in the first exhibit, what guests will see as they enter is called "I Am Star Stuff," where the optical illusion reveals to guests that people are literally made of star stuff.

In “Explore Outer Space,” kids can pretend to “launch rocket balls” to Mars. Meanwhile, in the Mars Space Station, they can learn about the challenges of living on Mars and some of the ideas scientists have for overcoming those challenges to help future astronauts survive and work in another world. Young kids can also play around with basic shapes and colors while learning about rockets in Rocket Shapes and Launch Pad Play Area.

Finally, in “Discover Our Solar System,” guests will learn about Earth's neighborhood in space. By interacting and playing with the exhibits in this area, kids can learn why Pluto is no longer called a planet, the difference between a meteor, meteorite, and meteoroid, why the Moon has phases, and many more. They can also get to hop on different planets and see what their weight is on Jupiter or Neptune.