Last May 2008, the province of Sichuan, China was hit by an earthquake which measured a surface wave magnitude of 8 and a 7.9 moment magnitude, the strongest since the Chayu earthquake in 1950. More than 69,000 lives were lost, over 370,000 injured and a lot are still missing.
This year, as part of our country's contribution to the disaster rehabilitation of China, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, together with the China Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs, arranged for the visit of some 100 Sichuan children to the Philippines.
The kids will be staying in the country from January 11-17. Among their list of destinations is the SM Science Discovery Center, where they will receive a revitalizing educational tour about science and technology.
SM Science Discovery Center houses over 400 exhibits that teach about astronomy, new technologies like robotics and the internet, and most especially the earth and its environment. All these exhibits are presented in highly interactive manner which makes learning easier and so much more fun.
The Center is also home to the only state-of-the-art Digistar Planetarium in the Philippines, where informative films can be watched in 360-degree dome screen technology and in full surround sound.
The Sichuan kids will surely have the best time, a real breather from their previous encounter with the unfortunate event.
A.R. Riparip, Marketing Manager of the SM Science Discovery Center shares: "The Center wishes that through this visit, the children will somehow get their hopes back and get the opportunity to just once again be kids as they go from one gallery to another and discover more about science and the universe."
The SM Science Discovery Center believes in the power of education and wants to impart the gift of science to every child, especially those coming from unfortunate times, so that someday they can all come together as one and help the whole world advance in the field, and find ways to prevent and overcome natural occuring calamities like the Sichuan earthquake.
The Center knows that it is its Corporate Social Responsibility to educate the youth and even the grownups about things like these. This project is only one of the CSR efforts the SM Science Discovery Center aims for. A future that is safer and brighter is what the Center envisions for everyone, that is why it is always willing and ready to extend a helping hand to whoever is in need.
The SM Science Discovery Center is located at the Southside Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia. Operating hours are from 10am to 10pm daily. For more information about the Center, please visit www.smsciencediscovery.com or call (02) 556-2153.
back
