I suppose it’s too late for this, as Science XPdition is closed by now. But I did mean to write about this, and hopefully point out some issues I have with exhibits and experiences like this.

We first heard about Science XPdition from Ana, mom of one of Lucas’s best friends. So for Lucas’s eighth birthday, we decided to finally go, with Lucas’s best friends Anya and Natnat, and Ana. We met up in Ayala Malls Manila Bay and went in for the two-hour slot that our tickets covered.

So Science XPdition claims to have over a hundred interactive science exhibits on display under a single roof. Within the grounds were staff to help explain the exhibits as well. There was also a life-sized robotic model of Albert Einstein.

We were all super excited. I thought we would be able to do experiments, and try stuff, and see chemical reactions or something.

First of all, we bought the tickets online (Php 699 each). This was frustrating, because the receipt I got in my email didn’t indicate the date and time I had paid for, only the number of tickets I had purchased. I messaged their Facebook page to confirm our schedule, only to be told we could come in anytime. After I asked if they were strict with the time and date, the (I assume) social media manager asked the schedule I’d chosen, and told me it was available. There were also no instructions, either via Facebook message or email, about entering the exhibit, where we had to present our tickets, the time limit, visitor guidelines.

We met everyone in Ayala Malls Manila Bay, and entered the exhibit. We got stamped and waved in. The first stop was an orientation, where we were told about what we would see, simple guidelines (photography OK, no flash), and we were introduced to this robotic Albert Einstein, which is apparently worth Php 4 million.

I wasn’t sure why the cost was relevant, but OK.

The person giving the orientation also sounded like she was just reading from a script, and I felt like if we asked her any questions she would have started fumbling.

Unfortunately that was the case for most of the exhibit.

There were over a hundred exhibits, sure. But they were grouped together haphazardly. Each section had multiple exhibits and minimal explanations. The lighting was bad. The staff sort of just hovered around you, without explaining anything except how it was interactive. The walls were covered in tarps printed with a plethora of information so badly presented that nobody would read it. I tried, and even I lost interest. In the end we (well mostly Oneal) were the ones explaining the exhibits to the kids and telling them what science was behind each one.

I think the worst one was the rock collection, which included meteors, semi-precious stones and metals. The staff watching over it made sure to tell me that this collection was worth over Php 300,000, and he pointed out to me the most expensive piece in the collection. OK, but what is it for, dude?

The saving grace was this one guy at the end, who came up to us and sounded like he actually understood the science behind the exhibits. He wasn’t very good at explaining them, but points to him for actually trying to engage the kids!

The kids had fun, for sure. There were puzzles and zapping things. There was sand and there were mirrors. There were ropes and knots and metal wires. There were videos that explained the ever expanding universe. The kids touched everything and tried every experiment.

But I think such an exhibit should be about more than lumping expensive experiments together, printing random infographics on tarps and hanging them on the wall, and calling it a day. It felt like someone had money and this brilliant idea, and nobody to tell them, “Hang on let’s think about this.” It feels like a waste of a Php 4 million robot and a Php 300,00 rock collection when kids are just going to breeze past it if it doesn’t light up or make sounds when they press buttons. So much more thought could have gone into categorizing the exhibits, writing guides to explain why such science is important or relevant in daily life, training the staff to actually understand what they were presenting and providing them with the skills to communicate effectively.

I have no experience in museum curation, and limited experience in science communication, but as a parent I think there’s much that could have been done better.

I should probably mention that the same company is behind the Omniverse exhibit (website) in Glorietta. Maybe I’m jaded because I know the collectors and the places where they buy these collectibles, and I’d been going to ToyCon for years before the pandemic. Maybe I’m cynical because I’ve been to the conventions and seen not just the collectibles and the costumes, but how they’re made and the people who make them. But it’s Php 1,000 per head (Php 3,800 for a group of four) and I feel like you could just stroll through Greenhills or visit a Filbar’s store, and you would see the same things.

Suffice to say I don’t think this company really deserves your money, unless they can do better.