A Chunk of My Weekday: Trip to Science Centre Singapore!

I can’t recall the last time I visited the Science Centre but I’m positive it’s more than a decade ago! And it was definitely a class / Science Club excursion. Well, I’m back! Thanks to the Science Centre, I got a pair of complimentary tickets to the screening of Bugs! in 3D – how awesome! I don’t know what happened to my memory – I’ve completely forgotten what the exterior of the Science Centre looks like. I’m olddd.

Hello again, Science Centre!

You know, the McD’s at Science Centre is really cool! They have lots of plushies from previous collections on display (I’m quite obsessed with plushies, just in case you didn’t know. :P) and they’re flooded with sunshine.

I reserved seats for the show at 2:00pm. Since it was already slightly past 1:00pm when we arrived, we decided to go for the movie first and explore the other parts later! (I didn’t capture the whole banner because there’s a bench underneath it and someone was seated there. I don’t think she’d like to make a cameo?)

Making our way to The Annexe. Currently, one of the must-go exhibitions is CSI: The Experience – you’re supposed to figure your way around mysteries and solve murder cases! Unfortunately, as we were short of time (since Skye and I both haven’t been to the Science Centre in a while, we wanted to reserve some time to visit the other exhibitions), we gave CSI a miss for the time being. But, I’ve heard lots of good things about this exhibition so if you had a chance to check it out, please share pics! :)

The theatre’s really spacious (reminded me of school) and I totally enjoyed the show! This is a photo of me looking goofy in the 3D glasses (taken by iPhone). ^_^ I uploaded this photo on my Facebook after the show because my iPhone died from 2:00pm to 3:20pm, i.e. throughout the show, up till 40 minutes after the show! It’s quite ridiculous given that my phone is only 9 months old! Those of you who called/texted me during that period – I didn’t get any!  :’(

Bugs! is, in essence, a trip to the rainforest magnified in detail by hundreds of thousands of times. I mean, seriously, I am not as huge a fan of documentaries as Skye is (I sometimes get bored halfway), but I am telling you this is a very captivating and insightful show (especially when it’s in 3D!).

To preserve the element of surprise, I did not read up thoroughly on the show before I went. For 40 minutes, I was taken on a journey through the rainforest, following the lives of two main bugs – Papilio the butterfly, and Hierodula the praying mantis (they’re on the brochure!).

I watched as Papilio developed from a mere caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly. Boy, can she eat! Did you know that Papilio’s weight increased by one hundred times in a mere few weeks? According to the narrator, Judi Dench, that’s the equivalent of us growing as heavy as a hippopotamus over a weekend! I think that would probably be due to all that Lunar New Year snacking times infinity!

At the same time, Hierodula emerges from his egg case, and eventually sheds his skin and matures. Whilst Papilio feeds on leaves, Hierodula hunts for food. He waits for his unsuspecting prey and catches it at the opportune moment.

Both Papilio and Hierodula eventually found their other halves and contributed to the insect population. The really sad thing about the show is that Hierodula eventually killed Papilio. :( And her wings fell onto the river below and floated away. Such is the uncertainty of life and the essence of survival!

You’ll also see other animals and insects living in the same habitat, such as Rhino Beetles, a ball of fluff (which is actually a Scale Bug in disguise), the Thorn Bug (which looked so much like a thorn I didn’t even realise it was a real bug), a cute frog seeking refuge from the rain, lizards (eeks!) and others.

All these animals and insects have been magnified so you can really see the tiny details. And since the entire show is in 3D, you really feel like you’re walking through the rainforest yourself. It’s amazing! I look at butterflies and praying mantises in a different light now. All the Papilios and Hierodulas of the world are out there fighting for survival! I need to watch more documentaries.

Bugs! is showing at the 3D Theatre @ The Annexe, but only until 27 February 2011! Tickets are priced at SGD8.00 per adult/child. If you’re keen, there’s still time! And you can then go ahead and explore the stuff I’m gonna show you next. :P

We went to McD’s after the show and Skye helped revive my iPhone. I thought I was going to have to send it for repair and end up using my lousy backup phone for a week! After that, we’re off to see the other exhibitions!

We’ve got our tickets! There are lots of stuff to see in there so I’m just going to show you some, okay?

Since it’s the year of the Rabbit, the Science Centre has some cool rabbit-themed stuff to share!

Look! Rabbit!

Yes, it’s a real rabbit! Say hi to Biscuit! ;) It was adopted from SPCA. Its owner couldn’t care for it properly. I’ve heard many incidents of people buying pets on a whim, or purely for the sake of good luck (it’s the year of the Rabbit!) but seriously, before you even make the purchase please do think about how you’re going to make time for it and really take care of it. Don’t let these poor critters suffer because of your irresponsibility!

You may recall seeing this dome on your last visit (I sure do!). It has been there ever since the first time I visited (and I believe, before that).

These chicks hatched on the day of my visit!

And would someone please tell me these are not real…?!

Hey, Harry Potter!

I can’t enter the Movie Studio – I think it’s exclusive to students on school trips?

I like the Hot Air Organ!

Press the red button.

And the gauze will be heated up! Wait for the gauze to turn red hot.

There’s a neon string dangling above the button; pull the string gently! The heated gauze then goes into the tube and you’ll hear something!

Here’s the explanation!

Will you say “HI!” to the Echo Tube?! It reminds me of Alien vs. Predator.

Okay now, you gotta see this. Let’s make cloud rings!

See the smoke drifting out?

Push down! (That’s Skye’s hand btw.)

Up the smoke goes! See the floating white circle? That’s my cloud ring! I must have lacked strength cos Skye’s cloud ring is much bigger and clearer than mine! But I didn’t manage to take a photo because I’m too slow! (That, and I need a new camera!)

How can I forget Einstein? Just between you and me, I’m a little scared of him.

I love the look of the ceiling. It looks like the interior of Willy Wonka’s factory where they test all the amazing candies. W, if you’re reading this, please send me a golden ticket soon!

He reminds me of Wall-E!

And I tried this out. It plays Pop! Goes the Weasel when you turn the knob. Depending on how fast or slow you turn, it can sound like (a) a normal female voice, (b) a deep male voice, or (c) chipmunks!

They also have a few of these booths around.

The booth is sort of like a chatroom and the screen looks like this. See? That’s me on the screen! We should chat sometime. :P

Any avid photogs?

I kind of have a love-hate relationship with illusions.

Let’s peep through the smaller hole first. The impossible columns! 3 columns there, right?

Well, look again!

The truth?

Here’s the explanation. Amazing, right?

Before we left, I bought something from Curiosity, the Science Centre shop.

Teehee! I’ve been wanting to get this for the longest time. Astronaut Ice Cream!!!

Here’s what it says on the back. Any of you tried this yet?

There’s chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. I was really curious about this because I’ve read about it but didn’t actually get around to trying it – now I can! First impression – it looks hard and dry (well it’s freeze-dried!). Taste test – it’s kind of crunchy, melts in your mouth, tastes like the respective flavours stated, and actually does taste like ice-cream! Except it’s warm. I like it! I’m gonna buy some more if I manage to find them again. I wish I bought more than one!!! Check out Astronaut Foods. I’m totally interested in Alien Ice Cream, Mars Fireballs, Tyrannosaurus Eggs and Astronaut Beef Stew Space Dinner! These are so cool, I think we should have all these available locally.

Anyways, there’s so much more to discover at the Science Centre. I really don’t want to spoil the rest for you, so if you have some time, it’s a great place to spend the day! I spent the whole afternoon just exploring there. Left only when they announced they were closing for the day, LOL!

You can find out how to get to the Science Centre, admission charges and event details here. Check out the Science Centre’s Facebook page too!

For some reason, while I was there, I kept thinking of Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons. *shrug* I loved the book and movie! This reminds me that I need to pick up Deception Point soon. No Robert Langdon, but I guess I’ll give it a shot anyway!

I look forward to hearing about your exciting experiences, and I’m sure my next visit wouldn’t be a decade later! Btw, I’ll be attending the screening of It’s a Great Great World at the National Museum of Singapore tomorrow evening! There’ll be a treasure hunt and lots of fun so if you spot me please say hi!

J

Tags: 3D, 3D glasses, Albert Einstein, Astronaut Foods, Astronaut Ice Cream, Bugs!, Butterflies, Butterfly, Cameras, Caterpillar, Chatroom, Chicks, Chocolate, Cloud rings machine, Clouds, CSI, CSI: The Experience, Curiosity, Documentary, Echo Tube, Exhibitions, Facebook, Food, Harry Potter, Hierodula, Hot Air Organ, Ice-cream, Illusions, Impossible Columns, Insects, iPhone, It's a Great Great World, McDonald's, Movie studio, Movies, National Museum of Singapore, Nature, Neapolitan, Papilio, Pop! Goes the Weasel, Praying Mantis, Praying Mantises, Rabbits, Rainforest, Science Centre Singapore, Shop, Snacks, Strawberry, Telephone booth, The Annexe, Vanilla, Wall-E, Willy Wonka