SM
Prime Holdings, Inc. is set to bring the Science Discovery Center to Jinjiang,
China by 2014. This will be the third SM Science Discovery Center in the
country and the first outside the Philippines.
Science
Discovery Center head Arturo C. Carballo said this is part of SM Prime’s plans
to have 10 malls in China by 2014. There are six SM Malls occupying a total
space of 797,545 square meters in China with specific locations in Xiamen City
in Fujian, Jinjiang City in Fujian, Chengdu City in Sichuan, Jiahe Road in
Xiamen City, Suzhou City in Jiangsu and the latest in Chongqing City which
opened in December 2012.
The
first SM Science Discovery Center opened at the SM Mall of Asia in Manila in
2007 while the second Center opened in Davao City’s SM Premier this month.
“This
is one of the most modern science centers with a Planetarium powered by the
Digistar 5 projector system; the full-dome Planetarium alone costs P700,000,”
Mr. Carballo said. This is even more modern than most Science Centers in the
United States which only uses the Digistar 3 system, he added.
The
Davao Science Discovery Center occupies a 2,000-square meter space but compared
to the 158 seating capacity for MOA’s Planetarium, Davao’s Planetarium can only
seat up to 80 people. But while the Center in Manila has only 9 galleries,
Davao has up to 10 interactive galleries on geology, Biology, the Body,
Climate, Energy, Transportation, Technology, Engineering and The Future.
“The
Science Discovery Center in Davao is expected to cater not only to Dabawenyos
but also to the whole of Mindanao,” he said.
Based on their studies on the Mindanao market, they have decided to
lower down the entrance fees from P330 for walk-ins in Manila to only P250 for
walk-ins in Davao City.
Mr.
Carballo said they have met with officials of the Department of Education as
well as Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte and they agreed to provide a special rate
for public schools. He said Pasay City exempted the Discovery Center in MOA
from the amusement tax so they were able to provide public school students
there with a low rate of P180. We are
trying to get a much lower rate for Davao public school students, he added.
Department
of Tourism XI Regional Director and Assistant Secretary Arturo P. Boncato, Jr.
said the Discovery Center brings with it more opportunities for the city as it
will provide educators with a unique, tech-based platform when teaching the youth
about concepts in science, technology and other related topics.
