The Planetarium

My son is a big fan of the Solar System. He knows all the planets, their moons and the big stars of the universe. We have books, maps and even blankets of planets (we love to indulge in his geekiness).

So when the Planetarium opened a new exhibit recently, all my friends who knew my son immediately tagged me on facebook. I knew we should pay a visit.

A few blocks from Rizal Park (I still like calling it Luneta), we walked to The Planetarium. You can also take the jeep to Mabini and get down exactly right in front of this building.

 

Entrance is FREE where you can view the exhibits. You just have to register and leave your bags at their counter. You can only bring your wallet and phone at the exhibit area. 

I liked that the exhibition showed our ancestor's relationship with the universe. There's a story of how the stars were being used by our elders to time the planting their crops and more. There was also a portion on the different beliefs of each region (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) on how the Universe was born. 

 
My son immediately ran into this portion of the exhibit where all the big planets are, this is my favorite spot too.

 

 

You will only pay a fee when you'll watch the Planetarium Show. P30 for Students and Children, P40 for Senior Citizen and PWD and P50 for adults. The Full-Dome shows are Hayabusa, A Planet for Goldilocks and a Journey to a Billion Suns. They will also ask you to surrender your phone when you'll watch the show as photo taking is not allowed inside the tehater. 

We saw the show A Journey to a Billion Suns, which I think my son liked (there's very minimal showing of planets) but there was a lot of conversation I'm sure he did not understand (there were moments that I also didn't, it was very technical). It was about the supernovas and a quest to seek the distance of the stars. It was fascinating that my planet geek son who is also into stars saw giant stars like Rigel and Arcturus in the show.  A friend said that A Planet for Goldilocks might be more for kids. But never the less, it was a visual spectacle watching in that dome. 

They are closed on Monday and is open from Tuesday-Sunday (8:30 AM-4:30 PM). The first show starts around 10:00am.

 

Children's Playground

We've always wanted to visit the Planetarium since my son is a big fan of planets. Yesterday, we found time so after lunch, we got ready and rode the bus to Luneta. The bus fare was pretty cheap, P11/ person it was clean and the bus was air conditioned.

When we got the down the bus in Luneta (Rizal Park), we immediately saw the dinosaurs at the Children's Playground and decided to go inside.Our parents would also bring us here when we were kids and it was fun to share it with our little boy. Entrance is free, all you have to do is register. They won't allow you to go inside if you don't have kids with you.

 

The first structure you'll see is the giant boots, which brought me to an ultimate throwback, because it my vivid memory of the place. And when my son saw it, he immediately went inside too.

 

There was also a giant Hippo where you'll climb up the stairs to reach its mouth.

 

 

Children who love dinosaurs will love this place because there's a special corner filled with big dinosaurs, volcanoes and lizards. You can even ride on some of the dinos. 

 

 

 

The playground is big and there are a lot more slides and things that your child can enjoy and see. One of my favorites is the giant turtle slide.

 

 

Children's Playground is open from 8am until 5pm daily. Give your children some time off their gadgets, let them play and bask in the sun like when we were kids. Rizal Park is just on the side and you can take a stroll, and in front of the playground is the National Museum of Natural History, which is also worth a visit.   

Travel tips and a Day of firsts.

I know 2019 is a year of MAKING THINGS HAPPEN. It is a year of new beginnings and first time experiences. Late last year my sisters planned on a trip to Hong Kong. The first time my mom will go on a trip abroad (she's 68 years old), as well as my son Leon (5 years old) . Late did I realize that it was also my first time to travel after becoming a mother.

It was my two sisters, my mom, me and my son who went on the trip. Lucky enough we got two window seats, so it's the first timers who get these seats so they can look out the window and see the view. 

I really prepared for the trip because I wanted this to as smoothly as possible.

 I had a bag full of Leon's planet stickers, toy cars and snacks. I had a lot of extra clothes for Leon too since we knew that it will be cold, I wanted him to keep warm in the trip.

It was also a good decision to bring his planets blanket to just make him comfortable on the trip.

One of the best purchases for this trip is a stroller. I  knew there will be a lot of walking, and he would probably get bored when we go around to shop. I just an umbrella type stroller from Rustan's the brand is called Hauck, the price is around P2,500. The stroller was also a big help when my son wanted to nap. We just popped a travel pillow and he went to sleep as we went around.

Another tip for those who want to go amusement parks, buy your tickets in advance using apps like klook to avoid the lines.

Hello, 2019

I can't believe that it took me more than a year to update this blog. A visual diary on Instagram seemed easier to update, sometimes forgetting that there are stories that are better shared in detail. So today, marks a new beginning for this blog for more craft activities, Nanay-hood and life's little adventures.