DOST-SEI mobile lab makes science lessons exciting for Bulacan students

Wazzup Pilipinas?!

When the NuLab:STEM in Motion bus of the Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute arrived in the rural town of San Rafael, Bulacan last February 27, the students of Maronquillo National High School did not expect they were going to take off to an exciting and fun-filled science adventure.

Unlike the Science Explorer which visited them in 2015, the bright, yellow-colored bus is more spacious, mimicking a science laboratory set-up and is equipped with more interactive and state-of-the art facilities. It caters primarily to senior high school students with advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) modules focusing on science and technology careers facilitated by the country’s top scientists and experts.

In one session, students were amazed as they explored the unseen world of microbes. The module, discussed by University of the Philippines Diliman Assistant Professor Mark Tolentino, was an introduction to microbiology and allowed the students to use a microscope for the first time.

Caption: A Grade 11 student attentively observed the specimen under a microscope as they began their activity for the microbiology session.

Another STEM session enjoyed by the learners was the chemistry experiment about light and colors facilitated by Ms. Michelle Macalingmot of the Philippines Science High School. Using the provided colorimeter, students were able to identify the amount of light absorbed by the different given solutions.

Caption: A group of Grade 12 students pouring distilled water into the test tubes for their experiment during the chemistry session.

Meanwhile, the sky viewing and astronomy session by Mr. Lordnico Mendoza of DOST-PAGASA is a favorite among students and teachers as they got the chance to have a glimpse of the moon, planet Jupiter and different constellations through the telescopes installed by the NuLab team. Inside the bus, the students were also excited as they virtually traveled around the world and outer space using an astronomy software called Stellarium.

Caption: A student having a glimpse of the moon during the sky viewing held last February 27 at the school grounds of Maronquillo National High School.

Caption: Grade 11 and Grade 12 STEM students took a picture inside the NuLab bus after the astronomy session with Mr. Lordnico Mendoza.

Within the four-day visit of NuLab in Maronquillo, around 250 junior and senior high school students discovered their potential in STEM.

“Marami akong natutunan at higit sa lahat kami ay nag-enjoy sa mga activities. We are so grateful that you are willing to help students to become interested in science and for giving us the opportunity to be part of this program,” said Clariza Valderama, a Grade 11 student in the ABM strand who now considers taking a STEM related course in college.

Caption: Grade 10 students pose for a group photo with chemistry module facilitator Ms. Michelle Macalingmot outside the NuLab bus.

The NuLab bus was first launched in 2019 and aims to bring science closer to the youth, especially in rural areas. After a two-year pandemic hiatus, it went back again to the road in 2022 and since then, it has been traveling to schools in underserved areas to provide students with access to quality science education.

“Our goal is to extend our service to the grassroots level and ultimately, make our students choose science as an area of study when they reach college and later as a career. We hope that through this project, you’ll get to start a path in S&T,” shared Mr. Randolf Sasota, Officer-in-Charge of DOST-SEI Science Technology Manpower Education and Research Promotion Division.

Aside from the STEM sessions aboard the NuLab bus, students were also given an orientation on the various scholarships that DOST-SEI offers to incoming college students through the #Push4Science: Maging DOST scholar ka! Campaign.

Through the students’ experience inside the NuLab and #Push4Science campaign, DOST-SEI is hopeful that more students are inspired to be future engineers, scientists, inventors, and innovators who will help contribute to the country’s development.

“With the scholarships that the Institute is offering, we hope to develop and produce a world-class S&T human resource as this is an important component of our socio-economic development. As long as there are students who show interest and potential to become S&T professionals, DOST-SEI shall remain committed to provide them opportunities to reach their dreams,” DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette Biyo said in a statement.

Caption: Students inside the bus also get an orientation on the undergraduate scholarships offered by DOST-SEI through the #Push4Science: Maging DOST Scholar Ka! Campaign.

 
The NuLab bus is scheduled to visit more public high schools in the Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Bohol in the succeeding months.

FDCP acquires four award-winning titles; continues to bring world cinema to Pinoy audiences

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

With the goal to bring world cinema and make critically-acclaimed titles even more accessible to Filipino audiences, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has acquired the rights to four new titles from Belgium, Austria, Cambodia, and United Kingdom.

Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” (2022) tells the story of Sophie as she reflects on the joy and melancholy of a holiday she took with her father 20 years earlier. The film took home the French Touch Prize of the Critics’ Week Jury at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival.

Another Cannes-winning title FDCP acquired is Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” (2022) which depicts the life of Empress Elizabeth of Austria, told on a fictional account. The film won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Section’s Best Performance Award for Vicky Krieps’ portrayal of Empress Elizabeth. It also had its PH premiere during the 10th QCinema International Film Festival.

Davy Chou’s “Return to Seoul” follows the life of a 25-year-old French woman as she returns to her birthplace, South Korea, after being adopted to a French family. She then decides to track down her biological parents but her journey takes a surprising turn. Chou’s film won international acclaim in various film festivals like Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Athens International Film Festival, and Belfast Film Festival among others. Likewise, it also had its PH Premiere during the 10th QCinema International Film Festival and bagged the Jury Prize award.

Finally, 75th Cannes International Film Festival Grand Prix Prize Winner “Close” (2022) directed by Lukas Dhont depicts the lives of 13-year-olds Leo and Remi as they slowly drift apart after their relationship is questioned by their schoolmates. Dhont’s film also got the nod of the Academy Awards when it got nominated for the Best International Feature category.

More than its aim to encourage audiences to return to the cinemas, FDCP, through its Audience Development Program, aims to further expose moviegoers to titles that would help them expand their horizons.

The screening of these films will be held in select theatres nationwide and the FDCP’s very own Cinematheque Centres in Manila, Nabunturan, Davao, Iloilo, and Negros.

Follow us on social media to stay updated in our screening schedules.

New documentary offers hope for vanishing mangroves

Wazzup Pilipinas!?




Mangrove deforestation is a global crisis, but this scientist-turned-filmmaker has found hope in a small Southern Tagalog town where culture and nature intersect in surprising ways.

View the full teaser trailer of Dr. Lemnuel Aragones’ Bakawan here: https://youtu.be/VlnSo3gn73U. The documentary is set to have its free public premiere on March 27, 2023 (Monday), at 1:00 PM at the Institute of Biology (IB) Auditorium, UP Diliman.

​​The Philippines is the second worst country in terms of mangrove losses in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): it suffered a 10.5% decline between 1990 and 2010, according to independent studies cited in a recent comprehensive survey. The country is surpassed only by Myanmar, which suffered a 27.6% loss between 2000 and 2014.

With mangrove decline continuing largely unchecked, coastal communities that have depended on these forests for generations face losing the heart not just of their food, fuel, shelter, and livelihood, but also of their very culture. But for Dr. Lemnuel Aragones, a marine biologist and former director of the University of the Philippines - Diliman College of Science Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (UPD-CS IESM), all is not yet lost.

Dr. Aragones’ debut documentary, Bakawan (the Tagalog term for mangroves), tells the story of the people of Alabat Island in Quezon Province, a five-hour drive and an hour’s ferry ride away from the nation’s capital. Shot during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the film delves into the townspeoples’ renewed relationship with the mangroves that they call home. With the theme, “Kahalagahan, isyus, at pagpapanumbalik,” Bakawan explores the human story of living in and with Alabat’s estuarian mangrove forest.

A collaboration between Dr. Aragones and UP Film Institute Associate Professor and filmmaker Nick Deocampo, Bakawan is part of the IESM’s 20th founding anniversary celebration this year. It is the only science-oriented video among the ten entries to the UP Emerging Interdisciplinary Research Grant’s (EIDR’s) Cinema for Education: Rationalizing the Philippine Audio-visual Industry to Promote Inclusive Education Through Film Literacy.

Funded by the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA), the Cinema Education research project explored ways to improve audio-visual materials for Philippine schools, such as by looking at how documentaries could be used to supplement and augment existing teaching and learning methods.

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the need to improve the traditional Philippine education system, with educators and students around the globe relying on technology to teach and learn. With a vision to have an audio-visual industry that complements digital technology in creating educational content, Cinema for Education aims to integrate image-based learning, such as utilizing films and videos, and digital technologies into the current word-based Philippine education system.

“We are exploring ways to maximize the utility of cinema for education by promoting inclusive education in the Philippines,” Dr. Aragones explained.