By Robbie Pangilinan
Former senator Nikki Coseteng is seeing stars. No, not showbiz personalities, although she really rubs elbows with celebrities, having been a congresswoman, senator, TV host, radio commentator and one-time actress.
The stars that Nikki sees are the real, celestial ones. And she sees them not with her naked eye but through a high-powered telescope. This telescope, along with other technological advances in astronomy like the Philippines’ first ever and only 7-meter diameter digital mobile planetarium, are featured in Diliman Preparatory School’s (DPS) Astronomy Center, a complete resource for astronomy education in the Philippines.
A woman of the future, Nikki is known to have brought innovations to the world of learning in DPS. This latest addition, the P10-million Astronomy Center, is just the start of many astronomy programs and projects of the Discover and Probe the Skies (DPS) Foundation, Inc. that aims to support education and research in astronomy in the country.
Nikki proudly says, “We want to raise the awareness, interest, knowledge and understanding of astronomy among students and the general public. Many students are not given the chance to go to a planetarium and experience the universe while on Earth, so we will bring the planetarium to them instead.”
This program is called the SKYXPLORE, an astronomy outreach program that goes to different schools nationwide. Activities include viewing the digital planetarium, a simulated display of the day- and night-time sky and celestial objects; film showing of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Official Movie, The Eyes on the Skies; an astronomical exhibit that showcases NASA space photos and a collection of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s most beautiful and historic sites against a night-time backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events; a meteorite exhibit; the Ask-An-Astronomer Activity where an all-UP team of astronomers answers questions. #
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