‘Shake, Rattle, Learn’ house to go on tour

LITTLE HOUSE ROCKS MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino and Phivolcs Director Rene Solidum (right photo) brace themselves for the “Big One” during Wednesday’s launch of MMDA’s earthquake simulator. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Students will soon get to experience firsthand what a magnitude four to eight earthquake feels like as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) takes its “Shake, Rattle and Learn” house around schools in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Built on a hydraulic motion platform, the 3 x 3.6-meter bungalow is an earthquake simulator.  Half of the structure resembles the living room of a house complete with a sofa and wall pictures while the other half is furnished like a classroom.

Students of Guadalupe Catholic School and Nemencio Yabut Elementary School were the first to have a taste of what a magnitude four to five quake would be like yesterday. They also got a chance to put into practice what they were taught during drills: Stay down, keep calm and protect your head.

“At first, I thought it was just a joke. Then when I felt the room shake, I took it more seriously,” Reuben Miguel Felix, a Grade 6 student from Guadalupe Catholic School, said after the unveiling of the quake simulator at the MMDA office in Guadalupe, Makati City.

“This is a good thing because kids get to experience what a real earthquake would be like. We conduct drills [at school] but there’s no actual experience,” Felix’s teacher, Olivia Gellangarin, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

In a speech, MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino noted that people tend not to take quake drills seriously. “To instill a culture of preparation, we need simulations,” he said.

“For children who have not experienced an earthquake, they can’t imagine how strong it is and what happens to their surroundings. A simulator will give them proper knowledge. Their reaction is important,” added Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director Renato Solidum who was also present during the unveiling.