BAY, Laguna - Tourist and visitors who have explored the hidden wonders of Laguna, especially the hot and cold springs in various towns nestled on the slopes of Mt. Makiling, fell short of discovering something different from the customary and natural museums that the province has to offer.
For a two-hour journey from Manila, the Laguna towns of Bay and Calauan and their boundaries into Sto. Tomas, Batangas, now offer a great deal for travelers and adventurers even for free - more than just spending time in their relaxing getaways and vacation escapades.
Next to the mystical and dormant volcano Mt. Makiling is its twin highland known to locals as Mt. Bulalo, where on its slope is the site of this unique museum: the Cleanergy Center, a hidden educational center sprawling on some 600 square meters of interior facility.
Established by the Aboitiz Power through its advocacy on renewable energy on Aug. 28, 2013, the Cleanergy Center has been offering educational tours with different forms of fun and engaging learning activities through its galleries, displays, videos, and interactive exhibits - all for free.
A glimpse into the center’s museum, an engineering enthusiast would be drawn into how the wind turbine operates, create an efficient design for their own wind turbine and have it tested inside the machine.
Visitors and students are also challenged with the exciting loop game while learning about carbon footprint reduction at the Cleanergy Center of the MakBan Geothermal Power Plants of AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI).
Ronalyn Briones, Community Relations Specialist of APRI disclosed the Cleanergy Center was established even before the AboitizPower’s advocacy on renewable energy became diverse, drawing some 35,000 local and international visitors from various institutions and communities for five years now.
She said the Cleanergy Center Museum is open to the public on weekdays from 9 am to 12 noon and 1 to 4 p.m. and interested parties could make advance reservations by accessing the Facebook fan page: Cleanergy Center.
“Little that most people know, there is actually a place where people can learn about Mt. Makiling’s potential energy for free. A few kilometers away from this mountain, another dormant composite volcano is located – the Mount Bulalo,” Briones said.
She encouraged the public to explore this hidden educational center at the foot of Mt. Bulalo and “enrich their minds” more than just the traditional visits to the usual museums, ecological parks, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls and “canyoneering” to rivers or embarking on a mountain trek and highland adventure.
She admitted that most people may have known Mount Makiling for its rich biodiversity that’s home to different species of flora and fauna, but as a dormant composite volcano with its adjacent Mt. Bulalo, the area offers a vast source of geothermal reservoir that could generate huge power source.
“This vast property of Geothermal Power Plants of the Aboitiz Power wholly-owned subsidiary AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI), has been supplying reliable renewable energy to the Luzon communities,” she said.
Besides the interior museum facilities, professionals and young engineer-aspirants could even start their educational tours with a peek on several gigantic pipelines that welcome them on their travel to the communities of Bay and Calauan, Laguna, and Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
“Children of these communities wonder why gigantic “Titanic Ships” which are actually the power plant’s Cooling Tower Facilities are all over their places,” she described.
The visit to the MakBan Geothermal Facilities also offers visitors a breath-taking and panoramic view of the Makiling and Bulalo highland greeneries. (Maroe T. Genosa/PNA)