WITH AT LEAST 700 stalls in its compound, SM Prime Holdings’ Mall of Asia (MOA) can justifiably call itself a retail refuge, but the country’s second largest mall, with its smattering of tourist must-sees, is also a class above the average complex.

Says Ma. Nona Minda Reyes, assistant mall manager, the 42-hectare SM MOA is home to several ‘edutainment’ spots, including the Nido Fortified Science Discovery Center that debuted in 2007 – a joint venture between SM Prime Holdings and the California-based Leisure Entertainment Consultancy (LEC), whose clientele includes the likes of Universal Studios and Disney’s California Adventure.

‘It’s the first science facility that is located in a major mall,’ says Ms. Reyes of the P313-million theme park. A two-level installation that measures 3,200 square meters on the ground and another 1,700 sqm on its upper floor, it offers a cutting-edge interactive experience with nine walkthrough galleries.

According to its operations manager Ronwell Bete, the digital technology used in its crowning glory, the Digistar Planetarium, treats onlookers to changing presentations with real-time playback from its 16-meter-high dome, with help from the laser projectors and digital surround sound developed by computer graphics firm Evans & Sutherland. Among its themed exhibits are the Virtual Reef, Transportation Nation, Spaceship Earth, SMART Media City, and actual robotics displays alongside the cartoon characters of Robots, Inc.

The facility is more learning-oriented than other science parks, says LEC President Jim Levesque. Like the way the Star Wars trilogy or the moon landing drew an entire generation to science, he hopes the SM Science Discovery Center will inspire its visitors to explore the subject further.

Another crowd favorite is the indoor Olympic-sized ice skating rink, spanning 61 by 30 meters. With a drizzle of fake snow to top off its wintery atmosphere, the novel SM International Ice Rink has been touted as the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia. Since the mall opened its doors back in 2006, it’s already played host to big skating B events such as first Philippine Figure Skating Championships in 2009 and this year’s Philippine International Ice Hockey Tournament.

Foreign pop acts like Katy Perry and John Mayer, not to mention local legends such as Eraserheads, have been counted among the high-profile performers who’ve rocked the stage of SM MOA’s Concert Grounds – the next stop for teen act Justin Bieber’s My World tour in 2011.

Facing the seaside, its spacious, open-air Music Hall has likewise often I been the site of packed events like last year’s Earth Day and PAWS World Animal Day celebrations.

Before it made its way to SM City North Edsa and SM City Cebu last year, the IMAX theater was one of MOA’s earliest attractions, where audiences watched 3-D films on its larger-than-life, 22-meter screen.

And as the go-to spot for trade shows, seminars and large-scale assemblies since its 2007 unveiling, SMX Convention Center owes its well-booked schedule to top-tier business facilities, says SMX Senior Assistant Vice- President and General Manager Dexter Deyto. Taking its cue from the equally popular SM Megatrade Halls, the three-storey structure stands within the self-contained Mall of Asia Complex and boasts 46,000 square meters’ worth of floor space.

More recently, the SMX played host to the World Robotics Olympiad, the Philippine Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011 Collection, as well as the 20th Philippine International Construction Equipment and Building Materials Exhibition this year. At present, crowds are flocking to its halls to see the Great American Circus.