This Is It: The Ki Ni Naru Project 2026–2027 Takes Off on October 3!
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The teams are assembled. The questions are ready to be asked. Now, the journey into “The World You Can’t See” is ready to begin.
On October 3, 2026 (Saturday), The Ki Ni Naru Project 2026–2027 will officially kick off the very first session of its five-month research training journey at the Enderun Colleges Library in Taguig City, bringing together young explorers from different parts of the Philippines for their first day of curiosity, experimentation, and discovery.
Organized by Leave a Nest Philippines, The Ki Ni Naru Project is a research training program that helps high school students transform the things that make them wonder into questions they can investigate through science. Inspired by the Japanese phrase “Ki Ni Naru” (気になる), meaning “to be curious” or “to want to know,” the program places curiosity at the heart of the research process.
This year, the program takes on the theme “The World You Can’t See,” challenging students to look beyond what is immediately visible and explore the hidden phenomena, forces, patterns, and questions surrounding them. Over five months, students will experience hands-on activities, research mentoring, and opportunities to develop and communicate their own curiosity-driven investigations.
Mission Day One: Curiosity in Motion
The Kickoff Event will be more than an orientation. It will give the young researchers their first shared experience as one Ki Ni Naru community and set the stage for the months of exploration ahead.
The day will begin at Enderun Colleges, where participants will take part in a hands-on workshop exploring forces. Through experiments and activities, students will investigate how different forces interact and influence the movement of objects, encouraging them to observe phenomena closely and begin asking the kinds of questions that can lead to scientific investigation.
Students will also have the opportunity to explore the Enderun Colleges campus, getting a glimpse of a different learning environment as they begin their Ki Ni Naru journey.
But the exploration will not stay inside the classroom. The young researchers will then head to The Mind Museum for an educational tour, where they can encounter science across different scales and disciplines. From the familiar to the unexpected, the tour will encourage students to notice what they might normally overlook and discover new questions worth asking.
Together, these experiences reflect the heart of Ki Ni Naru: before finding answers, we first learn how to observe, wonder, and ask.
Meet The Ki Ni Naru Project 2026–2027 Research Teams
This year, 50 student researchers across 10 research teams will embark on the five-month journey. Coming from schools across the Philippines, the participating teams are as follows:
- Jose C. Payumo Jr. Memorial High School
- Limay National High School
- Muntinlupa Science High School
- Tanza National Comprehensive High School
- Puerto Princesa National Science High School
- Mariveles National High School – Poblacion (Team 1)
- Mariveles National High School – Poblacion (Team 2)
- Learn and Explore Montessori School (Team 1)
- Learn and Explore Montessori School (Team 2)
- Balsik National High School
Among the teams are also the five recipients of the Lockheed Martin Explorer Scholarship. The students show interests spanning across diverse areas including marine ecosystems, weather and flooding, renewable energy, astrophysics, and vector-borne diseases.
While the teams may begin with different interests and questions, they will share the same challenge throughout Ki Ni Naru: How far can curiosity take you when you choose to investigate it?
Five Months. Ten Teams. Countless Questions.
The October 3 Kickoff is only the first step.
From October 2026 to February 2027, the students will undergo a guided research journey involving learning modules, mentorship, curiosity-led investigations, and opportunities to communicate what they discover. Rather than expecting students to already have the answers, Ki Ni Naru encourages them to begin with something much simpler: a question they genuinely want to explore.
And if previous Ki Ni Naru journeys have shown anything, it is that a seemingly simple “I wonder…” can grow into months of observing, experimenting, revising, learning, and eventually sharing something new.
So to our 50 young explorers, get your questions ready. On October 3, the mission begins.
Together, let us explore “The World You Can’t See.” 🚀
Event Details: The Ki Ni Naru Project 2026–2027 Kickoff
📅 October 3, 2026 (Saturday)
🕗 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
📍 Enderun Colleges Library and The Mind Museum, Taguig City
For inquiries regarding the The Ki Ni Naru Project 2026–2027, please contact Jomer Ruego at [email protected] or Jewel Santos at [email protected].