An easing of Covid-19 alert levels in Manila allowed me, my wife, Grace, and my son Jandy to take a break from the confines of our home and make our long-awaited visit to the National Museum of Natural History (NMNT), one of the National Museum of the Philippines’ (NMP) three-component museums (the other two are the National Museum of Fine Arts and the National Museum of Anthropology). Following protocol, we reserved and booked slots online a few days before our visit.
Constructed in 1940 as the Agriculture and Commerce Building, this six-story museum was designed in a Neo-Classical style by Architect Antonio Toledo. Destroyed in World War II, it was reconstructed in 1949 according to the original plans. At some point in time, the building was occupied by the Department of Tourism (DOT). In 2015, the building became the NMNT when the DOT moved its offices to Makati. After a nearly P1 billion renovation, the museum was officially inaugurated on September 30, 2017, and on May 18, 2018, the NMNT opened.
At the atrium is a fitting introduction to the museum—the striking “Tree of Life.” This commanding DNA-like, double helix architectural structure, linking the dome to the atrium’s ground, broadens near the roof, making it similar to a tree trunks leaves and branches extending in the canopy of the museum. However, its scenic central elevator, itself an attraction, was closed during our visit. It would have offered a great 270-degree view of the museum’s foyer/atrium.
The National Museum of Natural History has six floors with 12 galleries that display zoological, botanical, and geological specimens with interactive displays, video guides, diagrams, and illustrations integrated. Before ascending the ramp system that allows visitors to move from one floor to the other with ease, we first visited the Richard McGregor Hallway and its collection of 88 foreign and 8 petrified wood, donated by Larry and Pat Gotuaco to the NMP in 2018. Behind the glass, we also saw the Philippine eagles Gemma and Tinuy-an mounted in the form of taxidermy.
The First Floor houses the Hyundai Entrance Hall, Lower Courtyard, Education, Function Halls, and Visitor Services. The Hyundai Entrance Hall houses a prominent highlight of the museum’s osteological collection, the almost completely intact, 13.5 m (43.5 ft) long skeleton of the Marinduque Sperm Whale hanging from its ceiling. At the Lower Courtyard is the large-scale glass sculpture “ARCANUM XIX, Paradise Regained” (1976) by renowned glass sculptor Ramon Orlina.
The Second Floor houses two galleries, the Upper Entrance Hall, the Shell Philippines Centennial Upper Courtyard, and the Ayala Reception Hall. Hanging from the ceiling of the Ayala Reception Hall is the skeleton of “Lolong,” the former Guinness World Records holder as the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity from September 3, 2011, until his death on February 10, 2013. Gallery XI (Our Natural Inheritance), at the Phinma North Exhibition Hall, focuses on climate change. Here, you can learn about various environmental issues that the country has been facing over the years. Gallery XII, at the Phinma South Exhibition Hall, houses temporary exhibits.
The Shell Philippines Centennial Upper Courtyard houses four museum-authorized replicas of famous dinosaur fossil discoveries, acquired in 2018 and part of the Larry and Pat Gotuaco Collection, all made to the exact specifications of the original pieces which are under the care of several museums abroad. Giant tapestry posters along with this courtyard feature three unique animals endemic to the Philippine archipelago—the Philippine Eagle, the Tamaraw, and the Philippine Tarsier.
The Third Floor houses two galleries. Gallery IX (Mangroves, Beaches, and Intertidal Zones), at the Bloomberry North Exhibition Hall, highlights the different types of coastal ecosystems such as beach forest, intertidal zone, mudflat, sandy beach, seagrass bed, and mangrove forest. Gallery X (The Marine Realm), at the Bloomberry South Exhibition Hall, provides a closer look at underwater scenes. Check out the replica of a submarine which presents an interactive underwater experience.
On the Fourth and Fifth Floor each house four galleries. Gallery V (Mossy, Montane, and Pine Forests), at the Zuellig Family Exhibition Hall, is about the high-elevation forests of the Philippines and the wildlife that inhabits these particular types of forests. Gallery VI (Lowland Evergreen Rainforests) is a facsimile of the most common forest type in Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Gallery VII (Ultramafic and Limestone Karst Forests), at the First Philippine Holdings Exhibition Hall, features mini replicas of these two unique forests types as well as a replica of a cave.
Gallery VIII (Freshwater Wetlands), at the Megaworld Exhibition Hall, features some noteworthy freshwater wetlands in the country and unique species of plants and animals associated with freshwater ecosystems in the form of preserved specimens, videos, photographs, and models. Gallery I (Philippine Biodiversity), at the Sunlife Philippines Exhibition Hall, highlights the amazing diversity (more than 52,000 described species) of both flora and fauna of the country, both through replicas and petrified and dioramas. On display here are the taxidermy display of the aforementioned Lolong and the critically endangered Philippine Eagle, the country’s national bird. Gallery II (The Geology of the Philippines) features igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks that make up the islands of the Philippines.
Gallery III (Minerals and Energy Resources), divided into two sections, features the different types of natural resources that we utilize in the Philippines. Gallery IV (Life Through Time) takes visitors back in time through the different fossils discovered from around the country. Check out the replica of a megalodon’s jaw, the largest predatory shark to ever exist (23 million years ago) on earth. The Sixth Floor houses the Roof Garden, Function Halls, and the National Museum Conference Center.
Image credits: Benjamin Locsin Layug