Science is empirical. Six years since it first opened its doors to the public in 2012, the Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc.’s Mind Museum continues to shore up impressive stats that buttress its claim to being “a world-class science museum in the Philippines.”
Located in the 12,500 square meter JY Campos Park in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), the 5,000-square meter Mind Museum cost a billion pesos to build.
But more than its impressive cost, the Mind Museum is also the only science museum in the world that has its funds sourced completely from private donations.
“When we attend science conferences, whenever I say we are nonstock, nonprofit and receive zero funding from government, iyong mga hindi nakakakilala sa amin [those who do not know us] would say, Sino nagsabi noon [Who said that]. We are the only privately funded science museum, not only in the Philippines, but also around the world,” said Ma. Isabel Garcia, Mind Museum curator.
Garcia is also the executive director for science museums in the Asia-Pacific region and is head of content for the BGC Arts Center & BGC Arts Program.
Over the last six years, the Mind Museum has presented permanent exhibits, traveling exhibitions, educational programs, and science shows.
In 2014, it was awarded for its exceptional design and masterful execution of exhibits at the 20th Annual Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Awards, touted as the “Academy Awards” of the world’s leading creators, developers, designers, and producers that comprised the themed entertainment industry.
Fund Sourcing
“The Mind Museum was conceptualized in 2007. But it took five years to mount because we needed to raise the money and the science,” Garcia said.
She and Manny Blas, who was in charge of raising funds, raised the money from scratch. And since they were not a university, they also had to build the science from the ground up.
And how much does it take to run a privately funded world class science museum? “In a year,” said Garcia, “it’s a nine figure thing. It’s very expensive.”
Fortunately for Garcia, who was handpicked by BAFI to conceptualize the Mind Museum in 2007, the Foundation’s board of trustees is a who’s who in the world of big business and corporate finance.
They include: Joselito D. Campos Jr., chairman; Fernando Zobel de Ayala, vice chairman; Antonio T. Aquino, president; Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy, treasurer; Edgardo M. Cruz, Jr., corporate secretary; Mariano John L. Tan Jr., Foundation auditor; and Carlos S. Rufino, Emily A. Abrera, and Aileen An. R. Zosa as trustees.
Garcia, for her part, is a noted science writer and author of two science books that have garnered awards: 2007 National Book Award for Science Solitaire and the 2010 Gintong Aklat Award for Twenty One Grams of Spirit and Seven Ounces of Desire, both published by the Ateneo de Manila University Press.
The wife of the late physicist, environmentalist, and Philippine Star columnist Celso R. Roque, PhD., Garcia assumed authorship of her husband’s “De Rerum Natura” science column after his death in 2002. She continued the column for 10 years and then moved to Rappler to write a weekly science column, Science Solitaire.
Joyful Experience
Petite, at a little over 5 feet, the fair, Chinese mestiza-looking Garcia regards her experience as curator of the Mind Museum as one of joy and “probably one of the top three adventures” of her life.
“I’d like to thank my team. Most of us started with the museum so all of us created it. I really feel a little awkward whenever I’m interviewed by myself, because, I always think that it’s a team effort,” Garcia said.
It is a young team, mostly artists out of college, which is just perfect for the 52-year-old curator. “I think its just perfect because there are no preconceived notions about what a museum should be. I am the oldest. But the average age is probably 30 to 35.”
The Mind Museum has about a hundred people composed of the staff, cleaning persons, and the guards. They report at around 7:30 a.m. and open promptly at 9 a.m.
As of 2018, the museum has attracted about 1.4 million people. Traveling exhibitions command about 200,000 people and stay about 10 days per area around the country.
“We never dreamed we’d be doing travel exhibitions right away. It takes about decades for a museum to do that. But in 2013, we did it. We were lucky because we applied and got a USAID grant,” Garcia said, adding that the cost of a traveling exhibition ranged from P3 million to P4 million.
Audience Mix
Garcia made it clear that they did not intend to deliberately determine the audience they would cater to. But after six years, it was apparent that Mind Museum visitors had an audience mix of 60 percent students and teachers, and 40 percent families and other visitors.
“We asked ourselves how many public schools can we afford to subsidize without us going into debt, with enough funds to cover electricity and other utilities? In 2012 we planned to subsidize 10 percent of the public schools. But we now are really happy to say that we have always subsidized 60 percent of the cost for public schools. For the ticket price of P475, public schools pay only P190,” Garcia said.
Today, that subsidy translates to P75 million. In a year, the Mind Museum has an average of 225,000 to 240,000 visitors.
Lessons
Garcia counted five lessons the last six years have taught her. “Topmost is that nobody does it alone. I’m really very, very reluctant to say that there is just one person that brought about certain things. It was really luck and a lot of hard work from a good set of people. And I’d like to think that I was part of that group.”
Her second lesson: Don’t underestimate your audience. “I’ve seen quirky kids, really the quirkiest kids I’ve ever encountered in my life. We’re very grateful for the chance to be able to be the hub for people like that.”
One important lesson Garcia and her team has learned is the value of competition to drive businesspeople to a neutral ground. “So many of our sponsors here are competing in business. But here, we just explain to them: ‘C’mon guys, we’re the only ones in Asia without a science museum. Other countries have had theirs for a hundred years. And then when you are able to connect with them, they become like little children again.”
Lastly, Garcia said: “I think we really underestimate Filipinos and we tend to criticize ourselves too much. The self-beating, I think, is too much. If we only focus on the work, and pull each other up, we’re gonna get somewhere.”