For the Love of Nature: A Trip to the National Museum of Natural History

We’ve decided to visit the National Museum of Natural History in Manila last month, and I want to share with you my experience after my visit in the “other national museum.”

The first thing you need to know is that there is no “formal” parking lot outside the museum gates. You may want to find a parking space outside the museum before you get in. We opted to park outside the gate, where the sidewalk vendors watch over the vehicles for 20 pesos. We were adamant at first, but it turned out to be safe.

As soon as you get to the entrance, expect a line. We waited in line for about 30 minutes, which was fair enough considering there’s no entrance fee. Plus, the architecture of the museum is just astounding; you can look around to pass time. Or, you know, browse FB or IG.

Upon entering, one of museum attendants oriented us on the rules of the museum:

• Bags bigger than a bond paper, caps, and umbrellas must be left at the baggage counter.
• Videos and social media “stories” aren’t allowed inside the museum.
• Flash photography is prohibited.
• Of course, touching of anything is UNACCEPTABLE.

The attendant also reiterated for the visitors to appreciate the art and to not take disrespectful poses with the exhibits. I like this part since majority of the visitors of museums nowadays do it for the sake of instagrammable pics. PLEASE LEARN FROM THE EXHIBITS.

We were surprised to see how big the museum is on the inside:

It’s of 5 levels. There’s an elevator (but visitors aren’t allowed to use it). The museum includes exhibits of plants, animals, and forest types. At the middle of the museum stood replica of dinosaur bones as the stars of the exhibit.

Being a Biology-enthusiast, I very much appreciated the showcased flora and fauna. There were representative animals from all phyla, and most of them are found in the wild. Most animals are endemic in the country (and I must say, threatened or endangered), and it’s amazing to see them in the flesh. Of course, I wondered whether they were killed or they died of natural causes, but I had to shrug off the idea, so I could enjoy the tour.

I didn’t take many photos, but here are some of the animals featured in the museum:

Lolong, identified as the world’ largest crocodile in captivity, was also a star in the exhibit:

If it was never discovered at all, I think it’s life would have been longer (sigh).

There were also interactive games that kids enjoyed. There were documentaries and video presentations about the different land and marine forms, the tourist spots, and the nature preservation measures in the country. It was nice. However, I found myself disappointed and alarmed when I saw this poster of the forest state in the country:

In a span of a decade (1990-1999), we managed to lose more than 50% of the forest area in the country. It just goes to show how much harms humans can make on our land. If we don’t continue to act to rehabilitate out forests and preserve what’s left of them, the only place we’ll ever see these animals and plants will be in museums. Dead and stuffed.

Now that I’ve put it out there, I just want to say that the museum is worth a visit. I just hope that a visit will not just increase the number of our IG-able photos but also raise our awareness of the current state of our nature and allow us to appreciate the mega-diversity, that is in the Philippines.