Let’s face it. In our country, visiting museums is not part of our culture. We don’t bother to go, unless you’re a student and your teacher or professor required you to visit a certain museum in a certain place.
I may be wrong, but most people think that museums are meant solely for the well-off members of the society, an activity only the rich people can afford and enjoy. That is a HUGE misconception. If you can afford buying tokens for a videoke machine (don’t shoot me, I have nothing against karaoke singing. I’m Pinoy, so I like it, too), you definitely can afford museum entrance fees. Some of them do not even charge a dime!
You see, museums are there for you — for you to learn more about your community, you
r country, a religion, a new technology, history, etc. Spending time in a museum somehow changes, in a positive way, your view yourself as part the society. Sometimes you can find the missing aspects of your life. It can be fun, only when you start appreciating what you see there. You can even say, museums rock!
It had been a little while since I’ve been to one. This year I plan to visit as many as I can (that’s the GRAND plan!). And since I’m based in Metro Manila, I’ll start here. I’ve made a list of the museums here and grouped them by locality. There are a lot! You might want to visit them also. Or join me!
Here goes my list with a few basic details:
City of Manila
Museo Pambata (Ermita)
Museum Hours:
Sunday 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Tuesday-Saturday 8:00 am-5:00 pm (Aug - March), 9:00 am-5:00 pm (April-July)
Admission: Php 100 (children & adults), Free/discounted for Manila residents (bring ID); Free for museum workers and teachers (bring ID); Free for street children, infants
Archdiocesan Museum of Manila (Intramuros)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Thursday 9:00 am-11:30 am, 1:30 pm-4:30 pm
Friday 9:00 am-11:30 pm
Admission: Free
Casa Manila Museum (Intramuros)
Museum Hours:
Tuesday-Sunday 9:00 am-12:00 nn, 1:00 pm-6:00 pm
Admission: Less than Php 20
San Agustin Museum (Intramuros)
Museum Hours:
Open Daily 9:00 am-12:00nn, 1:00 pm-5:00 pm
Admission: Free (you have the option of making a donation at the museum)
The National Museum of the Philippines (Rizal Park)
Museum Hours:
Wednesday-Sunday 10:00 am-4:30 pm
Admission: Php 100 (adults), Php 30 (students with ID), Free on Thursdays
Pasay City
The CCP Museum (Roxas Blvd.)
Museum Hours
Tuesday-Sunday: 10:00 am-6:00pm
Admission: Php 40 (adults), Php 20 (students and children)
Philippine Airforce Aerospace Museum (Villamor Airbase)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Friday 8:00 am-5:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am-12:00 nn
Admission: Php 20
Metropolitan Museum of Manila (Roxas Blvd.)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Saturday 9:00 am-6:00 pm (closed on Sundays and Holidays)
Admission: Php 80
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, The Money Museum (Roxas Blvd.)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Friday 9:00 am-4:00 pm (lunch break at 12:00 nn-1:00 pm)
Makati City
The Ayala Museum (Greenbelt Park)
Museum Hours:
Tuesday-Friday 9:00 am-6:00pm
Saturday-Sunday 10:00am-7:00 pm
Admission:
Ground-Third Floor Galleries
Adult: Php 150 (Makati resident), Php 350 (non-resident)
Senior Citizen/Child/Student: Php 75 (Makati resident), Php 250 (non-resident)
Ground-Fourth Floor Galleries
Adult: Php 225 (Makati resident), Php 425 (non resident)
Senior Citizen/Student: Php 125 (Makati resident), Php 300 (non-resident)
Museo ng Makati (Brgy. Poblacion)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Friday 8:00 am-5:00 pm
Admission:
Philippine Army Museum (Fort Bonifacio)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Friday 8:00 am-4:00 pm
Weekends - only for group/organized tour (advanced reservation required)
Admission: less than Php 20 (info needs verification)
Marikina City
Shoe Museum (Brgy. San Roque)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Sunday 8:00 am-5:00 pm (lunch break at 12:00 nn-1:00 pm)
Admission: Php 20
Miniature Museum (Brgy. Sta. Elena)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Sunday 8:00 am-5:00 pm (lunch break at 12:00 nn-1:00 pm)
Admission: Php 30
Belen Museum (Brgy. Sta. Elena)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Sunday 8:00 am-5:00 pm (lunch break at 12:00 nn-1:00 pm)
Admission: Php 30
Doll Museum (Brgy. Sto. Niño)
Museum Hours:
Monday-Sunday 8:00 am-5:00 pm (lunch break at 12:00 nn-1:00 pm)
Admission: Php 25
Quezon City
Jorge B. Vargas Museum (UP-Diliman Campus)
Museum Hours:
Tuesday-Sunday 9:00 am-4:00 pm
Admission: Php 20 (UP student), Php 30 (non-UP student)
This is sort of my birthday gift for myself also. I thought that a little culture/art appreciation won’t hurt.
Hey, if I missed something on the list, feel free to add it up in the comments section. Also, I’m going to post details of my visits to these museums.
Tags: living, Manila, museums, Philippines, society
August 11th, 2008 at 1:04 am
wala ba diyan ang quezon city memorial circle kung saan naroon ang museum ni quezon. wahhhhh…
dapat talagang tangkilikin ang mga kabagayan na ‘yan kaysa puro mall na lang ang inaatupag. gastos na, parang lalo ka lang masa-sad kashi especially pag ala ka ng malabas na anda. pero siempre masarap pa ring mag-bonding sa mall.
iba ang nagagawang mood and ambiance ng museum. tas di pa tayo kailangan lumayo. ngayon ko lng nalaman yang museum sa UP ah… ang gusto ko lang diyan dati yung mga murang workshops at panood ng sine..
Salve: sige, idagdag natin yan sa list.
maganda sa Vargas Museum, tapos may coffee shop sa tabi nun na ok!
August 11th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Tama yan mare, we should take time out to enrich ourselves with stuff only available in museums. You might also want to visit the Food and Art Galerie at the GT Tower in Ayala:) It teems with different forms of artwork such as paintings and sculptures that your eyes can feast on. I would frequent the place when I was still working at the bulletin and I noticed there are always new art pieces on the walls every time I come back. Laging may bago sa lugar nila mare:)
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Salve: Thanks for mentioning that place, mare. Will be adding that in my list.
August 11th, 2008 at 2:19 am
Very nice post Salve! Yay, it’s something na hindi kita makukulit dito!
One reason perhaps why our lack of interest is the absence of local literatures explaining our own works of art or even to advertise the existence of the museums you mentioned above.
Another reason is wrong mentality among Filipino youngsters. They think that going to a museum is “jolog” [if I get the right interpretation of the word according to my Buddy]. I believe that museums and theatres are the best place to date a girl/boyfriend –that is, if you don’t mind admiring and (or) ‘staring’ at inanimate objects instead of the face of the person you are holding hands with!
Aba, magandang lugar ang museum na pagmuni-munihan kung mahal mo o hindi ang kasama mo. You may also reason out that you cannot readily interpret a work of art if you happen na hindi mo kaagad nasagot ang tanong ng pagmamahal ng kasama mo. It’s also a nice place to measure the depth of someone’s fond du coeur and size of the brain. Believe me, its proven effective!
And gaya ng sinabi mo, mura na, matututo ka pa hehehehe!
Wait lang, yung last na nagdala sa akin sa theatre, hanggang ngayon ay mahal ko pa rin. Nakow… mahirap na!
Salve: only very few of the young generation appreciate museums, vf. mas gusto nilang nakababad mata nila sa mga PSP at kung ano-anong laro na lagi lang sila nakaupo. Nako-corny-han sila sa idea ng pagpunta sa museums.
if only there will be groups to promote our museums. sayang. kaya di rin gaanong napapaganda kasi kulang sa suporta.
August 11th, 2008 at 5:22 am
I think some Filipinos also find going to the museums as boring.
Anyways, sama mo ako sa mga museums na pupuntahan mo. I’m interested in those.
Salve: true yan len. i hate it when i hear teenagers (students na nagpi-field trip) laughing, as if it’s funny to be caught in a place like the museum.
August 11th, 2008 at 5:26 am
And I want to civilize myself, too. haha
Salve: of course! let’s go museum-hopping, leng-leng!
August 11th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Yeah museums are really great, sayang lang di uso yan dito sa UAE. Kung meron man, for sure its not something that will interest me. I do visit museums in the Philippines din. Hoepfully when I come back I could get to see one again.
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Salve: Glad to meet someone who appreciates these places!
August 12th, 2008 at 4:48 am
masarap sa museo pambata! dito ang mga kids exposed na rin sa mga museums kasi karamihan ng museums dito e yung tipong you could touch and work around with, di katulad dyan sa atin na tingin tingin lang
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Salve: Buti pa dyan. Sana dito, masigasig din ang gobyerno at mga schools sa pagpo-promote ng mga museums.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
guilty as charged
my friends spent the whole day visiting museums in D.C.
i went and watched The Dark Knight
hehe
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Salve: di na ako nagtataka, raft3r. hehehehe
August 15th, 2008 at 5:54 am
i wish Um and I could go one of these days.
sama ka, ninang avi!! =)
Salve: I’ll gladly go with you both, arminnehaha! kelan?
August 21st, 2008 at 9:25 am
babawi na ako
hehe
i’m off to the holocaust museum this weekend
heard it’s pretty graphic
kaya panalo yon panigurado
hehe
maganda dito
libre ang mga museums
tipid ka na, may lessons learned pa
hehe
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