October is MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES MONTH.

So you thought that October is just all about beer huh? By virtue of Proclamation No. 798, s. 1991, all museums and galleries here in the Philippines will be doing a lot of activities to promote heritage, and promote a climate of free artistic and intellectual expression.

Museums, galleries? Is that boring?

No, and as a matter of fact, I will give you the list of museum “where to go” here in Manila area. In fact, there are a lot of museums and galleries here around Metro Manila in which you might even never heard of.  Some of these museums are free and others require you to pay an entrance fee.

1. National Museum of the Philippines

The National Museum of the Philippines is located on Rizal Park and is open from Tuesday to Sunday at 10AM to 5PM. Now if you will be going there on Sunday, the Museum is free. Check out their exhibits of archeological finds in the Philippine like jars from the Old Stone Age and some Metal Age artifacts. There are also some collections of Amorsolo’s paintings and some of Ang Kuikok’s modern works. New exhibits just recently open about our ancient Baybayin, textiles and rice.

2. Calvo Museum

Obviously, you never heard of this museum before. The Calvo Museum is located in the old Calvo Building in Escolta, Manila. It's life about Escolta and also display are private collections of bottles, magazines, newspapers and pictures from the early 1900’s to the post-war era.

3. Bahay Nakpil-Bautista

The Bahay Nakpil-Bautista ancestral house is located on Bautista St. in Quiapo, Manila. It is the home of the Nakpil that was converted into a museum that houses memorabilia about the Katipunan and it is also an art gallery.

4. Armed Forces of the Philippines Museum

The only museum here in Manila that exhibits our military history. Located inside Camp Aguinaldo, it has a rich display of weapons used in World War 2 and there are even displayed on the modern weapons the AFP has now used.

5. Here is some list of museums you can visit inside Intramuros:

The San Agustin Church, which has a lot of artifacts from the early Spanish Era. Large creepy paintings and idols from the church of Spanish colonial-era. There are also fascinating exhibits of sacred vessels, religious art, manuscripts, and other important cultural.  Just fronting the Church is Casa Manila, a replica of a Hispanic-era Philippine house, the typical “bahay tisa’ rich of antique furniture, artwork, and other artifacts from the Spanish era. Going to Anda St, is Bahay Tsinoy,Ta museum dedicated to the Filipino Chinese. The  museum documents the history, lives and contributions of the Chinese in the Philippine life and history. Check out their life size diorama depicting the Chinese people in Philippine Spanish time. Fort Santiago has a small museum that contains exhibits related to the life and work of José Rizal.

6. The Lopez Museum

Located inside the UP Campus in Diliman, Quezon City, the Lopez Museum houses the work done by legends of Philippine art such as Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Fernando Amorsolo, and Vicente Manansala. It also boasts a large library, which houses all kinds of resources and memorabilia.

7. The Ayala Museum

Now, what is so great about the Ayala Museum in Makati (at Greenbelt) is that it houses one of the largest exhibits of Philippine ancient gold craft. It also has these diorama exhibits which depict Philippine history. It also has these large representations of ships in display like the Chinese Junk and the Spanish Galleons.

8. Yuchengco Museum

Since we’re already in Makati, try visiting the Yuchengco Museum in Ayala to see their Filipino and Filipino-Chinese art exhibits.

9. The Metropolitan Museum of Manila

The Metropolitan Museum of Manila is a museum located within the complex of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas a along Roxas Boulevard in Malate, Manila, the Philippines. It is all about the arts and MET maintains permanent and temporary exhibits from pre-colonial to modern and contemporary Philippine arts. You can also see works of Felix Resurrection Hidalgo and Juan Luna on their collection.

Since we’re near the Central Bank of the Philippines, you can also check out the Money Museum or Museo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas which exhibits coins, paper notes, medals, artifacts and monetary items found in the Philippines during its different historical periods.

10. Museo Pambata

Located at Rizal Park, this museum caters for kids. They have a lot of interactive displays which makes the museum experience for children fun and educational as well.

11. There are also museums inside old schools and universities like the Bayanihan Folk Arts Museum inside the Philippine Women’s University, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in GF School of Design and Arts Building, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences in UST, Manila.

12. We also have some science museums here in Manila like The Mind Museum (in Taguig at the Bonifacio Global City ) They have  a large T-Rex skeleton, a display about the human evolution, and a lot of interactive scientific display exhibit. There is also the Science Discovery Center in SM Mall of Asia. Now, they even have a small planetarium. In Marikina, there’s the Philippine Science Centrum, the first interactive science center- museum in the country. 

So what are you waiting for? Get your family and visit some of these museums and experience fun and learning about what these museums can offer.

[Photos were taken from Wikipedia]