Join me and my son on our quick museum date at the National Museum of the Philippines - Cebu City. One fine Wednesday morning on August 2,2023, we decided to take a walk at the museum. This is our first ever museum date. Come join us!
Outside the National Museum of the Philippines - Cebu City
Now here's my son striking a pose outside the National Museum of the Philippines - Cebu City. There is a huge signage outside which helps tourists both local and international distinguish the place.
From my apartment, we rode a 17B jeepney and stopped at the corner near the Philippine National Museum. The fare is just twenty pesos. But if you are not familiar with riding jeepneys and commuting, you can might as well just ride a taxi to go to the museum.
There are also motorcycle ride applications like Maxim, Grab, Joy Ride or Move It to help you get to the place. The museum is located in The Old Cebu Customs House or Former Malacañang sa Sugbo, A. Pigafetta St., Cebu City, Philippines,6000.
Once you enter the museum, people will welcome you and tell you about the house rules. Some of the museum's house rules include:
- No bottled waters, tumblers are allowed though.
- No bringing of backpacks.
- Picture taking is allowed but taking videos is strictly prohibited.
These are quite some important things to consider before going to the National Museum of the Philippines - Cebu City.
The First Mass in Limasawa
The painting behind my son was a painting by Carlos V. Francisco, National Artist for Painting. Being able to see the painting is surreal. I have only read this in books. But finally, I have seen it in real life, up close and personal.
As we go through our museum date with my son, I told him to pay attention to every detail because everything inside the museum is part of our history, the Philippine history, and all that we are seeing as of the moment are seen in history books. This museum date is indeed educational, and fun as well.
Planting of the First Cross in Limasawa
My son struck another pose at a painting made by Vicente S. Manansala. Seeing every painting in every corner of this museum awakens my history class when I was in sixth grade. Every painting we have seen now, I have read this in my history books. I am in so much awe. I can't believe I finally got to see all these in person. Not only me, but, my son also.
As you all noticed, the Philippine National Museum has an elevator. And yes, it is functional! For tourists who are not a fan of climbing the stairs, the elevator is ready to serve riders from the ground floor up to the third. Also, the museum is completely airconditioned. It is very refreshing to take a visit here.
Meet the Cebu Tamaraw
The Cebu Tamaraw, scientifically known as Bubalus Cebeunsis is one of the extinct animals in Cebu City. In the museum, they showed how tall it is and how it approximately differs from a human's height. My son had fun checking how tall he was. Not only did he know how tall the Cebu Tamaraw was, but he also knew about his height. Someone is beginning to have so much fun and curiosity.
Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic Rocks
When my son saw the rocks corner, he was thrilled because according to him, he has seen some of these rocks in our hometown. Indeed, some of the rocks shown here are just around the corner. I did a slight discussion with him about the types of rocks these are. He was happy to learn the difference of each rock.
The Museum's Instagrammable Corner
A lot of people stopped by this corner to take a photo. This corner of the museum is a great place to take photos indeed. My son had his entry. He'll never go home without getting a photo of this corner, it's mandatory. (Laughs)
The Flora Corner
As we all know, the Philippines is indeed rich in flora and fauna. We have a wide range of trees, plants, flowers, and so much more. Inside the museum are real-life examples of trees we are to be so proud of. In the first photo are the leaves of famous trees in the Philippines.
- Kalingag/Kaningag Tree
- Cleidion ramosii
- Cynometra cebuensis
- Illigera Celebica
- Neonauclea Connicalycina
- Tetrastigma Loheri Gagnep
- Lepeostegeres Cebuensis
The second and third photo in the collage features the Vaccinium Cebuense Salaries and the Pelser Ericaceae. As seen in the fourth photo, my son stood in front of a white lauan tree which can rarely be seen these days.
Under the Sea Wonders
This corner of the museum highlighted the coral reef community and the underwater world. As a beach lover, my son was amazed by this coral reef community he saw. Being able to know the wonders of the Philippine waters is giving him so much thrill.
Whaleshark in Oslob, Cebu
Oslob is a town in Southern Cebu that is famous for its whale shark watching. My son was so delighted to see this replica of a whale shark because he was able to see one in person last 2021 when he had a trip to Oslob with my mother and my mother's colleagues.
The Fauna Corner
The first highlight of the fauna corner is the Hawksbill Sea Turtle or commonly known as the "Pawikan" here in the Philippines. My son was amazed to see such a big sea turtle. He was only able to see this in movies. In the second photo, the Philippine birds are highlighted. The Philippine Serpent-Eagle in the topmost corner, The Amethyst Brown Dove in the second-row top-left corner, the Balicassiao in the second-row right corner, and the Philippine duck in the bottom. It was our first time to see all these. We both are so amazed to finally see all these creatures in real life.
Stairway to more Adventures
We did not hop on the elevator on the way to the second floor. We decided to take the scenic route and enjoy the steps in the stairway. The stairs are designed well. It can be a perfect spot to conduct photoshoots. Every place in this museum is so much Instagramabble.
The Ceche Paintings
Upon entering the second floor of the Philippine National Museum, you will be welcomed by the collages made by Roberto Chabet. My son enjoyed striking a post with these amazing paintings.
The museum is filled with so much paintings and artworks made by famous Filipino painters and Filipino artists. If you did pay attention to your History class during high school, definitely almost ninety percent of the discussion could be seen here in the Philippine National Museum - Cebu City.
Santo Niño Suite Series
If you are a true-blooded Filipino and a Cebuano, you'll know for sure why we value Santo Niño so much, the Patron Saint of Cebu City. We show so much faith and love for our beloved patron saint.
Battle of Mactan
My son struck a pose at a painting by Elmer Borlongan which is a huge part of Philippine History. The Battle of Mactan contributed a lot to today's generation. One thing I shared with my son is to always value the importance of history. Understanding history is understanding how things are during the present day.
Paintings Overload
The majority of the displays on the walls of the museum are paintings both concrete and abstract. All with different stories, and different meanings, and these paintings come from different walks of life. If you are a painting lover, the Philippine National Museum is the best place to go.
Time for some Energy Recharge!
My son eventually got tired of roaming around the second floor of the museum so we decided to use the elevator. Upon entering, we saw three buttons - one button for the ground floor, one for the second floor, and one for the third floor. Out of curiosity, we pressed the button for the third floor, but upon reaching the third level of the museum, it was not yet functional. So we decided to go to the ground floor to continue exploring the museum. We haven't explored the other side of the museum yet.
The Philippine National Museum Shop
Not only does the museum highlight a lot from Philippine history but it also has a variety of stuff for you to choose from as a gift to family and friends or simply as a souvenir or memorabilia that you once visited the place. In the museum store, you'll find gift items like t-shirts, mugs, refrigerator magnets, and so much more!
Relax, Take it Easy!
Before we went to the left wing of the museum, I decided to go to the powder room. It was clean and very well maintained. It was free as well. As seen in the photo, there were a lot of museum visitors at that time. We had so much company.
Paglawig: Cultural Movement Across the Seas
The people of Cebu City are known to be great fishermen. Our seas are rich with underwater creatures that will surely make a great living. This corner of the museum showcased one of Cebu's livelihoods which is fishing.
Historic Ceramics and Jars
We saw ceramics, household plates, and jars featured in this corner of the museum. These are the ones seen in Philippine History books and these play a huge role in Philippine History. My son was amazed to see all these.
It was then time to leave the museum. We left with happy hearts and a memory bank filled with so much new knowledge and learnings we had during our entire museum date. As a mother, I strongly encourage parents to take their children on a museum date or an educational trip like this. It will help them understand what our history is. It will help them appreciate history even more.
To Sum Up the Day
After our museum date, we rode a jeepney going to SM Mabolo Cebu City where we had lunch and my son played at the arcade.
What a great way to sum up our museum date. Hope you all get the chance to visit the Philippine National Museum as well.
Hope you all enjoy reading my blog.