We went to the National Museum of the Philippines for my son’s school project for MAPEH. The subject requires him to submit pictures of the Philippines’ Folk Arts and old artifacts.
Actually, to make our job easier we can just search on the internet for numerous sample pictures, compile them, and submit them before the deadline, but we decided not to.
Instead, I and my wife brought our son to the National Museum of the Philippines. This is to let him witness firsthand real paintings, carvings, and crafts made by renowned Filipino Artists and to also see actual artifacts made by Filipino ancestors from different regions of the Philippines.
National Museum has two buildings. We first visit the art gallery at the Congress of the Philippines’ former house. Afterward, we checked the archeology division in the Department of Finance’s former house.
My son appreciates the things seen in both buildings, but he told us that he appreciated more the artifacts displayed in the old Department of Finance building.
There are massive paintings and old carvings that can be seen at the Museum, but what really amazed us (who would not be?) is the huge painting of Juan Luna that is in the Spoliarium.
The Finance Building can be seen in the ancient culture of Filipinos. Their clothing styles, hunting equipment, food storage (earthen jars), ancient writing styles, farming equipment, and musical instruments such as ancient guitars (but I have not seen piccolos).
If you are thinking of sending your child on an educational tour where parents alike also get educated, I think one of the best places is the National Museum of the Philippines.
National Museum of the Philippines Address, and Operating Hours
The museum is located at Padre Burgos Avenue in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. Its operating hours are from Tuesdays to Sundays starting from 10 AM to 5 PM.
Read also: How to go to Intramuros
How to Go to National Museum by Commute
The location of the museum is easy to find. Probably, the major landmarks near the place are the Pamantasan ng Lungsong ng Maynila (PLM), Rizal Park, Philippine Normal University (PNU), and the Manila City Hall.
From Divisoria, you can ride any jeep bound to Baclaran with signboard Baclaran via A. Mabini. Make sure that the jeep has the “Mabini” signboard. Tell the driver to drop you off at Padre Burgos Avenue just opposite the Museum.
Alternatively, from Divisoria, you can also ride jeep bound to Baclaran / Remedios / Pasay / Gil Puyat via Taft Avenue. Tell the driver to drop you off at the back of the National Museum building. Afterward, walk towards the entrance of the museum.
From Monumento Caloocan, ride any jeep bound to Baclaran via A. Mabini. Tell the driver to drop you off at Padre Burgos Avenue opposite the Museum.
You can also ride any jeep bound to Baclaran / Gil Puyat / Remedois with signboard via “Taft Avenue”. Tell the driver to drop you off at the back of the National Museum building. From there walk towards the entrance of the museum.
From Baclaran, ride any jeep bound to Blumentritt or Divisoria, or Quezon City via A. Mabini. Tell the driver to drop you off on Padre Burgos Avenue in front of the museum.
From Baclaran, you can also ride jeep bound to Blumentritt or Divisoria, or Quezon City via Taft Avenue. Alight at Philippine Normal University (PNU). From there cross Taft Avenue then walk towards the entrance of the National Museum.
