Re-visiting the National Museum of Anthropology (2019)

26 January 2019

We've been to the Museum of Anthropology before, in 2016 (read about it here), but while there were staple exhibits, like the San Diego, Bangsamoro and Lumad exhibits, there were also a few new additions, like the Garing (Ivory Trade), Biyay (about the Negrito Community), Entwined Spheres (Baskets and Mats as containers), the Pina-Seda (Pineapple and Silk Cloth) and the San Isidro Shipwreck.

Prepare 2 hours to walk around the Museum of the Filipino People.









The best time to go is as soon as it opens, which is 10AM (they're open till 5PM).  There are less people and more time to really take in the exhibits.  This time, we entered the museum through its newly renovated grand front entrance.  It's really cool! The Museum is located in Luneta Park along Taft Avenue, Manila.

Here we are walking along the path coming from Taft Avenue, with the LRT 1 at our backs.

Within minutes, we reached the front entrance of the Museum of Anthropology.  As you can see there are hardly any people yet since it was still early.

As you enter, you'll be asked to register and to deposit your baggages. 

Bring small bags or pouches instead of medium to large bags.  Bags that are bigger than a bond paper (8 1/2 x 11 inches) are required to be deposited in their baggage counter both for your convenience and for the protection of the displays.  NO flash photography.  NO tripods and selfie sticks.  NO food and drinks.

While there are no brochures or pamphlets, there is this general map to guide you.  Also, as you come into every floor, there are plenty of signs to direct you where you want to go.  Our path through the museum may be confusing because we just went directly to the exhibits we've never seen.  So, may go up and down.  Also, we were actually looking for the entrance to the courtyard as we were going through the exhibits.  Before, there was an elevator that led to it but the elevators were out of order this time.

The Marble Hall has plenty of Instagrammable spots.  We had to wait our turn to take pictures so there won't be any photobombers hehe

Our first stop was Garing, the Philippines at the Crossroads of Ivory Trade at the Ground Floor.  It's astounding that there were Ivory tusks found in Palawan and other places in the Philippines.

Our next exhibit was "Biyay", Tradition, Ecology and Knowledge among Philippine Negrito Communities.  In school, we were taught that the Negritos were the first settlers, the first indigenous people in the Philippines.  It's hard to grasp that knowledge when you're a kid but to come into contact with actual evidence, artifacts of their lives, it brings new meaning to what you're taught and it gives a richer understanding of our history.  I'm glad that the kids were able to see this exhibit.

The "Entwined Spheres" exhibit is enjoyable.  It's easy to relate to it, that's why.    The exhibit is about how early Filipinos utilized baskets and mats for their daily lives.  There are baskets for catching fish and game.  The huge mats are also adorable haha

We were privileged to be able to visit the Pina-Seda:  Pineapple and Silk Cloth from the Tropics exhibit.  This exhibit has traveled to  London, Lisbon, Madrid, Washington D.C., New York City, Hawaii, and Frankfurt and is set to travel to other destinations in March to showcase our special woven and embroidered fabrics made of pineapple and silk.

We were able to visit this Rice exhibit before and they weren't that interested in it.  But now, for some reason they were, maybe because the displays were bright and were arranged better.   For a country that consumes rice voraciously, we all ought to learn about it more.

The kids spent a great deal of time with this new addition, an interactive touchscreen for more information about the topic of the exhibit.

Dana was fascinated with these statues which she learned about in school.  She said these were statues of rice guardians which people put around their crops to protect them.  Dylan found some of them creepy hehe

We proceeded downstairs in search of the elusive entrance to the courtyard.  We chanced upon this new exhibit, the San Isidro Shipwreck, a more recent discovery in San Isidro, Zambales.

By the time we found the courtyard, it was raining and we just took shelter at this Ifugao house, which the kids recognized as something similar to what we saw in the Tam-awan Village in Baguio.

Going around, we also entered the National Museum Library which was our last stop for this Museum.

It's heartwarming to see many students still coming to museums and marveling at what the exhibits have to offer.  I'm glad that our museums are open and free of charge for everyone.  Thank you!