Noteworthy finds at the National Museum (Natural History)

If spending an afternoon in a beautiful building filled with 5 floors of some animal skeletons & taxidermy, interactive dioramas, and thousands of art pieces...without having to actually spend on an admission ticket nor parking isn’t enough to convince you to pay this museum a visit. Maybe a preserved skeleton or skin of a 1,075kg saltwater crocodile, or a preserved skeleton of a 43-foot Marinduque sperm whale will? In addition to the aforementioned displays, is the Tree of Life steel structure that houses the elevator and was designed by Dominic Galicia and Tina Periquet. Along with the elevator, the building also has a ramp that goes up each floor, making the museum accessible to those in wheelchairs. During the pandemic, they only allow 100 fully vaccinated guests maximum per 3 hour batches (9AM-12PM and 1PM-4PM). In each section, guards are monitor every guest’s movements in terms of proper safety protocols. They make sure no one’s experience is ruined by someone incorrectly wearing a mask or not wearing a mask at all. My friends and I left definitely more appreciative of our country’s rich and diverse flora and fauna. Most people only get to read about it in history books, and some of us are lucky enough to see some of these plants and animals on beach or forest trips. It was exciting that we got to see all kinds of creatures, even the extinct and endangered ones all in one place.

• Teodoro F. Valencia Circle, Ermita, Manila, 1000 Metro Manila, Philippines

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