This month, the Philippines celebrates National Museum and Galleries Month!

Pintô Art Museum (Rizal) 

photo retrieved from https://www.pintoart.org/museum 

One of the well-known museums in the country, Pintô Art Museum is a contemporary museum and exhibition space located in Antipolo City, east of Metro Manila. Firstly serving as a public exhibit for the art collection of Dr. Joven Cuanang, a neurosurgeon and art patron, the museum is also the home of an artist collective called The Salingpusa. Currently, the museum has a rotation of exhibitions from the foundation’s collection, and is also overseeing a gallery space that promotes contemporary Filipino artists. The museum is also largely famous because of the complex it is housed in with a two hectare botanical garden known as Silangan Gardens. 

National Museum of Natural History (Manila)

photo retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:National_Museum_of_Natural_History_2024.jpg 

The latest addition in the National Museum properties in Metro Manila, the National Museum of Natural History was previously constructed and used as the Agriculture and Commerce Building built in 1940. At present, the internet-famous “Tree of Life” towers in the center of the building and the central courtyard. The Museum of Natural History has 12 galleries and a number of halls; it houses diagrams, interactive displays, illustrations, and the like of botanical, geological, and zoological specimens that are endemic and non-endemic to the Philippines. 

Banaan Pangasinan Provincial Museum (Pangasinan) 

Photo retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Banaan_Pangasinan_Provincial_Museum,_Jun_2024_(2).jpg 

Newly opened last September 2023, the Banaan Pangasinan Provincial Museum is surely a welcome sight not just for the foreign tourists, but also to the locals as it enables further appreciation of the province’s history, heritage, and culture. The museum is located at Casa Real which is one of the oldest buildings in the province, and is the first seat of government in Pangasinan. It has 11 galleries that showcases various artworks, installations, interactivities, and artifacts on Pangasinan’s rich history such as the galleon trade, World War II, and the story of Princess Urduja– a famous Pangasinense folklore about a warrior princess.

BenCab Museum (Baguio)

photo retrieved from https://www.phillife.co/bencab-museum/#google_vignette 

A must-see when one visits Baguio in Benguet, the BenCab Museum is only 15 minutes away from Baguio City center. The museum is home to the permanent collection of Philippine National Artist Benedicto Cabrera (BenCab), as well as venues for exhibitions and art shows. Apart from the said artist’s sculptures, paintings, drawings, and prints, the smaller exhibition rooms house the collections accumulated by BenCab. It aims to bring arts closer to the people, as a reminder of the culture and tradition of the northern Philippines.

Motag Living Museum (Aklan)

Photo from Southwest Tours

An interactive museum in Motag, Aklan, the Motag Living Museum is usually bundled when one tours in Boracay Island. The museum re-introduces the Filipino ancestors’ way of life to the younger generation by way of the interactive galleries in the museum, as apart from the static exhibits, Motag Living Museum has literally living people doing farming, weaving baskets or the like, rice milling, and others. The museum visitors can also try the activities to accustom themselves with the vision of keeping local heritage and cultures alive.

Camiña Balay na Bato (Iloilo) 

photo retrieved from https://simplyphilippines.net/camina-balay-nga-bato/ 

Translated as “House by the River,” the Camiña Balay na Bato is an ancestral house-turned-museum. The house was built between 1860 to 1865 and was patterned after the bahay kubo; antiques, furniture, potteries, old photographs, and vintage musings can be found inside the house. The second floor is a dining area where one can taste some of Iloilo’s well-known delicacies such as Pancit Molo (soup with dumplings and clear broth) and tsokolate/hot chocolate.