The National Museum of Natural History () is the national

natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

of the Philippines. It is located along

Agrifina Circle The Agrifina Circle, officially the Teodoro F. Valencia Circle, is a traffic circle within the eastern portion of Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines. It has a diameter of . Etymology The name "Agrifina" is a portmanteau of the words "Agricultur ...

Rizal Park Rizal Park (), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area of . The site on where the park is situated was ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

History

Agriculture and Commerce Building

The building was constructed as the Agriculture and Commerce Building in 1940. It was designed in the

Neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

by Filipino architect Antonio Toledo in the late 1930s, having the same dimensions and floor plan as its twin building located at the side of the circle, the Finance Building. Both buildings were destroyed in the Battle of Manila during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Both buildings were reconstructed according to the original plans after the war.

Department of Tourism

At some point in time, the building was occupied by the Department of Tourism (DOT), hence the building became known as the Department of Tourism Building up until 2015. DOT moved its offices to the nearby city of

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

and is planning to return to Manila after the completion of its proposed headquarters located in Intramuros.

National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum Act, which was passed in 1998, mandates the conversion of three civic buildings within Rizal Park, the Legislative Building, the Finance Building, and the Tourism Building, into museums. The Finance Building was the first to be repurposed. In 1998, the building was converted into the National Museum of Anthropology. The Legislative Building was converted into the National Museum of Fine Arts in 2000. The Tourism Building would later become the National Museum of Natural History. In 2013, preparations were commenced to have the building host the National Museum of Natural History. The administration of President Noynoy Aquino officially launched and backed the formation and establishment of the Museum of Natural History, as well as various regional museums throughout the country. The

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines () is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines, including Ethnography, ethnographic, Anthropology, anthropological, Archaeology, archaeological, an ...

invited five architects to submit proposals for the retrofitting and chose the design of the team from Dominic Galicia Architects and interior designer Tina Periquet. Galicia's design involved the maintenance of the building's facade except for the addition of a glass dome supported by a double helix structure inspired by

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

. The dome and supporting structure were dubbed as the "Tree of Life" and will cover the courtyard of the six-storey building. The project, estimated to cost around , was initially scheduled to be completed in 2015 in time for the 2015 APEC Summit. A bidding for prospective contractors for the renovation of the building was done in September 2015. The National Museum of Natural History was officially inaugurated on September 30, 2017. A grand opening for the museum was expected in the later quarter of 2017. The museum opened on May 18, 2018.

Collections

The museum's collections include the stuffed remains of

Lolong Lolong (died 10 February 2013) was the largest crocodile ever held in captivity. He was a saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') measured at , making him one of the largest crocodiles ever measured from snout to tail, and weighing . In N ...

, a

saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaland to northern Australia and Micronesia. It ha ...

captured in

Agusan del Sur Agusan del Sur, officially the Province of Agusan del Sur (; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Sur''; ), is a province in Caraga region, Mindanao, Philippines. Its capital is the municipality of Prosperidad. It is bordered on the northwest ...

in 2011 and the largest crocodile in captivity at the time of his death in 2013.

Gallery

File:Tarsier (Inside Philippine National Museum of Natural History).jpg,

Tarsier Tarsiers ( ) are haplorhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was prehistorically more globally widespread, all of the existing species are restricted to M ...

File:Tamaraw (Inside Philippine National Museum of Natural History).jpg,

Tamaraw The tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (''Bubalus mindorensis'') is a small buffalo belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, and is the only endemic Philippine bovine. It is believed, however, ...

File:Philippine Eagle (Inside Philippine National Museum of Natural History).jpg,

Philippine Eagle The Philippine eagle (''Pithecophaga jefferyi''), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae which is Endemism, endemic to forests in the Geography of ...

File:9539National Museum of Natural History Manila 12.jpg, Ground level File:9649National Museum of Natural History Manila 10.jpg, Skeletal remains of

File:12National Museum of Natural History Manila 46.jpg, A museum hallway File:9861National Museum of Natural History Manila 37.jpg, Lobby File:9539National Museum of Natural History Manila 02.jpg, Ramps File:Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Manila, Filipinas, 2023-08-26, DD 46.jpg, View towards southwest of the museum File:Marinduque Sperm Whale.jpg, Marinduque Sperm Whale File:PH Museum of Natural History Artifacts7.jpg, Philippine Turtle

References

External links

* {{Rizal Park National Museum of the Philippines

Natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Buildings and structures in Ermita