VIBRANTLY colored walls, new and updated exhibits, and exhibits of artworks about environmental awareness and Filipino heritage will soon be seen at the Museo Pambata. Four years after a series of temporary closures due to pandemic restrictions and structural renovations, the museum will finally reopen to the public on Dec. 6.
BusinessWorld got a preview of its offerings on Nov. 27 before it officially opened. The glow-up of the building’s facade alone speaks volumes, with the former Elk’s Club looking as good as new. The main hall upon entering has a TV playing a video welcoming guests in.
Divided into themed spaces, over 5,000-square-meters of its total space is filled with colors, sights, and sounds in time for its 30th anniversary.
“We painted, refreshed the exhibits, and put new lights to make everything brighter. Our new curatorial vision is that Museo Pambata is all about the Filipino child and childhood,” Bambi Mañosa-Tanjutco, Museo Pambata president, told BusinessWorld during the tour.
“Our goal is to nurture, protect, and empower the Filipino community because around one child is an entire village.”
THE NEW SPACEThe halls which are now open to view and play in are: Kalikasan (environment), which has an installation by Kidlat Tahimik; Karagatan(the sea) with student-made upcycled artworks about the climate crisis; and Pamayanan(community), Himig(music), and Habi (weave) that all focus on indigenous arts and crafts. Each features learning activities on Filipino culture.
Museo Pambata founder Nina Lim-Yuson explained that as the Philippines’ first children’s museum, its legacy must be carried into modern times. “Generations of children have passed through Museo Pambata’s doors since 1994, and this anniversary honors them — and those yet to come,” she said.
While the first floor will be opened this month, most of the second-floor is still a work-in-progress, to be unveiled in phases throughout 2025.
Bakuran (back yard), the outdoor area that the team envisions as a way to “bring back green spaces in Metro Manila,” is still in the works. Soon, the concrete and asphalt will be replaced by a garden with trees. For now, a beehive-shaped playground called Bahay Pukyutan (House of Bees) has been installed for kids to play in.
The museum also improved its large installation featuring a decommissioned 1960s helicopter as an interactive artwork. Named Tutubing Bakal (Metal Dragonfly),it welcomes children who want to share stories.
The outdoor area is also home to Bahay Kubo 2.0, a modern take on the traditional Filipino nipa hut. Architect Gelo Mañosadesigned it as “a bahay kubo reimagined within an urban setting,” which will be available for rent as an event space. The different crops and vegetables mentioned in the “Bahay Kubo” song are displayed in a colorful tile mosaic surrounding the structure.
BALAY YATUThe largest of Museo Pambata’s new spaces is Balay Yatu, an open space for children’s events, activities, celebrations, and workshops. Its ground floor will have a gift shop while the second floor will host exhibits and performances.
Currently on view is the inaugural exhibit which has photos, tapestries, and other ethnographic evidence of children’s lives in the 17 regions of the Philippines, a product of The Philippine Youth Atlas project funded by National Geographic. It is helmed by youth leaders Natasha Tanjutco, Gab Mejia, and Issa Barte.
In keeping with Museo Pambata’s 30th anniversary theme of “Isla Pambata” (Children’s Island), Balay Yatu aims to “bring back island-ness within our spaces.” The structure, an old annex building that was used for storage, has been completely revitalized to serve as a vibrant youth center.
Balay Yatu will also be the home of the Museo Pambata cafe, which will have a rotating set of regional pop-up merchants depending on the month’s theme.
“Museums globally are changing, decolonizing, and reimagining into more complex cultural playgrounds. Museo Pambata aims to be at the forefront of this change with Balay Yatu — Asia’s first youth-curated creative space and cultural center,” Ms. Mañosa-Tanjutco said.
INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCESSikat Sining (Great Art), a program that allows school-children to create art to be exhibited in the various halls, aims to foster creativity among kids.
“We invite different students from different schools to come to the museum and put a little bit of art into the space. Museo Pambata partners with private and public schools all over the Philippines,” said Ms. Mañosa-Tanjutco. “Essentially, they are able to ‘activate’ their chosen space,” she said.
Museo Pambata initiates this by posting a call for artworks for a specific part of the museum, open to schools and art groups that are willing to create and donate works. During the preview, BusinessWorld saw a group of children in action, painting a tapestry of flowers. The rest of the halls on the first floor are filled with student works, be it greenery made of felt cloth, huts made of paper mache, or sea creatures made of plastic waste.
Then there are the Dulaang Pambata (Children’s Plays) shows which will also allow for more interactive experiences for visitors. The museum has partnered with different student theater groups and professional troupes, who will lead tours and perform stories set in the various spaces of Museo Pambata on select dates.
Partners include Puppet Theater Manila International, the Bayanihan Folk Dance Company of the Philippines, Sandbox Theater Collective, and Repertory Philippines. Guests can check the Museo Pambata page for schedules of Dulaang Pambataperformances.
UPCOMING EXHIBITSNew exhibits lined up for 2025 include Karapatanhall’s upgraded Rights of a Child display, a redesigned arts and crafts space envisioned by the late artist Robert Alejandro, and the Classroom of the Future pop-up exhibit designed by JJ Acuña in collaboration with Khan Academy and Samsung.
Artist couple Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan are also working on an exhibition titled Dwellings, to be featured in the Hiraya room. The Kwentoroom, exploring Filipino childhood, resilience, and community through a series of storytelling exhibits, will kick off with Ang Kwento ng Jollibee, centered on the fast-food chain’s journey.
Partnerships with the Department of Education are also ongoing, so that Museo Pambata can be an alternative learning space for kids, complementary to what they are taking up in school.
“Our plan is for teachers to tell us what they don’t have time to teach in the curriculum, the lesson plan. We will be able to work together with them and create that learning platform for the kids when they visit,” Ms. Mañosa-Tanjutco explained.
She also mentioned that they are working with tour operators, the ones selling field trip packages to schools, to have better itineraries that will allow kids more time to roam around the museum.
Museo Pambata founder Ms. Lim-Yuson told BusinessWorld that the renovated museum will have “an interesting mix of both the new and old, a middle ground between nostalgia and growth.” Some examples of this are the Pamayananhall, which will see the image of the Binondo Church joined by a mosque, and the male national heroes joined by more female national heroes, in order to be more inclusive.
“The updated Museo Pambata is the perfect home for not only the memories of those who have visited before, but also those who are going to experience the museum for the first time,” she said.
Museo Pambata is located on Roxas Blvd. corner South Drive, Ermita, Manila. It will be open from Fridays to Sundays, 10 a.m. to noon, and 2 to 4 p.m. starting Dec. 6. School tours and private events can be booked from Tuesday to Thursday. Entrance costs P450, with discounts for senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Kids who are two years old and below can access the museum for free. — Brontë H. Lacsamana