Gallery III (Minerals and Energy Resources)

Gallery III (Minerals and Energy Resources) of the National Museum of Natural History, divided into two sections, features the different types of natural resources that we utilize in the Philippines.

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It builds awareness on the origin of these resources, how they are obtained and how they contribute to our everyday well-being.

Copper

One side of the gallery features the mineral resources mined locally to manufacture products we have come to need for practical, everyday use.

Nickel, Iron and Chromium

They are extracted from the earth through different methods like placer mining, surface mining, and underground mining, depending on the type, location and value of the surveyed minerals.

From Open Pit to Eco Park

Samples exhibited here are metallic minerals like gold, chromite, nickel, iron, copper and manganese.

Metallic Minerals

We also have here the non-metallic minerals such as quartz, sulfur, calcite, anhydrite, and many others.

Nonmetallic Minerals

On the other side of the gallery are the energy resources that we use in the country.

Stages of Coal Formation

On display here are samples of natural coals showing its first stage (peat) to its last stage (anthracite) of development.

Discovering Oil in the Philippines

We also have crude oil samples and drilling implements donated by the geologist who discovered the first oil wells in the Philippines.

Tools used by geologists in the field

These samples were the earliest crude oils that flowed out of the West Philippine Sea, collected for posterity.

Solar Power

We also have here eco-friendly ways of generating energy such as converting air into electricity through windmills, sunlight through solar panels, water into hydro-power and converting heat from the sub-surface of the earth into geothermal energy.

Windmill

It features life-size replicas depicting different mining procedures, Philippine geology and life through time.

Diorama of a geothermal plant

On display is an intricately detailed diorama of a geothermal power plant and a diorama featuring how underground mining looks like.

Diorama of underground mining

Gallery III (Minerals and Energy Resources): 5/F, National Museum of Natural History Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, T.M. Kalaw cor. Gen. Luna Sts.,  Manila. Open Tuesdays – Sundays,   9 AM to 12 noon (cut off time is 11 AM) and 1 to 4 PM (cut off time is 3 PM). Tel: 82981100 local 3000 and 85277889.  E-mail:  cmvod@nationalmuseum.ph or inquiry@nationalmuseumph.gov.ph. Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email.Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.  Coordinates: 14°34′59.9″N 120°58′55.9″E.

Gallery II (The Geology of the Philippines)

Gallery II (The Geology of the Philippines) of the National Museum of Natural History features igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks that make up the islands of the Philippines.

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Rudist Bearing Limestone

Here, you can find hardened lavas (such as an andesite boulder from the 1814 eruption of Mt. Mayon) as well as rocks created deep within our Earth’s mantle, some of them more than 250 million years old.

A large relief map of the Philippines, at the center of the gallery, allows you to see the geography of the country in three dimensions.

Tuffaceous Sandstone

Featured are the layers of rocks underlying the Cagayan Valley Basin, Visayan Sea Basin and the Cotabato Basin, all sliced and pulled-up for everyone to see where the rocks layers fold and break.

Sedimentary Basins Within the Philippine Mobile Belt

Adjacent to this is a section devoted to destructive natural events like volcanic eruptions, lahars, and earthquakes that negatively affect Filipinos and the environment.

Graphite Schist

Through this window to the past (quadroscope), museum viewers will also learn the difference between a tsunami and a storm surge, or journey back to the 1991 Pinatubo eruption (the 2nd largest eruption in the 20th century).

Volcanic Mudflow (Lahar Model)

This gallery also features an activity corner where kids can put themselves in a geologist’s shoes by getting hands-on tips in identifying common rocks.

Volcanic Rock from Mayon Volcano

To start their very own rock collection, pointers in proper cleaning, maintenance, and storing of rocks and the needed tools are also present to them.

Clastic Sedimentary Rocks in the Philippines

Extrusive Igneous Rocks in the Philippines

The gallery also has a mini-theater where you can appreciate some of the many beautiful rock formations scattered throughout the country and learn how the Chocolate Hills or the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River came to be.

Metamorphic Rocks in the Philippines

Intrusive Igneous Rocks in the Philippines

Gallery II (The Geology of the Philippines): 5/F, National Museum of Natural History:  Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, T.M. Kalaw Street, corner General Luna Street, Manila. Open Tuesdays – Sundays,   9 AM to 12 noon (cut off time is 11 AM) and 1 to 4 PM (cut off time is 3 PM). Tel: 82981100 local 3000 and 85277889.  E-mail:  cmvod@nationalmuseum.ph or inquiry@nationalmuseumph.gov.ph. Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email.Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.  Coordinates: 14°34′59.9″N 120°58′55.9″E.

Gallery I (Philippine Biodiversity)

Gallery I (Philippine Biodiversity), the introductory gallery of the National Museum of Natural History, introduces the various dynamics that shaped, and is still shaping, our biological diversity.  It highlights the amazing diversity (more than 52,000 described species) of both flora and fauna of the country, both through replicas and petrified, and dioramas.

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A Menagerie of Birds from the Philippines

The gallery wishes to convey three biological principles that tell the story of why and how the Philippines is a Megadiverse yet also a Biologically Hotspot country. A Megadiverse country is a country with very rich biodiversity per unit area while a “Biological Hotspot” is a term used to indicate that a country or locality is under tremendous threat from human activities.

Shells by the Seashore and Deep Blue Sea

The three principles that it wants to communicate answers the questions of “Why the Philippines is home to an immense diversity in number and variety of organisms yet also has the most threat to them;” why we have elevated genetic variety across our species diversity” and “why geologic forces have played a major role in the diversity of our fauna and flora.”

The author beside Lolong

On display here are the taxidermied skins of Lolong (caught in 2011 in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, it was the world’s largest saltwater crocodile, at 6.17 m., in captivity until its death on February 10, 2013) and the critically endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), the country’s national bird.

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The Philippine Eagle

There are also taxidermied skins of nocturnal raptors (Luzon Scops Owl, Philippine Scops Owl, etc.), hornbills; forest rats, pigeons; doves; marine species (turtles, etc.) and diverse wild vertebrates of the Philippines.

Diverse Wild Vertebrates of the Philippines

Philippine Rafflesia

Also on display are a collection of shells by the seashore and deep blue sea; insects; moths and animal skulls (notably that of a tamaraw) as well as specimen samples of rattan; endemic plant genera in the Philippines; Philippine rafflesia and Venus flower basket.

The Science of Skulls

Gallery I (Philippine Biodiversity): Sunlife Philippines Exhibition Hall, 5/F, National Museum of Natural History,  Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, T.M. Kalaw Street, corner General Luna Street, Manila. Open Tuesdays – Sundays,   9 AM to 12 noon (cut off time is 11 AM) and 1 to 4 PM (cut off time is 3 PM). Tel: 82981100 local 3000 and 85277889.  E-mail:  cmvod@nationalmuseum.ph or inquiry@nationalmuseumph.gov.ph. Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email.Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.  Coordinates: 14°34′59.9″N 120°58′55.9″E.

Gallery VIII (Freshwater Wetlands)

Gallery VIII (Freshwater Wetlands) of the National Museum of Natural History features scaled models of some noteworthy freshwater wetlands in the country such as Taal Lake (Batangas), the seven lakes of San Pablo City (Laguna), Balinsasayao Twin Lakes (Negros Oriental), Paoay Lake (Ilocos Norte) and Lake Sebu (South Cotabato).

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Balinsasayao Twin Lakes (Negros Oriental)

Taal Lake (Batangas)

Paoay Lake

Unique species of plants and animals associated to freshwater ecosystems are presented in the form of preserved specimens, videos, photographs and models.

Winter Visitors

Rails and Allies

One of a kind specimens exhibited here include the Kabauing-bauing Isoetes philippinensis (a species of freshwater plant found only in Lanao Province and nowhere else) and the Bucal freshwater crab (Sundathelphusa sp.), a newly described species of cavernicolous freshwater crab in Luzon.

Brahminy Kite

Philippine Duck

Sixteen graphic panels (Agro-Biodiversity and Beneficial Insects, Conservation and Protection of the Philippine Crocodile, Endemism on Philippine Freshwater Wetlands, Plant Resources from Freshwater Wetlands, Wetlands and Migration, Threats to Inland Freshwater Ecosystems, Seasons – Wet and Dry, Plant Resources from Freshwater Wetlands, Marshes and Swamps, Rivers, Lakes, etc.) showcase freshwater ecosystems, conservation activities, species and habitats.

Marbled Monitor Lizard

Philippine Crocodile

The gallery also highlights the Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) and Philippine duck (Anas luzonica) which are both unique to the country’s freshwater wetlands.

Gallery VIII (Freshwater Wetlands): Megaworld Exhibition Hall, 4/F, National Museum of Natural History:  Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, T.M. Kalaw Street, corner General Luna Street, Manila. Open Tuesdays – Sundays,   9 AM to 12 noon (cut off time is 11 AM) and 1 to 4 PM (cut off time is 3 PM). Tel: 82981100 local 3000 and 85277889.  E-mail:  cmvod@nationalmuseum.ph or inquiry@nationalmuseumph.gov.ph. Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email.Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.  Coordinates: 14°34′59.9″N 120°58′55.9″E.

Gallery VII (Ultramafic and Limestone Karst Forests)

Gallery VII (Ultramafic and Limestone Karst Forests) of the National Museum of Natural History features the two unique forest types in the Philippines that are produced by geological features called ophiolites.

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Limestone Karst Forest in Quezon Protected Landscape

Pygmy Forest in Dinagat Island

This gallery expounds how the country’s unique geological formation shapes the exceptional flora and fauna of the Philippines.

Karst Geckos

Limestone Frogs

Shown in this gallery are the metallophytes and carnivorous plants (Exocarpus latifolius, Scaevola micrantha, several species of Xanthostemon, Greenlopsis and Phyllanthus, etc.) that are well adapted to the iron-rich, nutrient-deficient ultramafic soil such as the “bonsai” or other small trees that form a pygmy forest.

Metallophyte Plants

Flora – Greeniopsis discolor at left and Philippine Iron Wood (Xanthostemon verdugonianus) at right

The exceptional faunal diversity of the ultramafic (also called utrabasic) and limestone karst forests is also displayed.  It also houses mini replicas of ultramafic and limestone karst forests in the country.

Replica of a Cave

Stalactites and Stalagmites

A replica of a cave is filled with limestone, stalagmites, stalactites as well as animals that can be found in such an environment such as the Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta), Philippine Cave Crab (Karstarma philippinarum), whip spiders, Tailless whip scorpions and vinegaroons.

Philippine Cave Crab (Karstarma philippinarum)

Ultramafic Rocks

Gallery VII (Ultramafic and Limestone Karst Forests): First Philippine Holdings Exhibition Hall, 4/F, National Museum of Natural History:  Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, T.M. Kalaw Street, corner General Luna Street, Manila. Open Tuesdays – Sundays,   9 AM to 12 noon (cut off time is 11 AM) and 1 to 4 PM (cut off time is 3 PM). Tel: 82981100 local 3000 and 85277889.  E-mail:  cmvod@nationalmuseum.ph or inquiry@nationalmuseumph.gov.ph. Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email.Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.  Coordinates: 14°34′59.9″N 120°58′55.9″E.

Gallery IX (Mangroves, Beaches and Intertidal Zones)

Gallery IX (Mangroves, Beaches and Intertidal Zones) of the National Museum of Natural History highlights the different types of coastal ecosystems such as beach forest, intertidal zone, mud flat, sandy beach, sea grass bed and mangrove forest.

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This exhibition  features diverse marine as well as terrestrial organisms that are commonly found in the vast coastal ecosystems of the Philippines.

L-R: Sandy Beaches, Tidal Pools and Rocky Shores

L-R: Seagrass Meadows and Mudflats

It also showcases the significant floral diversity of the intertidal zones such as sea grass and identified mangrove species with emphasis on its conservation campaigns.

It also educates people in the importance of such trees in our environment for us and the animals (crabs, shrimp, mollusks and fish) that use mangroves as their main habitat.

Nipa and Bakawan Fruits

L-R: Sargassum ilicifolium and Halimeda macrolaba Decalsne

The gallery features the life-size diorama of a mangrove forest, various taxidermied species commonly found in such environment, such as the Little Heron (Butorides striatus), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Hawkbill turtle (Erecmochelys imbricata) and Mangrove crab (Scylla serrata), and sea creatures of the so-called intertidal zone.

Little Heron

Little Egret

FYI: Historians have long contended that one of the plausible origins of the name Manila could have come from the phrase may nilad  meaning “where nilad is. The nilad (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea) is a mangrove tree which once grew abundantly along Manila Bay and the banks of the Pasig River.

Nilad (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea)

Gallery IX  (Mangroves, Beaches and Intertidal Zones): 3/F, Bloomberry North Exhibition Hall, National Museum of Natural History, Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, T.M. Kalaw cor. Gen. Luna Sts., Manila. Open Tuesdays – Sundays,   9 AM to 12 noon (cut off time is 11 AM) and 1 to 4 PM (cut off time is 3 PM). Tel: 82981100 local 3000 and 85277889.  E-mail:  cmvod@nationalmuseum.ph or inquiry@nationalmuseumph.gov.ph. Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email.Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.  Coordinates: 14°34′59.9″N 120°58′55.9″E.

Gallery X (The Marine Realm)

Gallery X (The Marine Realm) of the National Museum of Natural History provides a closer look at underwater scenes.  Here, visitors will virtually wade on the sandy-coral reef ,with stingrays and dories swimming around. As visitors wade through, the fishes will scatter away from them.

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The author

On the left side of the “Interactive Fish Experience on Floor” is  “Coral Diversity of the Philippines” which showcases different species of stony and fan corals displayed in glass cases, with general information about them described on the graphic panel beside the showcases.

A few steps away from the glass cases is a portion of a reef’s replica, with sample of iron mooring (a good mooring that should be practiced by fishermen and tourists who would want to snorkel or dive in coral reefs to avoid destroying the corals) permanently attached to the substrate displayed, from where a buoy is attached to the mooring as it goes up the surface and linked to a banca overhead.

Species of coral

Similarly, the banca above (suspended from the ceiling giving the impression that it is on the surface of the sea) shows the fish caught by the use of hook-and-line. Here, visitors learn about practices to make fishing sustainable as well as how important coral-dwelling species are for food.

Species of coral

Aware of the fragility of the coral reef, visitors will also learn about the threats to the corals as well as the organisms that thrive in the coral reef ecosystem. Hence, visitors will learn that there is collaboration of the government and the NGOs to conserve coral reef and to impose measures to protect them.  A video explaining one of the scientific areas of study (i.e., marine research) is continuously shown.

Replica of a submarine

A replica of a submarine, presenting an interactive underwater experience, invites visitors to consider which way their own actions will take the ocean in the future. The portholes or “windows” inside the submarine show various footage of different underwater, deep sea and reef views of sea creatures as one goes from the entrance, where shallow portions of the sea are displayed, and experience going down to depths of about 150 m. below the surface of the sea.

A school of yellowfin tuna

At the Open Sea portion of the gallery, visitors will have an opportunity to experience the large and small pelagic creatures in which life-sized casts of large fauna such as the whale shark (butanding), manta rays, schools of yellowfin tuna, stingray and bottlenose dolphins are lit by programmed moving lights that suggests the animals are moving.

Reef Manta Ray

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) and whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

Large glass jars, set on a continuous curved base and lit from below, displays waves of specimens.

Glass jars with waves of specimens

The first wave presents shallow-water forms, the middle wave shows the pelagic specimens and the third wave shows the organisms occupying the deepest part of the sea.

Glass jars with waves of specimens

Visitors will also learn that marine scientists often employed scuba diving in studying undersea marine flora and fauna. Seen overhead is a replica of a scuba diver while the science of scuba diving is explained on the graphic panel behind the replica diver.

Replica scuba diver

Behind the wave of specimens are videos and graphic panels explaining and showing the different kinds of phytoplankton and zooplankton that form the base of the marine food web, making visitors realize that the oceans or the seas are filled with tiny organisms.

Jandy

To make the experience more interesting, an interactive video of marine mammals as well as the organisms in different zones of the ocean are shown. Visitors will discover that ocean species, like land species, may be found only in particular zones of the sea.

Wading a sandy coral reef via a virtual reality screen on the floor

At the far end of the gallery, beside the infinity mirror where school of tuna are seen, is the “Abyss” where visitors will learn the deep-sea creatures inhabiting the darkest part of the ocean.

Sunfish

The other side of the gallery are lined with more showcases and open storage drawers where the Fernando Dayrit’s collection of shells are in full view as well as the different fishes, echinoderms, crustaceans and a large green sea turtle are displayed.

Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Gallery X (The Marine Realm): Bloomberry South Exhibition Hall, 3/F, National Museum of Natural History:  Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, T.M. Kalaw cor. Gen. Luna Sts., Manila. Open Tuesdays – Sundays,   9 AM to 12 noon (cut off time is 11 AM) and 1 to 4 PM (cut off time is 3 PM). Tel: 82981100 local 3000 and 85277889.  E-mail:  cmvod@nationalmuseum.ph or inquiry@nationalmuseumph.gov.ph. Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email. Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.  Coordinates: 14°34′59.9″N 120°58′55.9″E.

Ayala Reception Hall

The Ayala Reception Hall, an example of adaptive reuse in the National Museum of Natural History, used to be cut in the middle by a floor. It now holds four important exhibits which were launched last May 2019.

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Hanging skeleton of Lolong

Upon entry, up in the ceiling is the hanging skeleton of  “Lolong,” the former Guinness World Records holder as the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity from September 3, 2011 until his death on February 10, 2013.  His taxidermied body, on the other hand, is displayed at Gallery I (Philippine Biodiversity) at the fifth floor.

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Dome of the 57 stone tools excavated from Awidon Mesa Formation in Rizal, Kalinga

Below it is the exhibit of the tooth and four of the 13 bones of the extinct Philippine rhinoceros (Nesorhinus philippinensis) with cut and butcher marks.  These fossilized Pleistocene Age remains, unearthed in 2014 at the Awidon Mesa Formation in Rizal, Kalinga together with stegodon (Stegodon luzonensis), pig (Celebrochoerus cagayanensis), freshwater turtle, monitor lizard and Philippine brown deer and 57 stone tools (6 cores, 49 flakes and 2 possible hammerstones), is a breakthrough in the field of paleoanthropology.

Left humerus of Nesorhinus philippinensis

It proved early human activity around 709,000 years ago, 10 times earlier than previously believed. Researchers believe that early humans used the stone tools to get the marrow at the bones of the ribs, metacarpals and both humeri of the rhinoceros .

Tooth of Nesorhinus philippinensis

Also in the Ayala Hall is the “Ammonite Mollusk” (Cleonicerus sp.), an index fossil, from the Gotuaco Fossil Collection, which is used as a basis in establishing geological periods.  Dating from the Middle Cretaceous Period (about 100 million years old), it was found in Madagascar.

Ammonite Mollusk (Cleoniceras sp.)

The Conus gloriamaris, also known as the “Glory of the Sea Cone,” a type of marine gastropod mollusk that in the  family Conidae was once believed to be one of the rarest types of shell in the world.  Measuring 179 mm. long, it is probably the largest sea cone shell (of its kind) not just in the country, but in the world.

The Glory of the Sea Cone(Conus gloriamaris)

Ayala Reception Hall: 2/F, National Museum of Natural History,  Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, T.M. Kalaw cor. Gen. Luna Sts., Manila. Open Tuesdays – Sundays,   9 AM to 12 noon (cut off time is 11 AM) and 1 to 4 PM (cut off time is 3 PM). Tel: 82981100 local 3000 and 85277889.  E-mail:  cmvod@nationalmuseum.ph or inquiry@nationalmuseumph.gov.ph. Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email. Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.  Coordinates: 14°34′59.9″N 120°58′55.9″E.