If you're going to ask me, what is the first museum that I went to? Well, I'm going to say the first museum I went to is the National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu. In today's blog, I'm going to share with you all my experience visiting the National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu. Let's get started!

Last year, I went to the National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu and it's been an incredible experience to visit this museum. Even on the outside, the architectural design of the museum is truly fascinating. The National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu, is located at Pigafetta Street, Cebu City, and this museum is a walking distance from Basilica Minore del Santo Nino de Cebu and Magellan Cross, one of the tourist spot destinations in Cebu.

Even in the ground entrance, you will actually witness how this museum is very big and has lots of artifacts. In the lobby, a lot of paintings were hung on the wall, and those paintings came from the different local artist from Cebu. I was captivated by how beautiful those paintings are. Some of the references of paintings are from the history of Cebu. Before we went to the second floor, the guide told us what the restrictions were and what things should not be brought if we went to the second floor.

As I went to the second floor of the museum, the first artifact that we went to was this type of rock that you will find in Cebu. These rocks can be found in various places in Cebu, including Naga, Danao City, Minglanilla, Balamban, Dalaguete, Toledo City, Carcar, Carmen, and such. You will also see these rocks are used from, like, what you see in the picture, one of the rocks that my friend pulled will be made into a circuit board in a computer.

Aside from rocks, I went to the animals section. What I like about this museum is that, instead of porcelain or carved wood they will display, they put a taxidermy or real bones of the animals for display. These animals that are displayed can only be seen in Cebu and some parts of the Philippines, and some of them are extinct or still exist. I can actually see those feathers of the birds are still well intact, and the details of the other animals are still in there even though they are not alive anymore. Even the "Butanding" or whale shark, was displayed inside of the museum, but it was carved from wood.

After I went to the animals section, I went to the plants section. The museum displayed plenty of types of plants, like trees, flowers, and even fruits. They were displayed in the museum, and those displays are real. Some are put on the frames, and some are still in the tree, or the tree itself is inside of the museum! Some of the fruits that are mentioned here in the museum are extinct and can only be found here in Cebu. One that I love watching here in the National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu is the Rafflesia plant. Some botanists who have seen this plant say that this plant is the largest flower in the world and also the stinkiest plant.

Even the landforms in every part of the Philippines are being displayed here. They also put what trees and fruits we can find on that landform and its history.

One of the gems here in the National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu is the artifacts that have been used by our ancestors and lumads before. Those artifacts are plates, accessories, knives, weapons, and "banga", or big jars that are made from clay. Those artifacts are still well intact and well preserved. I also saw a true gold of teeth and a prosthetic that has been displayed here in the museum, and I didn't take a picture of it because one of the guides told us not to take a picture of that artifact for some reason. In every artifact, they put some of its own history and the year when they discovered it. Aside from that, they displayed some of the stuff that was used in their everyday lives of the locals here in Cebu, like fishing rods, a small boat, fish nets, and things that are used for farming.

LET'S GET BACK TO PAINTINGS!

If you go to the third floor, you will witness all the paintings that came from the local painters here in Cebu. If you take a look at those paintings, those paintings are inspired by the historical features of Cebu. Including the history of Sto. niño and the history of Magellan Cross and Lapu Lapu. Even the paintings of some well-known painters are being displayed here, and you will actually see the details and the quality of the paint they used.

Aside from that, the museum also has plenty of geometric paintings that have been hung on the wall and portrait paintings of the mayors of Cebu from the first mayor in Cebu to the present mayor in Cebu. I also see some paintings from a well-known and very powerful family here in Cebu. They also display some landscape and seascape paintings in every place here in Cebu.

If you're going to the National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu and you decide to have a photoshoot, the staff here doesn't allow people to have a photoshoot or even a pictorial inside of the museum. They only allow a few pictures inside.

If you're planning to visit Cebu, you should take a visit to the National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu. This museum has a lot of historical information and artifacts about our island that will truly make you love even more our island, Cebu City. This experience of mine visiting this National Museum in the Philippines—Cebu was a great help to me to really know the island that I was born on.

And if you're going to ask me if it is worth visiting the National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu? Well, all I can say is that the whole experience visiting this museum is truly worth it, and I want to visit the National Museum of the Philippines—Cebu again!

And that's the end of my blog, Hivers! Thank you for reading my blog, and see you in my next blog post!