museo pambata

It was already around 4pm when we left Pantalan Maynila. There are two museums nearby: Museo Pambata (Children's Museum) and Museo ng Maynila (Museum of Manila). As we figured both museums would probably close at 5, we had to pick one. As the Museo Pambata is on our places-to-go-to list, we chose to go there.

With less than an hour (more like 45 minutes) to go through the museum, we had to rush through the exhibits. (That may be just as well, as it was really hot in there). We went through the following theme rooms:

• Katawan Ko (My Body), where you (or, at least, the kids and the kids at heart, like us) enter the room through the mouth of a giant head. There are oversized replicas of body parts, as well as activity stations related to the body. Unfortunately, many of the interactive portions did not seem to work.

• Pamilihang Bayan (Public Market), in which you can pretend to be a vendor at a number of neighborhood stores (e.g. vegetable stand, butcher shop, carinderia (a store that sells cooked food), etc.)

• Paglaki Ko (When I Grow Up), which shows various career options (e.g. firefighters, mail carriers, athletes, etc.)

• Tuklas! (Discovery!), which shows limited scientific concepts. Again, some of the interactive exhibits didn't work.

• Maynila Noon (Old Manila), showing scenes from turn-of-the-century Manila.

• Kalikasan (Environment), which features simulations of a couple of natural environments.

One of the pleasant surprises was the Museo Pambata Library. From the hallway featuring the neighborhood shops, you see a sign pointing to the library. It leads you to a walkway with glass walls and from which there is this big tree that reminds me of the beanstalk from Jack and the Beanstalk.

The library has a number of reading tables and shelves that are well-stocked with books in good condition. There was no staff when we went there, but it looks like they do some programs. It's a nice library, so I hope that a lot of kids actually use it.