Discover the richness of Visayas biodiversity by visiting the Mobile Museum Boxes traveling exhibition “Conserving the Natural History of the Visayas Region” at the Santa Barbara Centennial Museum in Santa Barbara, Iloilo.
The exhibit was opened to the public on February 14. Santa Barbara LGU officials led by Mayor Rema Somo, together with representatives from the Departments of Education and Tourism, the academe, and cultural workers from Iloilo, graced the opening ceremonies.
The Mobile Museum Boxes is a joint project of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) – Botany and Herbarium Division, the Western Visayas Association of Museums, Inc. (WVMI), and the Forest Foundation of the Philippines (FFP).
The 12 museum boxes were brought and launched in Eastern Samar State University in Borongan, Eastern Samar in 2019 and were transferred to the University of Eastern Philippines in Catarman, Northern Samar. It was brought to the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban and Visayas State University in Baybay, all in Leyte province. Samar and Leyte have forest-protected areas supported by the Forest Foundation of the Philippines. After almost two (2) years of no mobility in Baybay because of the pandemic, the Mobile Museum Boxes were again resumed their travel to National Museum Bohol in Tagbilaran in October 2021.
Forester John Rey Callado, Museum Researcher II of the Botany and National Herbarium Division, stressed the importance of conserving Visayas forests as they host unique flora and fauna in his walk-through tour of the exhibition. He called on the educators to utilize the exhibition as a learning tool to raise public awareness on the importance of preserving and protecting the environment to biodiversity.
Santa Barbara Tourism Officer Irene Magallon invites the public to visit the museum from Mondays to Fridays, 9 AM to 4 PM following local health protocols. The Mobile Museum Boxes will be in Santa Barbara until April 13, 2022.
For more info, please contact Ms Irene Magallon of Santa Barbara Centennial Museum at these numbers: Landline – 523 9955 or Mobile 0920 969 7130.
(National Museum Western Visayas)
