More unopened gifts inside the box

When I got a copy of the book Imagine: Looking Back and Looking Forward: Museo Pambata at 20, what quickly came to mind was the classic John Lennon ditty Imagine, in which he sings that successful people are big dreamers. They visualize what the future holds — perfect in all its elements — and then strive hard each waking and working day to reach their vision, goal or purpose, and to turn impossibilities to possibilities.

For 20 years now, Museo Pambata has been inviting Filipino children to imagine worlds beyond what their minds can conceive, and has strived to give them opportunities to nurture and realize these worlds. The first children’s interactive museum in the Philippines, Museo Pambata, kicked off its 20th-anniversary celebration with the launch of the book on Oct. 24 at Celestina in Greenbelt 5, Makati.

The book was penned by Jacqueline Franquelli, and invites the readers into Museo Pambata’s world — you’ll discover 20 of its facets that present a broader picture of what it has been in the past, and then envision what else it can be as it moves forward with bigger dreams.

Featured in the book are 28 of the most esteemed and accomplished Filipinos in their respective fields such as Miguel Belmonte, Helena Z. Benitez, David Consunji, Grace Glory Go, Aniceto Sobrepeña and Elizabeth Zobel, among many other luminaries — all Museo Pambata partners in advocating children’s causes. These visionaries imagined exciting possibilities for the future by looking back at their childhoods and reflecting on what is relevant to the children of today. Imagine likewise highlights these facets, what Museo Pambata is today in the eyes of its movers and supporters.

• It has a simple yet powerful hands-on philosophy that touches children. This guiding principle drives Museo Pambata to be a constant innovator of fun and relevant exhibits and programs for the youth, both inside and outside the Philippines. Once a dream itself, it has on its bucket list the establishment of more local children’s museums, but will always be remembered as the country’s first. In Elks Club Building, a historic and majestic structure in Manila, it has created a new standard among Filipinos of what a museum can be.

• It makes learning an enjoyable experience. Much like a fun teacher, Museo Pambata is a channel of wonder and discovery. It taps into kids’ natural curiosity and their penchant for play. It’s not a school but a place for enriching the minds of the curious and inquisitive. Whether it’s about art, history or science, their immediate environment or the greater world, the lessons children encounter in the different theme rooms all point to the museum’s central theme that learning is cool.

• Protecting children’s rights is a key concern. Museo Pambata does not exist only to be a fun place. It exists to champion children’s rights — the entitlements to name and personality; education; protection from abuse, exploitation and discrimination; privacy; rest, leisure, cultural and artistic abilities; special care and assistance; access to appropriate information; family and health; and expressing views and opinions through concrete programs.

• Love for reading. This is an advocacy that MP pushes real hard.  It uses professional storytellers to take children to worlds they have never seen, which brings smiles to their faces and gets them captivated by the written word. Funny and serious narratives are animated until kids on their own find their quiet and calm corner.

• Nothing beats actually traveling to a place to truly know what it is like. In a country, the sights, the people, the history, the culture and food are best experienced firsthand. But until then, one can always use one’s imagination and visit places like Museo Pambata, a window to the world.

• Home for family bonding and partying. Museo Pambata provides a place for family members to spend quality time with each other, where they learn a thing or two and create memories captured in photos. It’s also an alternative venue to celebrate special days. The Happy Birthday song has been sung countless times, and untold number of candles lit and blown, among many other memorable occasions in Museo Pambata. It’s an experience that makes visitors wish to stay longer, and vow to come back.

• They advocate for health and green living. Museo Pambta has been teaching children and their caretakers practical ways to look after their physical well-being, but more important is that we must treasure children’s health because they are our wealth. They have also been doing their part to care for the environment by molding children into lifelong green social marketers. They have highlighted the hot issue of climate change and rainforest protection in the theme rooms.

Opened to the public in 1994, Museo Pambata features exhibits that encourage children to explore and discover various concepts while they play. During the 1st Children’s Museum Awards in 2012, Museo Pambata was shortlisted and honored with a Special Commendation by Hands On! International and the European Museum Academy “for inspiring the creation of new children’s museums in the Philippines and in Asia.” Proceeds of the book’s sales will benefit the museum’s various programs.

“Dreams can come true, especially when forces are with you and when the Almighty hand makes it so,” says Nina Lim-Yuson, cofounder, president and CEO of Museo Pambata Foundation, Inc. “This is the story of Museo Pambata’s dreamers and weavers — ‘imaginators,’ as I like to call them — who made this children’s museum happen, from empty rooms that became learning-themed rooms and ideas that hatched a wide range of programs reaching thousands of children throughout the country.”

To borrow educator, infopreneur, life coach, and inspirational teacher Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha’s musing, “We are treasure chests with more jewels inside than we can imagine.” 

We do know what’s in the Museo Pambata treasure chest, and we love them. For sure there are many more unopened gifts inside the box, and we should all be excited by the love, concern, caring and hope they surely bring.

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