About National Museum of Natural History

The skeleton of Lolong, a saltwater crocodile certified by Guinness World Records in 2012 as the largest crocodile in captivity, is the museum's best-known exhibit. Captured in a creek in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, in September 2011, he measured 6.17 metres. He died in captivity in February 2013, and both his skeleton and his preserved skin have been on display here since the museum opened. The museum presents the botany, zoology and geology of the Philippines in 12 permanent galleries. Its most striking architectural feature is the Tree of Life: a metal structure, its form inspired by the double helix of DNA, that rises through the central courtyard to carry a glass dome. It was ceremonially unveiled in 2016. The building itself is the former Agriculture and Commerce Building, designed in the neoclassical style by Antonio Toledo and completed shortly before the Second World War. It faces its mirror-image twin, the former Finance Building, now the National Museum of Anthropology, across the Agrifina Circle. In 1945, during the Battle of Manila, American artillery shelled it heavily. It was rebuilt in 1949 to its original plans and later housed the Department of Tourism. Conversion into a museum began in 2013, keeping the historic facade. The museum opened to the public on 18 May 2018, International Museum Day. With the National Museum of Fine Arts and the National Museum of Anthropology it forms the group of National Museum of the Philippines buildings beside Rizal Park. The galleries are spread over several storeys around the courtyard, so a full visit involves a good deal of walking.