Night at the Museum Game, New App + More: What to Expect at the National Museum This May

(SPOT.ph) Gone are the days when museums felt like stuffy, standoffish places. Most Spotters already know this to be true, but we want to assure some of the stragglers: Museums are for everyone, especially our very own National Museum.

Need more proof? Check out what the National Museum of the Philippines has in store for the upcoming celebration of International Museum Day 2026 on May 18.

This year, the National Museum of the Philippines is celebrating International Museum Day (IMD) with the theme Museums Uniting a Divided World, fitting words as the country hosts the ASEAN Summit in Cebu around the same time. Just like in previous years, the National Museum's IMD festivities aim to showcase its role in bridging gaps and creating meaningful connections, as well as the transformative social power inherent in museums.

But the NMP knows that transformation begins with the small things—in many ways, they're saying it starts at home. At 9 a.m., the festivities will begin at the NMP Auditorium with the launch of the Museo Guide app.

The app itself boasts a map, a directory of partner museums, visitor guidelines, information on ongoing exhibits, tour collections, virtual tours, and a Scan & Find feature for a more interactive museum experience. "We think of it as meeting the audiences where they're at," says Marianne F. Ubalde, Director of the National Museum of Anthropology. "The smartphone is a learning tool that has so much potential in the museum space."

Alongside this is the launch of the free NMP Passport—a limited release that we hope won't stay that way—which lucky museum-goers can obtain by following the National Museum on Facebook, as well as those of its regional component museums. Upon completion of this form and receiving a confirmation email, one is then eligible to receive an NMP Passport, which acts as a fun, engaging way to document one's museum journey. (At present, the form is closed, but we're keeping our eyes peeled!)

The hope is "to bring the education of museum outside of its own walls," according to Arvin Manuel Villalon, the NMP Deputy Director-General for Museums. "The museum visit is no longer a removed, one-time thing," he says. "It has become a mark of individual and collective culturedness. Accessibility of the museum, then, equals empowerment for the culture it represents."

Beyond the launch, it's also a jam-packed day of activity in all three components of the National Museum in Manila, so we can only wish you luck in narrowing your itinerary down:

Fine Arts will be hosting Arki Bingo (a Bingo-style game centered around Philippine architecture) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a special guided art tour from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Anthropology will be hosting Laro't Pamana: Heritage at Play all day until 6 p.m., as well as Saan Ako Nakita? I-Map Na Yan! from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., both interactive displays and walkthroughs of local/indigenous sport and artistry.

Natural History will be hosting Wildlife Folds: Exploring the Diversity of Philippine Fauna Through Origami from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.; a Night at the Museum-inspired detective game at 4:30 p.m.; and Blooms and Beyond: A Flora-Inspired Arts and Crafts Workshop at 5 p.m.

Other institutions all over the country will also be participating, so if you're anywhere near any of the Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas, or Mindanao National Museums on May 18, you're still in for a treat.

An initiative of the International Council of Museums (ICOM, est. 1946), IMD highlights these spaces of preservation as pillars of a larger community, enriching visitors' sense of history and facilitating mutual understanding between societies via meaningful cultural exchange. Created in 1977, the modern celebrations of IMD support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of fostering global partnerships, reducing inequality, and advocating for peace and justice through our institutions.

More and more museums participate in International Museum Day each year, with 2025 seeing the particpation of more than 37,000 museums across 158 countries and territories, under the theme The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities.

This year, the celebration also coincides with the 80th anniversary of ICOM.

For more information on the public programs for International Museum Day, check out the National Museum of the Philippines' Facebook page, or get in touch with the NMP Public Programs and Services Division (PPSD) through ppsd@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.