We have just learned about the unfortunate news that the National Planetarium is temporarily closing its doors as an institution and is officially decommissioning its building located in Rizal Park, Manila after 46 years of delighting young students and aspiring astronomers.
The National Planetarium made the announcement on Monday evening, October 11, on the Facebook page of the National Museum of the Philippines.
“There are times in the life of a beloved institution where a long chapter has to be brought to a close in order to start a new one, for a new contemporary world and a new set of generations of Filipinos,” the post began.
“Thus it is, with a measure of sadness, fondness, and nostalgia – but also with anticipation and excitement for its future, that we announce the temporary closure of the National Planetarium as an institution and the decommissioning of its 46-year-old premises in the central section of Rizal Park, Manila.”
The post explained that the closure is to give way to the development of the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) “in the central and western sections of Rizal Park.”
“[At the same time,] the National Museum of the Philippines has taken over the eastern section of Rizal Park – where the National Museum of Anthropology and National Museum of Natural History around Agrifina Circle are located – with development plans of our own in this area for the National Museum Complex (including the adjacent area on which the National Museum of Fine Arts stands),” they further said.
“We are sad to retire the old building, which has in its own way been a landmark in Manila and a pillar of the National Museum of the Philippines as a whole, but we are excited and motivated to work to deliver a new facility that will breathe new life into the National Planetarium as a beloved institution,” they ended.
Worry not, however, because the National Museum of the Philippines will be developing “a new National Planetarium truly worthy of the name in our present time, and which will be designed to serve the public well for many more decades to come with the unique experience that only a world-class planetarium can provide.”
The National Planetarium was inaugurated in 1975 and underwent renovations in 2017 and 2019.
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