NATIONAL PLANETARIUM

The gallery details the sequence of events that show how our Universe began and how our Solar System was formed. The succeeding sections will discuss how different ethnic groups in the Philippines used their observations of the sky, particularly the astronomical events such as eclipses, cyclical patterns of the Sun and Moon, among others, in determining their agricultural cycles, fishing seasons, time telling and navigation. The gallery will also impart the various myths connected and/or closely related to astronomical knowledge of the ethnic groups in the Philippines. 

ORIGINS AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE IN CULTURE AND SCIENCE

The section discusses the different perspectives of the origins of the Universe in both contexts of astronomical sciences and cosmological beliefs of different Philippine ethnic groups. Specifically, this aimsto present that while modern science has been reckoning the origins of the Universe and how it works through systematic analysis of matter from space, among others, Philippine ancestral communities have worked out their own perception and understanding of how the world works.

CULTURAL ASTRONOMY

This section aims to extract from the audience a sense of familiarity with the concepts that they didn’t know was already about cultural astronomy in order to ease the absorption of new ideas found in the succeeding sections

TIME RECKONING

This section tackles the different ways time is reckoned by different groups of people in the country, based on available ethnohistoric and ethnographic documentation. Today’s standard means of determining time (i.e., seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc.) will also be discussed as a point of reference in someinstances. This section primarily aims to apprise the viewers that time is mostly a cultural product.

PHILIPPINE NIGHT SKY

This section will detail how the Philippine skies, particularly the celestial objects and phenomena, have been incorporated into the cultural context and worldview of the pre-colonial Filipinos.
In cultural astronomy, societies incorporate their practices and everyday objects they use with astronomical events and heavenly bodies. An example of this is the hunting trap known as the Balatik. Different ethnic groups in the Philippines utilizes some kind of Balatik in their hunting of wild boars. The star formation Balatik is known in the western culture as the constellation of Orion the Hunter.

THE FARMING AND HUNTING SECTION

This section shows the relationship of the Philippine sky to hunting and farming activities of different ethnolinguistic groups. Filipino hunter-gatherers studied animal behaviors, climatic changes, and the different natural cycles of the Earth.

An example of this is the Ayta of San Marcelino. They used the lunar cycle as their agricultural calendar. A new moon to them signifies the start of a single month, so 12 new moons is 12 months to the Ayta. They associated the months with the events happening in their environment, like the flowering of trees, wet season, dry season, and appearance of certain stars tells them the right time to cultivate their fields.

THE SEA NAVIGATION SECTION

When in sea, our ancestors have also used different celestial bodies in the sky to orient themselves. This section highlights fishing, trade, boat building and warfare as they relate to the celestial realm. Filipinos’ are very much a maritime people. Ethnic groups have relied on certain astronomical phenomena when braving the seas. The Sama of Tawi-Tawi uses the Mamahi Utara or known in the western culture as Polaris the north star as a reference point because it remains fixed in the night sky.

National Planetarium Shows