When I heard Natasha Tanjutco who, along with her sister Bella Tanjutco, daughters of Museo Pambata president Bambi Manosa-Tanjutco, are youth consultants at the children’s museum speak, I turned to Sofia Elizalde, vice president at Museo Pambata, and said, “We have no reason to worry, the kids are all right.”

We were at the relaunch of Museo Pambata, the country’s first ever museum dedicated to kids. It is in the year ahead celebrating its 30th anniversary as an institution, so it reopened in early December a lot of programs to showcase how it has reimagined its spaces to make them more interactive, inspiring, educational, and thought-provoking enough to spark the imagination of its visitors young and old.

The theme for the yearlong celebration is Isla Pambata, a theme co-created with young consultants like Natasha and Bella, which embraces the multicultural diversity of Filipino children across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, honoring “the rich beauty and the power of connection across the islands and seas that make up the Philippines.”

“Our hope for Museo Pambata is to be an intergenerational cultural playground — where we now bring in the youth to champion forward what we all needed when we were younger, adults who listened to us as kids. As Museo Pambata remains a constant beacon of light and hope for the Filipino child, it is creating this space to pass down and regenerate wisdom that is so valuable. It’s where we want Filipinos of all ages to believe in the power of our culture and collectively dream of this future, today,” said Bambi, the museum president. And who better to co-create it with than with those whose future it actually is? Museums globally are changing, decolonizing, and reimagining into more complex cultural playgrounds and Museo Pambata aims to be at the forefront of this change with Balay Yatu: Asia’s first youth-curated creative space and cultural center. We are creating a feedback loop of energy into the museum so that every person that comes in and out of the space brings with her the spirit of the Filipino and the values we uniquely share with the world.”

Most promising among all the many new, exciting things at Museo Pambata is Balay Yatu, a brainchild of Natasha and her friends Issa Barte and Gab Mejias, along with other youth leaders from frontline and indigenous communities across the Philippines. It is an offshoot of The Philippine Youth Atlas these kids are creating with funding from The National Geographic, a collection of art, photography, poetry, and other forms of creative expression aimed at bridging gaps, all that divides—lakes, seas, mountains, cultures, traditions, religions, languages—our 7,641 islands and the kids growing up in each of them, and, at the same time, at enjoining them in the task of nationbuilding and advancing climate solutions.  

I asked Natasha how they could get hold of the kids from faraway places in the Philippines, such as on far-flung islands, where people their age do not get as much exposure or opportunities or representation in mainstream culture and she said, “One of the best ways to reach them is when we go out to help distribute relief goods in times of disasters. That’s when the youth leaders come out and that’s when we get to meet them.”

At Museo Pambata, Balay Yatu (from Kapampangan balay, meaning “house” or “home,” and yatu, meaning “world”), Asia’s first youth-curated creative space and cultural center, holds the largest of the new spaces, a gift shop on the ground floor, an exhibition space on the second floor, and an open space for events and workshops.

I just find it so refreshing to hear Natasha talk of Balay Yatu as a way to embrace our “islandness,” turning the archipelagic nature of our country from a geographic and cultural challenge into an opportunity for unity in recognition of the fact that the more different we are, the more diverse are the things we can bring to the table, whether the subject on the table is climate change or defining our national identity. The involvement of young people like her in reimagining Museo Pambata makes it more representative of what our future needs. Balay Yatu’s inaugural project at the museum is an exhibition of photos, tapestries, and other ethnographic evidence of children’s lives in the 17 regions of the Philippines.

“Generations of children have passed through Museo Pambata’s doors, and this anniversary honors them—and those yet to come,” said Nina Lim-Yuson, the museum’s founder. “Looking ahead, we are excited to introduce new exhibits like the Rights of a Child exhibit in the Karapatan Hall, a redesigned Arts & Crafts space envisioned by Robert Alejandro, and the Classroom of the Future pop-up exhibit in collaboration with Khan Academy and Samsung, designed by JJ Acuña.”

In its new incarnation, Museo Pambata is shaping up to be a doorstep to the future, even as, indeed, rooted to its origins, it remains a playground for the children who will shape such future, where they are given all the space they need to express themselves, all the things that ignite and engage their natural curiosity, and what is needed to deepen their connection to local traditions, environmental consciousness, and social responsibility.

As part of the museum’s relaunch and anniversary celebration, a colorful parade, Parada Pambata, will go around Manila on Jan. 25, 2025 with children marching with a display of artworks proudly handmade. Pelikula Pambata, a two-day film festival, follows on Feb. 21 and 22, 2025, a platform designed to allow young filmmakers to showcase their talent as well as a glimpse of the future of filmmaking in the Philippines.

“We have worked hard as a ‘Bayanihan Community,’ alongside the museum founder Nina Lim-Yuson, fellow board members, ninangs, ninongs, friends of the museum, sponsors, and companies, to reimagine the museum for the next generations to come. This initiative is very special and deserves the exposure to as many children as possible,” said Sofia.

Being ninang and ninong to Museo Pambata is a clever idea to get more support for it and its programs. It is a special way to contribute to the museum’s growth and sustainability, as sponsors, donors, and volunteers help make all the programs and educational exhibits of the museum possible.

After all, trite as it sounds, the children are our future, but we need to engage them, equip them, free them up from limitations, let their imagination soar, believe in them today. www.museopambata.com.ph