Esperanza Maribel G. Agoo
De La Salle University, Taft, Manila
Email for correspondence: esperanza.agoo@dlsu.edu.ph
The De La Salle Herbarium (DLSUH) was established in the 1980s by Br. Eduardo Salgado FSC, former Chair of the Biology Department. It was unfortunately gutted by fire in 1990. It was rehabilitated after the fire and at present its collection has at least 5000 accessions representing various plant groups but mostly vascular plants. As a University Herbarium, it mainly serves as a repository of collections by students and faculty researchers accumulated from fieldworks in undergraduate and graduate courses. It also serves as a laboratory that supports specific activities on morphology, plant identification and classification, and bioinformatics. Aside from serving its own students, it also has extended its services in training students and researchers from other academic institutions, local government units, and NGOs in different parts of the Philippines on techniques in field collection, plant identification and establishment of herbaria. The DLSUH is also involved in researches such as red list assessments, environmental impact assessments, DNA barcoding, phytotechnologies, phytochemistry, seed and pollen conservation, biofuels, and ethnobotany. Through these projects, the DLSUH has expanded its collections to a DNA bank, a seed bank, and a specialized botanical garden. At present DLSUH is also extending technical and scientific advice in the establishment of the La Salle Botanical Gardens. Recognizing that small cannot stand alone, the DLSUH has established linkages with the Philippine National Herbarium, National Herbarium of the Netherlands, the Royal Botanic Garden Kew Millenium Seed Bank, RBG Edinburgh, Shenzhen Fairylake Botanical Garden, and National Museum of Ethnology of Japan, among others.
Ayumi Terada1, Luisito T. Evangelista2, Emerito B. Batara3 and Akira Matsuda4
1Affiliate Assistant Professor, Intermediatheque Department of the University Museum, the University of Tokyo; 2Curator 1, Botany and National Herbarium, National Museum, Manila; 3Officer in Charge, Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology Museum; 4Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo
Email for correspondence: noelbatz62@yahoo.com
The Mobile Museum Boxes Project seeks to produce mounted exhibition content whose effects transcends and extends beyond the walls of the museum, thereby offering, at each exhibition venue, object – based educational opportunities for a variety of audiences, including, and most especially, the young. The Mobile Museum Boxes Project is the result of an International collaborative research effort entitled “Research on the Utilization of Museum Activities for Education for the Young Generation in the Philippines.” The project is organized in association with the National Museum of the Philippines, the Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology, and the University Museum, University of Tokyo. It is undertaken by Filipino and Japanese researchers interested in exploring innovative uses of museum collections and supported by the Toyota Foundation.
Florante A. Cruz
University Extension Specialist II, UPLB Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna
Email for correspondence: facruz4@up.edu.ph
Institutions can assess its performance through the quality of its services. Service quality, as perceived, is the “degree and direction of discrepancy between consumer’s perceptions and expectations.” SERVQUAL, a survey questionnaire scale developed in the late 1980s for service, tourism and health sectors can be used to compare customer’s expectations and perceptions of service performance. The SERVQUAL model uses 22 statements to measure both expectations and perceptions. The level of agreement with the statements is assessed by using a Likert-type scale. We explored the use of this survey by building on a similar tool modified in 2000 to measure quality in a heritage and museum context (HISTOQUAL). Responses to our exploratory survey (n=246) showed that clientele was generally satisfied (mean=4.08) with MNH’s services, they will visit MNH again (mean=4.07), and they will recommend the MNH to their friends (mean=4.25). The overall mean score for service quality expectation items was 4.518, which indicated high expectations of respondents regarding the service quality. The overall mean score for service quality perceptions items was only 4.379 – the score still indicated high perceptions regarding the service quality rendered. Of the 24 attributes measured, 21 had negative gaps between expectation and perception scores. The overall gap was also negative (-0.139) which implied that for most of the museum service attributes, expectations were higher than their perceptions of the delivered service. By ranking the top lowest gaps between expectations and perceptions of 24 attributes, we came up with 12 important attributes which should be addressed by the MNH.
Alyssa M. Peleo-Alampay, Jaan Ruy Conrad P. Nogot, Dorothy Joyce D. Marquez and Clarence Y. Magtoto
National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City
Email for correspondence: jrcnogot@gmail.com
The NIGS-UP Geology Alumni Association (UPGAA) Geology Museum is located within the center of excellence in geology in the premier national university of the country. The museum houses a comprehensive display of types of minerals, rocks and fossils from the Philippines and other countries, as well as dioramas of oil and geothermal production, and an interactive display of Philippine ore deposits, faults and volcanoes. For nearly ten years, the museum welcomes a steadily growing number of visitors from preschool to university age students and the curious general public. The museum averages 850 visitors per year. However, last year the museum had 1,199 visitors, a 250% increased from 2010 numbers. More than half of the visitors are students and teachers from UP Diliman, since the museum has always been a teaching venue for earth science education in the university. The museum is also the go-to place for Geology and Mining Engineering board reviewers. There is, however, an increase in attendance from high schools, elementary schools and preschools for the past 5 years, a reflection of the museum’s growing reputation outside the campus. The increase in visitors to the museum has been driven by a new focus on increasing the museum’s visitor age range through the construction of a reading corner and activity area that centers on fossils and plate tectonics.
Luisito T. Evangelista1, Edwin R. Tadiosa1, Noe B. Gapas1, Danilo N. Tandang1, John Rey Callado1, Albert B. Fajardo1, Rolf Domini R. Campos1, Ceres Marie P. Canilao2, and Danelyn S. Sumaylo2
1Botany and National Herbarium Division, National Museum of the Philippines; 2Fine Arts Division, National Museum of the Philippines
Email for correspondence: ertadiosa@yahoo.com
Incorporating specimens into wonderful works of art could enhance scientific learning. Converting dried plant parts such leaves, flowers, fruits, branches and seeds encountered in your backyard could be a potential material for a work of art. Walking along the coasts dried drifted algal specimens can be utilized into decorative arts and crafts. This work of art does not require age but for everyone. A simplified way of converting dried plant parts into foliage frame, leaf-designed photo frame, seed mobile, leaf tabletop lantern, leaf animal-rendered antics, algal postcards and skeletonized flowers.
Gregg Yan
Best Alternatives Campaign
Email for correspondence:
BestAlternativesCampaign@gmail.com, gyan@oceana.org
Saving Nemo' is a visual presentation about the marine aquarium industry in the Philippines and the Best Alternatives Campaign's solutions to make the trade in aquarium fish and invertebrates more sustainable. The content of the poster is a must for all museums, zoos and aquaria who wish to display and manage marine aquaria in their premises. A full paper can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/2toCoIP