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The National Museum of the Philippines just announced the temporary closure of the National Planetarium as an institution and the decommissioning of its building at the Rizal Park in a Facebook post today.

In the post, the National Museum wrote that it was decommissioning the National Planetarium building with a mixture of “sadness, fondness and nostalgia,” explaining that “a long chapter has to be brought to a close in order to start a new one.”

Filipinos of a certain generation are bound to have memories of the National Planetarium building located in Rizal Park, Manila. Inaugurated in 1975, the National Planetarium was a frequent destination for field trips, as evidenced by one of the comments on the Facebook post.

“I will definitely miss the historical Planetarium. I've been there many times because of the school field trips, until I grew up I always love to go there,” wrote Facebook user Madelyn Gonzaga Caadan.

The National Museum acknowledged that the Planetarium is a Manila landmark and also a pillar of its services, but also explained that the decommissioning is part of the development plans of both the National Museum and the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC).

The National Museum also asked the public to look out for an announcement of its plans for a new National Planetarium, which they promised would “serve the public well for many more decades to come with the unique experience that only a world-class planetarium can provide.”

The National Museum intends to develop a National Museum Complex with the new National Planetarium alongside the National Museum of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, and the National Museum of Fine Arts.

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