The UPLB Museum of Natural History got a real treat from the showbiz world in time for its 40th anniversary celebration last 30 September. Singer-performer Leah Navarro, a pop sensation in the 1980s graced the closing of the Museum's anniversary week and introduced the film "To Live and Be Free."

At the start of her talk, Navarro said “thank you for the invitation to introduce a film in which she merely played a small part, but of which she is extremely proud of."

More than 650 school children from the Lopez Elementary School’s grade levels 4 to 6, accompanied by their teachers, were able to get complimentary tours last 28-29 September at the Museum of Natural History. The free museum tour was a community service initiative of the Museum as part of its 40th Anniversary Celebrations.

The UPLB Museum of Natural History recently launched its new sets of exhibits and displays and re-opened refurbished areas as part of its 40th anniversary celebration from 26-30 September 2016. The new exhibits have been prepared by the museum’s artists and research and extension personnel also in time for October, considered as the “Museums and Galleries Month.”

A new species of cave-dwelling cockroach was recently described and named after Dr. Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez, director of the UPLB Museum of Natural History. Nocticola gonzalezi is the newly-described troglobiotic or a true cave-dwelling cockroach in the Philippines. The species was discovered and described by Cristian C. Lucañas and Dr. Ireneo L. Lit, Jr. of the Museum’s Entomological Section.

This particular species has been collected in a cave in Polillo Island, Quezon where bat guano deposits abound. In their article published in the journal Subterranean Biology (doi: 10.3897/subtbiol.19.9804), Lucañas and Lit reported that the “species is unique because it is very small compared to other members of the genus Nocticola.”

In celebration of its 40th Anniversary, the UPLB Museum of Natural History launched its first Digital Photo Contest with the theme “Celebrating Philippine Natural Heritage”. The contest aims to feature the richness of Philippine biodiversity and give premium to these natural resources as a heritage to keep.

More than 50 entries that highlighted different forms of biodiversity and natural resources were received. The top 16 entries were pre-screened by Mr. Alastair Gibbons, MNH Volunteer from University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.

This year, the UPLB Museum of Natural History (MNH) celebrates 40years of preserving Philippine natural heritage. In its opening celebration on Sept. 26 at the CAS Auditorium, the MNH looked back on its origins and history with some of its founding members and important personalities.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez, director of MNH, said that the MNH has come a long way from its humble beginnings. He also said that the Museum is continually undergoing changes to make the exhibits savvier.