Did you know that the three women standing gracefully at each of the tips of the pylon at the heart of the Quezon Memorial Circle, when seen closely, are wearing different types of clothing that represent Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao?
Did you also know that Mike Hanopol, the composer of JEPROKS, a song about the lives of people born with silver spoons in their mouths, was actually writing about his own experience as someone who grew up in one of the project houses of Quezon City?
These are just a few of the many things you get to learn when you go to QC Experience or QCX, an interactive socio-cultural museum.
While the Quezon Memorial Circle is a place where people usually go to jog, hold Zumba sessions, or simply spend time with their families, it is also home to the QCX.
Since it opened in November 2015, hundreds of people have already experienced what’s inside the sixteen galleries of QCX which are all interactive.
The whole museum provides information by bringing you into the past, present, and even the future of Quezon City.
The museum shows what the top of the pylon looks like up close, using replicas of the sculptures at its tip, and shows illustrations on the walls of what’s seen from the top of the structure, which is basically the whole city of Quezon.
Here’s where you learn about what each sculpture means, such as the flower wreath they’re holding, which is actually sampaguita, the country’s national flower.
In another gallery called Quezon on a Hill, you get to experience how Manuel L. Quezon looked at and imagined the future of the land that will become the largest city in Metro Manila. It was said that while thinking of all these, Manuel L. Quezon was sitting on a rock, which is why the gallery also has a rock in the middle you can sit on so you’d get a glimpse of how he visualized the city’s future. A look into Quezon’s office in Malacañang when he served as president of the Philippines is also offered by QCX. Stories about the President and the different areas in Quezon City can be read from the walls and can be seen on the tv screens. There’s also a war gallery where you learn why most of Quezon’s plans for the city did not materialize. The gallery gives you a glimpse of the different difficulties World War II brought to the city and those who lived in it.
In the Monuments gallery, little replicas of the different known structures in Quezon City will be seen. The Araneta Colisseum, the Quezon Memorial Circle, and the University of the Philippines’ oblation are just some these.
Because Quezon City has so many housing projects, there are also galleries that show not just how the houses look like from the outside, but also from the inside.
You can ask “How’s my driving?” in the Jeepney gallery of QCX. It boasts of a big jeepney replica where you can take photos as its driver, as well as a wall full of jeepney stories and fun facts. This gallery allows visitors to appreciate the unique modes of transportation all Filipinos encounter everyday.
Another gallery is for education. Located within Quezon City are hundreds of schools, and there’s a wall in this gallery that shows a timeline of the beginning of those different schools. There’s also a bright yellow school bus that’s perfect for taking pictures.
There’s a gallery that shows the typical street scenes in Quezon City, including a sari-sari store, a kariton, and a sorbetes cart, and another one that shares the stories of businesses that started out in Quezon City, no matter how big or small.
Quezon City is home for major television networks and that’s why there’s also an entertainment gallery wherein a dressing room table, as well as a studio and a little movie theater, can be seen once you enter.
After all the galleries showcasing Quezon City’s history and everything else it’s proud of, a gallery for issues that the city faces is shown through art. QCX makes sure that people are still aware of the different problems concerning education, healthcare, the environment, and poverty.
A pathway with walls telling the stories about how the different names of Quezon City’s barangays came about is featured right before reaching the last package that QCX offers, which is a presentation of what’s in store for the city’s future.
Aside all the different interactive galleries, each offering a piece of the ultimate Quezon City experience, QCX is also proud of being green-compliant because no trees were cut in the process of building the whole place.
Now, for those of you who still haven’t visited QCX, it is definitely something you shouldn’t miss out on.
And for those who already have, maybe you should check it out again, just in case you missed a few details from your first one because there is just so much to learn.
QCX – definitely a must in your museum bucket list.