Adamson University completed and inaugurated its museum on Aug. 15.

The initial part of the museum opened on Nov. 12, 2013. It is devoted to the history of the university, narrating the beginnings of the school and how it was founded by George Lucas Adamson, a Greek chemist and educator.

The new and final wing of the museum focuses on the Vincentian presence in the university, which started when ownership and administration of the school was passed on to the Vincentian Fathers and Brothers of the Congregation of the Mission by the original owner.

Both wings were designed by Ayala Museum’s curatorial team headed by Kenneth Esguerra.

The museum displays a timeline of the university’s history,  divided into three phases: Founder’s Wing, Vincentian Wing and the Rotating Exhibits Gallery.

Adamson president Fr. Gregorio Bañaga Jr., CM says, the museum highlights the university’s heritage of technical knowledge.

“The whole idea of Dr. Adamson was to industrialize the country; because he saw that we had a lot of raw materials, but we did not know how to turn them into industrial sources.” Fr. Bañaga says.

Practical courses

Adamson operated a wine distillery in Albay before he decided he wanted to impart this knowledge to the Filipinos. He founded the Adamson School of Industrial Chemistry and Engineering in 1932 with the mission of providing practical courses that would contribute to the economic growth of the Filipinos.

Adamson University has since produced almost 100,000 alumni, many of them holding degrees in engineering.

The newly opened Vincentian Wing is dedicated to the four presidents who had led the school since its turnover from its Greek administration in 1964.

At the center of the museum is a scale-model of the university, which demonstrates how it developed physically from a single building in 1964 to the 10.7-hectare campus that it is today.

Included in the museum’s rotating exhibit is a leather-bound original print of the 1935 constitution; two Fernando Amorsolo paintings bequeathed by Sofia Adamson, wife of George Athos Adamson; and artifacts from the collections of former Adamson president Fr. Leandro Monteñano, CM, and other alumni.

Photo exhibit

A mezzanine level houses interactive displays featuring notable alumni from the different colleges.

The museum will be open daily. Student docents will be offering guided tours around the museum.

Adamson University Art Gallery opened the photo exhibit “In the Footsteps of St. Vincent de Paul” recently. The exhibit features photographs of places associated with the life of St. Vincent de Paul, taken by Fr. Bañaga during several trips to France in 2009, 2011 and 2013.

The photographs show churches, buildings and shrines associated with the saint, considered a national hero in France for his dedication to the poor; and stained-glass windows from various churches depicting the saint.

The exhibit is open to the public and runs till Oct. 17.