JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

When I was in grade school we all looked forward to the annual Field Trip. We would visit the same places—Rizal Park, the Manila Aquarium, the Magnolia ice cream plant, a candy factory, the planetarium—but the unchanging itinerary did not dim our excitement. We looked forward to not being inside the classroom: it was just like a holiday, but with our classmates. Snacking was allowed on the bus, so we could try every variety of chips, candy, and chichirya until we threw up.

One year we had lunch at the CCP complex, and the nuns were worried because it was built on reclaimed land and might sink into the ocean. At the exact time that we were visiting. It struck me as weird that nuns who kept going on about eternal bliss were not excited about the prospect of going to heaven.

The high points of these field trips were the Manila Zoo, where the masturbating gorilla seemed to know that the teacher was the best target to spit or throw…stuff at, the ice cream plant because we got free samples, the aviary at Greenbelt park, and the Ayala Museum with the dioramas. The exotic birds are gone—I was told they were donated to a wildlife preserve in Quezon City—but the dioramas are still around. Not the exact same dioramas from my field trips, but bigger ones with better production design.

After visiting the dioramas you can go to The Ring of Fire, an exhibition of ceramics by contemporary Southeast Asian artists. Then you can proceed to the fourth floor for the Crossroads of Civilizations exhibition featuring rare Philippine costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries, Chinese and Southeast Asian trade ceramics from the 9th to the 19th century, and golden ornaments believed to date back to the pre-colonial era.

Today is the third birthday of JessicaRulesTheUniverse.com, so the field trip’s on us. I’m giving away ten pairs (So you can bring someone to discuss the artifacts with) of Ayala Museum tickets. To get a chance to win a pair of free tickets, click on the logo of the Ayala Museum on the left sidebar and find the answer to this question:

Who are the Filipino potters featured in The Ring of Fire exhibition? Name one.

Post your answer in Comments. All entries will become eligible for the raffle to be held at midnight tonight. Winners should be able to claim their tickets at the Ayala Museum, Makati Avenue corner De la Rosa Street, Greenbelt, Makati, starting next Wednesday. The 3rd Birthday Field Trip is brought to you by the Ayala Museum.