The Darwin Museum in Moscow is one of the largest and technically equipped in the world. The initiator of his discovery was Alexander Fedorovich Kots, professor of zoology at Moscow State University . The year of its foundation is considered to be 1907, since it was at this time that the professor began to give lectures at the Moscow Higher Women's Courses using stuffed animals as visual aids. The museum premises were allocated by the Bolsheviks, who came to power in 1917. During the Civil War, there was not enough money to open the exhibition, so the room opened its doors to visitors only in 1822. The Darwin Museum acquired a director in the person of Alexander Fedorovich Kots, who always remained in office until 1964. An important role in the formation of the exposition was played by Friedrich Lorenz - the owner of the largest taxidermy company. The effigies made by his enterprise adorned the museums of Europe and made up the bulk of the exposition of the Darwin Museum.
New building for the Darwin Museum
In the early 40s, the museum's exposition expanded, and a small building ceased to accommodate it. The question arose about the construction of a new spacious structure. But the decision on this issue was delayed, and the Darwin Museum in Moscow continued to huddle in a small mansion. It was only in the mid-60s that Vera Nikolaevna Ignatieva, who replaced A.F. Cots, was able to achieve a positive result. The decision to build a new building was made, but before its implementation there remained no less than three decades. The foundation of the future museum was laid in the early 80s of the last century. But the construction was mothballed and turned into one of the most famous unfinished buildings in the capital. The new building was erected for an extremely long time and was completed by massive pressure of the then Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. In 1995, the new Darwin Museum opened , address: 57 Vavilova Street.
Museum life in the new building on the Academic
From that moment, the Darwin Museum in Moscow became the largest natural science museum in Europe. In accordance with the plan of the founding father A.F. The Kots exposition demonstrates the theory of evolution: natural selection and the struggle for existence, the diversity of life on planet Earth, the influence of hereditary factors and their variability, and much more. The museum has in its collections unique collections of aberrative forms, animal painting, melanists, teeth of extinct sharks, albinos and “living” dinosaurs that know how to move a little and growl beautifully. Many visitors come to the Darwin Museum. The price of tickets is different and depends on the chosen excursions, age and number of people in the group.
Modernity
Since 1988, the Darwin Museum in Moscow has been headed by Anna Iosifovna Klyukina. In terms of technical equipment, the institution keeps up to date. In the halls of the museum there are computers that provide information from the Internet. There are also jukeboxes that reproduce the singing of various birds and the cries of animals. To independently familiarize visitors with the exhibits, a unique guide was developed. This tutorial is very convenient and immediately gained popularity. Also, in the Darwin Museum, visitors can go to the cinema lecture hall, the 3D cinema, the multimedia center Eco-Moscow and the light and music exposition Living Planet. Today, the Darwin Museum is not an ordinary acquaintance with interesting facts, but a truly fascinating tour into the natural world. Visitors can weigh themselves in "mice" or "elephants", find out how a person feels, who has gone down on a bathyscaphe under water to a depth of 2.5 thousand meters, and much more.
Permanent and interchangeable expositions
The Darwin Museum (Moscow) has permanent exhibits. For example, on the ground floor there are halls of “Biological Diversity” and “Museum History”. On the second floor, among permanent exhibits, the halls of the Stages of Knowledge of Wildlife and Macroevolution are most in demand among visitors. On the third floor there are exhibits on the following topics: “Nature of Moscow and the region”, “Red Book”, “Ecological crisis”, “Zoological geography” and “Evidence”. The funds of the Darwin Museum are vast, and employees are constantly presenting visitors with more and more new topics. Interesting lectures are also regularly given.
Continuing education for schoolchildren and students
The Darwin Museum is currently working to create an interactive educational center. For this, modern advanced technologies are used. The Center is a single cognitive environment that allows you to know the world around you, your place in it and the great responsibility of man for the future of nature on the planet. Here visitors will spend as much time as they want, and access will be open at a convenient time for them. The exposition will have many levels. There will be sections for people who are seriously interested in the subject, for adults who are not tired of exploring the world, for children who are interested in everything, for people with specific needs. The exhibits of the center will introduce many aspects. For example, how a person differs from animals, how living beings know the world, what emotions and feelings are, how plants, animals and much more are arranged. And it will be possible in a few minutes to make an exciting journey around the globe. The development of the project is carried out by a group of designers, programmers and museum staff. The design is created by the Honored Artist of Russia A.N. Konov.
Darwin Museum for Children
Museum employees work hard so that children come here with a desire. Special interactive excursions on 5 different topics have been developed: “Neighbors on the planet”, “Giants that have disappeared and not only”, “Treasures of the tropics”, “A miracle in feathers” and “The secret of life - a living cell”. Topics are studied for an hour and a half, and then a fun and informative tea party is arranged for the children. Groups consist of 20 people, among whom there should be no more than 16. The cost of the tour is from 10 to 13 thousand rubles, more precisely indicated when ordering. In summer, parents can order a birthday in the museum for their child (the cost of the holiday with a sweet table is 8 900 rubles).
Darwin Museum for Disabled
Today, not only healthy people can visit the Darwin Museum, but also with disorders of the musculoskeletal system, that is, wheelchair users. For this, special devices are provided: ramps, elevators, recreation areas and lifts. In addition, the museum can be visited by people who are hard of hearing and deaf, blind and partially sighted. In the parking lot for disabled cars there are special places. In the museum you can rent a wheelchair, films are accompanied by subtitles, the exhibits are equipped with braille texts , there are special toilet rooms.
Opening hours of the Darwin Museum and ticket prices
The facility is open daily except Monday. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The last Friday of every month is a day off. Visit the Darwin Museum in Moscow, ticket prices for adults - 200 rubles, for preschoolers - 70 rubles. To visit both buildings, the ticket price is 250 rubles. If you want to take the opportunity to visit the museum for free, come on the third Sunday of any month.