The Museum of Nature in Novosibirsk is a branch of the city museum of local lore, which will soon turn 100 years old. For a long time, the organization collected exhibits about the nature of the region; based on them, expositions were created, exhibitions were made. Finally, the staff came to the conclusion that the funds and collected materials of the nature department had reached the level of creating an independent museum. Work on the exposition of the new museum lasted a long time and opened five years ago.
The museum is located on the ground floor of an ordinary residential building and is designed for family visits. It is interesting to spend time here for people of all ages. Rich collections, professionally executed compositions, an interesting story of the guide - the fruits of the work of museum specialists.
Fifteen hundred exhibits, among which are extremely valuable, will tell about life on earth from ancient times to the present day. In the small room of the museum there are five halls, traveling through which, you discover a lot of new things.
Mineral and Rock Hall
This collection is made up of minerals and stones from around the world. The hall, of course, is of interest primarily for specialists and lovers of geology. Lumps of minerals, pieces of ore rocks, plates of native copper - all this is perceived as useful minerals for the country, but not very expressive exhibits. However, interesting explanations about where this mineral came from to the Museum of Nature of Novosibirsk, what benefit it brings to people.
A bewitching collection of precious and ornamental stones. Competently highlighted amethysts, sapphires, topazes and other numerous stones play even with rough edges. And what a magical sight they present after polishing!
For a better perception of information by children in this difficult hall, museum staff used interesting tricks. In the rock erected to the ceiling, pieces of rocks and sparkling stones are interspersed. On its surface, you can also see fossils of animals and plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago.
Paleontology Hall
On the threshold of the next hall, visitors are greeted by a huge bear standing on its hind legs. This is a reconstruction of the cave bear, which the creators call in their own way San Sanych. But visitors certainly will not want to familiarize themselves with such a beast. Looking at the skull of a real cave bear, you understand that experts did not exaggerate its size.
Several skeletons lined up next to the bear. One of them is the famous mammoth Matilda. In 1940, on the banks of the Oesh River, village children found a bone sticking out of sand. Adults dug up a whole skeleton of an animal, which was sent to the nature department of the Novosibirsk Museum of Local Lore. 70 years old, the skeleton of Matilda is the hallmark of the museum.
Using modern technology, specialists learned to recreate the appearance of an animal using skeletons. Thus, in the vicinity of the big Matilda, there are skeletons and reconstructions of the small mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. It means that rhinos once lived in Siberia, but they were covered with very thick wool.
Birds of the Novosibirsk Region
Only one fourth of 350 species of birds living in Siberia are exhibited in the hall of the Museum of Nature of Novosibirsk. But this is a lot. In total, 760 species live in Russia. That is, half of all Russian birds feel fine in Siberian conditions. Of course, it is more interesting to watch birds alive, but the explanations on the cards provide a rare opportunity to assess the number and variety of birds.
Some stands show very useful information that young children understand. For example, pieces of bread, feathers, rubbish are laid out in a display case, and a small article “Should I feed pigeons in the yard?” Is placed nearby. Thinking about it is definitely worth it. Or a sparrow familiar to everyone. Of course, the child will be interested in why a bird sitting on a branch has a thermometer under its wing? And nearby is given information about temperature, pulse, pressure of sparrows. It will be remembered.
Mammals and insects
Two halls contain collections of animals and insects living in Siberia. Predators, herbivores, large and small mammals are represented in very large numbers. The same should be said of insects. Of course, the butterfly collections are the most impressive in this room.
On Vokzalnaya highway, 11, in the Museum of Nature of Novosibirsk, information panels are installed in all the halls, showing clips about the habits of animals, birds and insects.
Near the section of bats there is a mysterious grotto. Visitors enter in complete darkness, and suddenly the mice, previously calmly hanging upside down, begin to fly and rush through the cave. Very visual and funny. Museum workers have interestingly used digital video effects.
Game room
It is impossible not to tell that in the Museum of Nature of Novosibirsk an amazing playroom is open for kids. It is intended for children who are tired of listening to adult stories.
The children can collect a volumetric skeleton of a dinosaur here from wooden fragments. Or, using the provided photographs of birds and animals, create your own photo exhibition. Fidgets, crawling in a ten-meter pipe, turn into earthworms and study their life from the inside.
Here, using the plasma panel, you can not only see the bird, but also listen to her singing.
Where is the nature museum in Novosibirsk? The address of the branch of the museum of local lore: Station Railway, building 11.