Cherepovets is not only an industrial center and the largest city in the Vologda Oblast by occupied territory and population. It is also a city with a long history and rich cultural traditions. It is included in the list of historical cities of the Russian Federation, its center is a splendidly preserved merchant building.
10 museum institutions form a single museum association, among them one of the most visited is the Cherepovets Museum of Nature, created a hundred years ago.
About the museum past
Soon the Museum of Natural History will turn one hundred years old, because officially it is the successor to the museum of local nature, which was opened in the 20s of the XX century and bore the name of A. Herzen.
In fact, the nature museum in Cherepovets is much older. The first natural history collections began to be collected at the end of the 19th century, when the local museum of local lore was opened. It was in it that the departments dedicated to the native land were placed. In these departments, collections were exhibited - herbariums, entomological and ornithological collections collected by enthusiasts, although their excellent design and preservation even today are highly appreciated by specialists. Today these are real treasures of the museum fund.
Since 1907, during the construction of the local harbor on the Yagorbe River, a significant number of well-preserved fossil bones of bison, musk ox and mammoths were discovered. These exhibits marked the beginning of the paleontological collection.
In the 1920s, activists joined the study of the local fauna and flora, and researchers from the museum of local lore organized and conducted expeditions to collect data. It was then that the funds are transferred from the museum of local lore to the natural. The Museum of Nature is becoming an independent exhibition unit.
In 1936, at the experimental site of botany, employees of the Museum of Nature plant various plants in order to prove the fruitfulness of the scientific theory of I. Michurin. The site uses the latest achievements of agricultural technology. Soon, an orchard, greenhouses and flowerbeds became another open-air exhibition.
Museum today
The Cherepovets Museum of Natural History today is about 30 thousand exhibits located on an area of 360 square meters. m, another 140 square meters. m is given under the lecture hall and halls for classes.
The museum is located on the second floor of a residential building.
Exposition
Visitors can see a variety of collections:
- geological;
- rocks and minerals;
- paleontological;
- native flora and fauna;
- herbaria;
- mollusks;
- entomological.
Aquariums with bright fish that decorate the room make a huge impression on the kids, at the same time adults can enjoy the photos taken by local photo artists and photo hunters.
Exhibitions
At the Museum of Nature (Cherepovets), visitors must take photos at permanent exhibitions, there are three of them.
One is called “Forest Motives”, on it you can learn everything, everything about the nature of not only Cherepovets, but also the entire Vologda Territory. Visitors note beautifully executed compositions of stuffed animals, first of all, a bear with cubs attract attention. An interesting composition was also made from the stuffed birds of the region — heron, eagle and eagle. The figures of elk and fox, wolves and lynx are presented at the exhibition. Showcases are decorated as pieces of forest, riverbank or steppe. To design the exhibition fund, a collection of mushroom models was purchased from collector A. Manaev.
Inquisitive visitors are interested to carefully consider the huge collection of butterflies, which was donated to the museum in the 60s by K. Shlyapin.
A separate exhibition is represented by paleontological findings made on the Sukhonya and Staraya Totma rivers, as well as during the development of quarries and pits of the local metallurgical plant, and the construction of an industrial and residential complex. The remains of a woolly rhinoceros, skull and bones of a mammoth and musk ox, petrified lizards and fish - all this is of considerable interest to visitors to the museum. Many finds appeared in the museum thanks to the research, jointly conducted with the Geological Committee of the Vologda Oblast.
"Africa. Safari ”is the name of the next exhibition at the Cherepovets Museum of Nature. Here are the hunting trophies of South Africans.
The exposition included beautifully prepared stuffed kudu antelopes, an African antelope, a cannibis deer, a buffalo, a black-tailed and blue wildebeest, a cow antelope and a South African impala. As exhibition design, genuine objects of hunting ammunition and folk life were used. These are costumes, arrows, drums, nets and photographs taken from African safari sites.
According to reviews, the Museum of Nature (Cherepovets) is an interesting place not only for children but also for adults. Many city dwellers often bring children here, to whom visiting the museum brings not only joy, but also new knowledge.
Excursions
Researchers at the Museum of Nature (Cherepovets) have prepared a variety of excursion programs that are interesting to all ages. About 20 programs talk about the nature of the Vologda Oblast.
For the first visit fit:
- general excursion program from which you can find out basic information about the topography and geography of the region, about birds, animals and plants;
- how the museum was created, its collections were collected.
You can learn more about the climatic features and the relief of the Vologda Oblast from a separate tour.
Several programs are devoted to paleontology - this is a story about paleontological findings in the area and the history of geological and paleontological study of the region.
Protected areas, such as the Russky Sever Park and the Darwin Reserve, will be discussed on a separate tour, as well as about animals listed in the Red Book.
Those who are not the first time visiting the museum will be interested in highly specialized excursion programs:
- seasonality as a manifestation of changes in fauna;
- taxidermy as a profession;
- about the diverse world of insects.
Many excursions are devoted to birds, they talk about birds that live in swamps and the coast, about daytime predators and owls, about wintering and rare birds.
In the warm season, street excursions are held in the Komsomolsky Park and the Salt Garden.
What else to do in the museum?
During opening hours, the Museum of Nature (Cherepovets) is also a cultural, enlightening and educational center, attractive to all ages. For schoolchildren and students, lectures and seminars are held on various topics. Environmental holidays do not go unnoticed.
Kids are interested in master classes - this is sand painting, and the creation of New Year's crafts, and arrangement of birdhouses, and much more. Visitors note that it is sometimes difficult to take kids away from the museum - they are so interested in these walls.
Schoolchildren are taught museum classes - this is much more interesting than sitting at school. The subjects of the lessons are diverse. At the "Reservation Lesson" they talk about nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries, the work of ecotourism employees. The Sin Anthropa lesson is dedicated to those animals that have learned to coexist in a city next to humans. Instead of geography, children are led to lessons about the region’s mineral resources and the creation of the Rybinsk Reservoir. In 2018, whose symbol was chosen an angler bird - an osprey, one of the lessons is devoted to the peculiarities of its lifestyle.
For groups of 40 people organize museum quests, the theme of which is dedicated to the Day of birds, swamps, forests, water.
The cost of additional classes
A lecture at the museum costs 80 p. (full price) and 50 p. (preferential). Classes in the museum are 80 p., And master classes - 90/60 p.
In addition, the museum can hold exciting holidays that will become unforgettable. The cost of such an event is 1000 r.
How to find?
The address of the Museum of Nature in Cherepovets is 32 Lunacharsky Avenue. To write a letter, you will need a zip code, it is 162614.
By public transport you can get to the museum if you use buses No. 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 10, 18 and 38. You need to get off at the Rynok stop.
Working hours
What is the working hours of the nature museum in Cherepovets? On Monday, you should not plan a visit, on this day the museum is closed to visitors.
On other days, the doors are open from 10 am and they close at 17.30.
Ticket price
The price of a visit to the museum space depends on the mode in which the Cherepovets nature museum is planned to be visited. Ticket prices for individual visitors and excursions vary. An adult can independently examine the expositions by purchasing a ticket for 90 rubles, a discount ticket will cost 50 rubles. It is much more interesting to go through museum halls with a guide - both adults and children think so. For the tour you have to pay 120 or 80 p.
If you want to book an excursion for your family or a small company, up to 10 people, then the services of a guide will cost 300 rubles.
Excursion support in the Komsomolsky park for a group of 4-20 people costs 400 rubles.