Until recently, it was believed that visiting museums was a boring and uninteresting activity, but today this stereotype has long been destroyed. Interesting museums in Moscow, new and old, always attract the attention of tourists. Most city guests will not miss the opportunity to visit at least one of them, and such a pastime will be not only interesting, but also useful for both children and adolescents, as well as adults. There are also frequent excursions during which participants discover something new and very relevant, and can also take part in some exciting scientific experiment. Yes, yes, recently many unusual museums in Moscow have been opened for young people. In this article, we will take a brief tour of some of them, describe their internal structure and what they attract tourists.
Interesting museums in Moscow: options for visiting
Despite the fact that most of the entertainment in the capital costs a lot of money, excursions to attractions, including museums, continue to be quite affordable. And this despite the fact that these informative tours are accompanied by a guide who is ready in Russian (English, French, German, Chinese, etc.) to speak in great detail about each of the exhibits. You can also go to interesting museums in Moscow without a guide, carefully inspect each of the corners, each of the exhibits, take exclusive photographs, if allowed by the administration.
Ticket price and benefits
Before going on an excursion, some tourists begin to wonder how much tickets cost and which museums in Moscow are free. So, the price varies from 150 rubles to several thousand. There are practically no regular ticket-free exhibition venues in the capital, however, most of them open their doors once a month (third Sunday) to visitors. There are also big discounts for students and for some other categories of citizens, for example, war veterans, etc. For children (up to 16 years old), the Ministry of Culture and Education takes on expenses for excursions. Always free museums in Moscow are the Water Museum and the People’s Museum of the Moscow Metro.
Museums in Moscow: old and new
In Moscow, an incredible number of different attractions. Moreover, the list of museums in Moscow is so great that it will be impossible to visit them even for a dozen visits to the capital. By the way, their number is growing every day, and since visiting exhibitions has become one of the most fruitful pastimes in the capital of the Russian Federation, the city administration is interested in creating completely new interactive museums organized in accordance with today's realities. In them, tourists can not only learn something new and useful for themselves, but also take part in some situational or associative games.
No matter how many new museums appear in Moscow, nonetheless ancient ones have their own special energy, which can be found in exhibits with a rich history. What is the Moscow Kremlin, which, in fact, is a whole historical and cultural complex. For everyone who comes to the Russian capital for the first time, he is listed under the first number in the list of Moscow museums. Since it is impossible to talk about each of the exhibition complexes of the capital in one article, we will describe only the most significant and most original of them.
Moscow Kremlin
The foundation date of this museum complex is March 10, 1806, it was at this time that the Armory Chamber received the status of a museum. In 1926, it included the cathedrals of the Kremlin, as well as the houses of the boyars, the Museum of Porcelain and Toys. Since 1991, the complex has become known as the Moscow Kremlin State Museum Preserve. For many years, its director has been Elena Yuryevna Gagarina, the daughter of the first cosmonaut of the USSR.
Today the complex includes the Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation, which is a collection of unique works of art. It is here that the main symbols of the Russian tsars are kept - the Big and Small Imperial crowns, as well as the scepter and the power of 7 historical stones, among which the world-famous diamonds “Shah” and “Orlov”. The Moscow Kremlin is open to visitors daily from 10:00 to 17:00 (break from 13:00 to 14:00), Thursday is a day off.
Bunker-42 on Taganka
This is one of the most unusual and interesting museums in Moscow. It is located in a secret in the past military facility of the USSR, which was called ZKP Tagansky, or GO-42. It was built in the 50s of the 20th century. The area of the underground bunker located at a depth of 65 m is more than 7000 square meters. It was fully equipped in case the States declared a nuclear war on the Union. The storage facilities were full of fuel, as well as food and water.
For many years, the facility was serviced around the clock by military personnel and technical personnel. The bunker was connected by underground passages to the Taganskaya and Kurskaya stations. In 1995, this top-secret facility was declassified, and in 2007 it was sold at the auction of a private company for 65 million rubles, then it was reconstructed and a museum was organized in it.
Once here, you seem to be returning to the USSR in a time machine. The museum surprises visitors with its unusualness from the very entrance, where you are offered to wear a gas mask and take a picture for a pass. The museum is open around the clock on all days of the week. The entrance ticket here is quite expensive - about 3 thousand rubles per person for a group visit, and 22 thousand rubles for an individual excursion.
The largest Paleontological Museum. Yu. A. Orlova
It is known in the capital not only as an exhibition, but also as a research institution. Students of relevant profiles often come here, for whom exhibits are a visual aid. The Paleontological Museum in Moscow was founded in 1937. Initially, it had an area of 700 square meters. m, and today it has grown to 5000 square meters. m. The first hall is an introductory one: here tourists get a general idea of the science of paleontology, then there is a hall devoted to the period of the Early Paleozoic and Precambrian, that is, the initial stages of the development of life on earth. The next hall of the Paleontological Museum in Moscow is dedicated to the geology of the local region. The fourth hall covers the Mesozoic period, and in the 5th there is an exhibition of dinosaurs. The last, 6th, hall is dedicated to the era of mammals.
Opening hours - 10.00 - 18.00 on all days of the week, except Monday and Tuesday. The ticket price is 300 rubles. For pensioners, students and schoolchildren a 50 percent discount is applied.
Exhibition of Prehistoric Reptiles
Some call it the Dinosaur Museum in Moscow. However, these primitive reptiles in this institution own only one single hall, although two-level. To be honest, this is the name that attracts a greater number of visitors, especially school-age children, and they refuse a full excursion and are immediately sent to the 5th hall. Here children, and their parents feel as if in prehistoric times, the exposition of the exhibition is so naturally organized. By the way, according to some experts, it should have been called the Museum of Dinosaurs. In Moscow, and in other cities of Russia, there are many children who are very interested in ancient reptiles, and for them it is a blessing to get into this museum and see how they really look.
All about space
There is a Cosmonautics Museum in Moscow. But what without this, because this city is the capital of the country, which first sent man into space ?! The museum is located in the basement of the monument, which is called "The Conquerors of Space". This is a unique monument, which was erected in honor of the launch date of the 1st artificial Earth satellite. Its architect and designer is M.O. Barshch, and the sculptor is A.P. Faydysh-Krandievsky.
The Cosmonautics Museum of Moscow was opened on April 10, 1981 at the initiative of S.P. Korolev. Its exposition includes samples of space technology, archival documents and records, personal belongings of astronaut pilots, as well as designers, photographs, etc. The Space Heroes Alley adjoins the museum. There is also a miniature Mission Control Center, from where you can monitor what is happening on the International Space Station in real time. There are several more reproduced models, thanks to which visitors get the impression that they are on board a spaceship.
Museum of Modern Art in Moscow
For your information, this museum was the first to receive the status of a state. It was founded in 1999 by Zurab Tsereteli and specializes entirely in the visual and applied arts of the 20th and 21st centuries. Its creation was supported by the Department of the City Council of Moscow. The exposition of the Museum of Modern Art in Moscow includes a personal collection of the great architect. It consists of a huge number (about 2000) of works by famous artists of the XX century. Over time, the fund of the museum was replenished with other works of modern masters, both Russian and foreign. The main part of the museum is located in the house of the merchant Gubin on Petrovka. There are three other buildings - in Yermolaevsky Lane, on Tversky Boulevard and on Gogolevsky Boulevard in the old building of the Russian Academy of Arts.
The most unusual museums in Moscow
Today it is very popular to create museums of entertaining sciences. People come here to participate in various experiments. The Experimentarium was recently opened in Moscow. It contains about 250 scientific exhibits, and there are also sections of acoustics, magnetism, optics, electricity, mechanics, puzzles, water rooms, etc. On weekends and on holidays incredible show programs are held for visitors. In the museum you can buy gift certificates and annual membership cards for visiting. Inside the building there is a “Spherical Cinema”, in which people are placed and fascinating science films are shown to them. This museum is open on weekdays from 9.30 to 19.00 and on weekends from 10:00 to 20:00. An adult ticket costs about 550 rubles, and a child ticket costs 400 rubles.
Museum for trick lovers
In the summer of 2014 in the heart of the capital, in an area of about 1000 square meters. m opened the Museum of Illusions. In Moscow, there were no analogues before. It is created in 3D. It uses eternal themes: death and life, love and horror, fear and joy, etc. This museum will be interesting to everyone, without exception: to children, and young and more mature visitors. At the very end, guests get unusual bright pictures that can become an ornament for their home or office. A particularly spectacular sight is the creation of a three-dimensional drawing, thanks to this technique it becomes possible to travel to Gulliver’s country, aboard the Titanic, etc. There are a lot of options, and everyone can choose one to their taste. Many visitors admit that after visiting this museum they remain impressed for a long time, and in order to return to reality, it takes some time.