The Exploration Museum is one of the largest museums in the world. The collection fund includes more than one million exhibits in exhibition halls with a total area of 3750 m 2 , which shows about 80,000 samples of rocks, minerals, minerals and representatives of rich flora and fauna.
Museum expositions
In museum displays, materials on geological objects are presented in three versions. The first block is “Regional geology”. These are thematic expositions of fossils, rocks and minerals characterizing the originality of their native land. The second block is “minerals”. Here, more attention is paid to the geological structure of the Earth, the genesis of minerals, their composition and features. The final block is Monographic Paleontology. In these halls, sightseers can see the remains of dinosaurs and get acquainted with their era of existence.
Research storehouse
In addition, the pride of the F.N. Chernyshev Geological Museum is the world's largest grinder. This is the only scientific fund for the storage of primary material in Russia. It contains more than 3,500,000 thin sections, as well as a huge fund of printing and other works in all areas of geology.
The section “Regional Geology” contains case studies of the Upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic and other formations in the territory of the Leningrad Region. The exposition consists of unique large-format rock samples with animal prints, traces of raindrops and crystals. Of particular interest are exhibits that relate to the relationship of organisms with each other in the environment, often experiencing changes in certain parameters.
Mineral exposition
In the halls of "minerals" there is a variety and multiplicity of forms characterizing different intervals of deposits from the regions of Russia and the world. An important factor is that all samples are large in size and fully preserved.
An important place is given to the presentation of geological time, diagrams and scales, as well as various aspects of geological research. Of interest to sightseers are precious and ornamental stones: amethysts, jade, malachite, rock crystal and others. As a rule, everyone wants to know the nature of the stones and the properties that are attributed to them.
Exhibition "Monographic Paleontology"
It is the most favorite section of visitors. Here are the remains of representatives of the ancient flora and fauna. Guests of the Geological Museum named after Academician F.N. Chernyshev, as the heroes of the film "Jurassic Park", will be transferred to the prehistoric atmosphere of the past and get to know all the representatives of the dinosaur era - from the small velociraptor to the huge rex tyrannosaurus. In the Geological Museum in St. Petersburg, dinosaur skeletons are not the only exhibition that visitors liked. Big is the exhibition of mammals such as mammoths and rhinos. The Geological Museum in St. Petersburg has done a great job of reconstructing skeletons and restoring the external shape of animals.
For astronomy lovers, the museum presents projects to introduce meteorites and other celestial bodies. In addition, there is a large video sequence about the origin of planet Earth and the history of its formation.
Panel "Socialism Industry"
One of the museum’s unique exhibits is the “Socialism Industry” panel, which is a rifled canvas of Russian and Florentine mosaics with jewelry stone inserts. With an area of 26.6 m 2 , the panel is an accurate physical and geographical map of the USSR on a scale of 1: 1,500,000. This exhibit is one of the visitors' favorite.
Museum Activities
The Exploration Museum of St. Petersburg is a major cultural and educational center. A feature of the institution is an educational and professionally oriented activity. The experience of employees shows that due to the reliability, visibility and accessibility of materials, information for visitors is easily digestible. The Geological Museum in St. Petersburg is a center of excursions for schoolchildren, students of lyceums, technical schools and universities. For students, the information received plays a significant role in choosing a future profession. Professional geologists will find here everything they need in the process of training and work.
The museum is also an object of interest for single visitors who, without ordering the services of a guide, will be able to easily and freely navigate in the halls. About 10,000 visitors visit the museum annually, 70% of which are sightseeing groups. More than 600 excursions are held per year, each of which lasts about an hour.
Museum today
At present, the work of the Geological Museum in St. Petersburg is aimed at creating a unified system for the formation, storage, recording and use of geological collection materials. In addition, the museum takes part in city, national and international events. It often hosts charity events, meetings of public funds and events for people with disabilities and children with disabilities.
Each year, the Geological Prospecting Museum. F.N. Chernysheva, like other major museums, takes part in the "Night at the Museum" campaigns. Employees of the institution organize a costume show and conduct exclusive tours related to the subject of geology. So, the average attendance of such events is about 8,000 people annually.
Having visited the museum, sightseers do not remain indifferent. For foreign citizens, exhibitions and excursions are good material for exploring the culture and history of our country. For residents and guests of the Northern capital, a visit to the museum will help to better know geological objects and expand their interests.
Next year, the Geological Museum of F.N. Chernyshev plans to restore some of the exhibits, as well as organize new excursions and events.
This museum is located at the address: St. Petersburg, Sredny pr., 74. Opening hours: from 10:00 to 16:00, the last Friday of the month is a sanitary day. However, before visiting it is better to call or go to the museum website.