The State Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic is located in the northern capital of Russia - the glorious city of St. Petersburg. This is not just an exhibition of the natural heritage of the two extreme points of the planet, but a whole story telling about the exploration of these latitudes, about people who discovered a lot of new things for the world, about their hard way and amazing adventures. The Museum of the Arctic and Antarctica is the northern lights, polar bears, walruses and penguins, this is the helm of the pioneer ice drift and much more.
Museum History
At the very beginning of 1937, an unusually interesting cultural and educational place was opened for Soviet citizens - the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic. You could come here at your leisure and dive headlong into the world of unusual polar snows and giant icebergs. Visitors in whole crowds willingly savored the examination of exhibits and thematic expositions.
The idea of creating such an exhibition arose in 1920, when polar explorers actively began to explore the distant northern expanses. Researchers and scientists have asked the government to establish a special museum that operates on an ongoing basis. It took the authorities a full ten years to make a decision. Only in 1930, as part of the creation of the All-Union Arctic Institute, the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic began to operate.
It was located in the premises of the St. Nicholas Church, erected by the architect Melnikov at the beginning of the 19th century. The building was reconstructed more than once and made as convenient as possible for exhibitions. Experienced polar explorers also helped to equip the museum, their experience and knowledge made it possible to make this place a truly heritage of the country and the pride of its citizens.
Location
Nowadays, the museum has gained popularity not only among compatriots, but throughout the world. Many tourists come here who like to wander through galleries and halls, photographing unusual exhibits. Finding his visitors is quite easy, because for many years the address has remained unchanged. The Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, like almost a hundred years ago, is located at the intersection of Kuznechny Lane and Marat Street. Very close to it are Nevsky Prospect, the memorial apartment of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Moscow Station. This place is suitable for you if you, having arrived in the Northern capital of Russia, want to look at something out of the ordinary and take a deep breath into the real "St. Petersburg spirit".
Since the museum is located in the same old building of the St. Nicholas Church, everything here is imbued with the spirit of religion: architecture, decoration, patterns. And only a beautiful sign at the entrance says that this is not a temple, but a secular public place. Many visitors love the wide steps that descend to the square from the upper stylobate. When the weather permits, tourists and local romantics sit down on them, who meet the sunset here.
Ticket price and schedule
To get into the snowy world of the Arctic latitudes, you need to fork out a little at the entrance. The Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, the entry price of which is quite affordable, offers various promotions for its visitors. For adults, this pleasure will cost 230 rubles. But for children and pensioners a good discount is provided, they will pay three times less - only 70 rubles. For preschool kids, large families and disabled people, admission is free. In addition, every third Thursday of the month, freely, without entrance fees, the museum opens the door for students and schoolchildren.
To have time to buy a ticket, you need to come at a maximum of 17.30. Later the ticket office will be closed. The museum itself is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Sunday, it closes an hour earlier, so the cash desk’s schedule is shifting - it is open until 16.30. Monday is a day off.
The museum looks very beautiful before the New Year holidays. Each year it is highlighted with thematic drawings: for example, large snowflakes and figures of polar bears. But the most amazing action took place in 2005, it was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the museum. Then the building was decorated with huge penguins made of papier-mâché.
Northern Way
This is one of the three thematic expositions presented here, which tells visitors the cognitive history of research on the extreme point of the Earth. Photos and models are dedicated not only to Russian, but also to foreign expeditions, which were also many. The "Northern Way" tells the story of the scientific research of polar explorers, unusual stories of Arctic navigation. Here you can see the models of their stations and tents, real clothes, scientific instruments and household items.
The steering wheel and magnetic compass of Yermak, the world's first Arctic ice drift, have long been the highlight of this part of the exhibition. They created the ship in 1988 according to the design of Vice Admiral Makarov. A special place is also given to the Chelyuskin operation, when pilots removed people from drifting ice in the Chukchi Sea. These pilots became the first heroes of the USSR. Also interesting are exhibits that reveal the history of the transarctic flight Moscow-North Pole-Seattle, which was the first of its kind. This section of the exhibition is crowned by a model of the aurora, demonstrating the nature and beauty of this natural phenomenon.
"Arctic"
Another exhibition, which is dedicated to the nature of this patch of land, with its amazing features, unusual flora and fauna. Even if you are well acquainted with this topic, you will not remain indifferent from the presented layouts. The St. Petersburg Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic (St. Petersburg) has gathered the rarest exhibits under its roof. Among them, the central place is reserved for the globe segment, on which there is a relief hypsometric map of the Northern Hemisphere. It was created on the basis of maps of academician Shokalsky, compiled by him back in 1936.
In addition, animals that have long become symbols of the Arctic are depicted here: formidable polar bears, lazy walruses, fat seals, noble reindeer and dexterous lemmings. Bird Bazaar is one of the segments filled with feathered representatives of this part of the Earth: polar owls, pink gulls, eagles and guillemots. There are also dioramas about the tundra, showing its beauty in winter and summer, as well as depicting the Strait of Matochkin Shar and the Shokalsky Glacier.
"Antarctica"
Under this name, the last, third exposition opens its doors to visitors. It is also dedicated to the flora and fauna of the continent of the same name. The kings of nature here are the beloved funny and clubfoot penguins. There are also whales, sperm whales, fur seals and elephants, seals in Antarctica. The avian world is represented by petrels, snow and Antarctic, as well as a white plover and a Cape dove.
Another part of this exhibition is devoted to various scientific studies. By the way, the Russian explorers Lazarev and Bellingshausen discovered the continent in 1820. They were also pioneers who set foot on the island of Peter the Great and the land of Alexander the Great. It is to this large-scale and significant journey that the section of the exposition is dedicated, in which you can see the first edition of the atlas about the adventures of Captain Bellingshausen in the Arctic Ocean. This collection of maps and schemes was published in 1831 in a very small print run. The Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic also shows tourists photographs of those times when these amazing journeys took place. In the pictures are the happy polar explorers, which the whole world is proud of now.
