Extraordinarily rich in various exhibition complexes, galleries, expositions and opening days, the capital of our homeland, Moscow. The Darwin Museum, located in a beautiful modern building, has its own interesting history, which is inextricably linked with the name of the doctor of biological sciences, professor Alexander Fedorovich Kots, founder and first director of the Darwin Museum.
Museum founder
The date of foundation of the exposition is 1907 - the time when A.F. Kots was invited as an assistant to the Department of Natural Sciences of Moscow Higher Women's Courses and exhibited his personal collection of stuffed animals and preparations there as visual aids.
This is considered the birth date of the future museum. In 1913, the collection donated by A.F. Kots became known as the Museum of the Evolutionary Theory of Moscow Higher Women's Courses. It should be noted that the scientist’s wife, Nadezhda Ladygina, completely sharing her husband’s ideas, gave her dowry to replenish the collection with new exhibits.
One of the most popular at all times.
In the 20s, an outstanding scientist combined lecturing in several educational institutions with the work of the director of the Moscow Zoo and the museum he founded, which in 1922 acquired its own building. In those years, many educational institutions were opened by Moscow. The Darwin Museum against the background of atheism as a state policy was especially in demand. He was never empty. Completely new times for the exposition came in 1995, when it moved to a building that was built taking into account all modern requirements. Huge areas are occupied by thousands of exhibits. Not to count what Moscow can rightfully be proud of. The Darwin Museum, its funds and exposition are the largest in Europe.
The largest in Europe
They say that in order to get acquainted with all the exhibits, not even a month is enough. This institution is called a museum-university, the approach of employees to the role and position of the institution is so serious. Numerous excursions are divided into 4 categories by age group. Lectures are scientifically substantiated, but presented in an interesting entertaining form, especially for the category of children under the age of 10 years. Guides appear in costumes appropriate to the subject, such as a harmful microbe, etc. The following categories are: high school students, high school students and adults. Each tour has its own well-designed route. In addition to the main hall, where all lectures begin, there are many thematic rooms. They also present the development of small zoologists. Several exhibits on the theory of evolution have Moscow. The Darwin Museum offers the most popular of them, which has the highest attendance ratings.
Beautiful, interesting, modern, affordable
The exposition is located in a huge building on Vavilova Street, house 57. The Darwin Museum is second only to the Polytechnic in terms of area and size of the exposition. The beautiful main building with an underground passage is connected with another exhibition complex, which hosts various opening days. The Darwin Museum (Moscow) has the most affordable prices: entrance to the main building for adults costs 200 rubles, to the exhibition complex - up to 90 rubles. Children are free. This museum is considered the most modern in Moscow. All his expositions tell both about the origin of species, the evolution of their development and settlement on our planet, and about the theory of Charles Darwin. Among thousands of exhibits, there are long-extinct animals, and representatives of the fauna of absolutely all corners of the Earth. Therefore, there are always long lines near the ticket office. It is the world's largest museum of evolution.
Another pearl
The Paleontological Museum in Moscow deserves the most enthusiastic words. He, too, is never empty and is located in a specially built building for him, the doors of which opened in 1987. In addition, this largest exhibition complex is an integral part, one of the leading links in the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The museum has exhibits taken from the Kunstkamera of Peter I. The collection of bones of prehistoric animals collected by the king, at one time moved to the Mineral Cabinet of the Academy of Sciences, where, of course, it was constantly replenished with various specimens, as a result of which the Geological Museum arose in 1925. His funds were rather mixed and needed to be divided into separate expositions. The idea was carried in the air as early as the 30s, a museum project was even developed that fully met the requirements of the time, but the war and the partial evacuation of the museum in Alma-Ata prevented it.
Museum revival
And only from the middle of the last century for 20 years, scientists and architects mastered the funds allocated by the state for the creation of the Paleontological Museum. Along with leading employees and architects, recognized designers and animal painters of the capital worked on its restoration. The building project was handled by a team led by Yu.P. Platonov. The result was wonderful - the red brick building is unique, beautiful and reminds one of a defensive medieval fortress. The courtyard is surrounded by four exhibition areas, each of which is decorated with a fortress tower. There is nothing similar in the world. Two of the above museums have something in common, because paleontology is the science of fossil organisms that existed in different geological periods, and similar exhibits are also presented in the Darwin Museum.
