Zoological Museum of Moscow State University MV Lomonosov is the oldest and largest university museum in Russia. It was founded in 1791 as the Cabinet of Natural History at the Moscow Imperial University. By the end of the 19th century, the number of exhibits in its collections was so great that in order to place them according to the project of the academician of architecture K.M. Bykovsky, a special building was built on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, striking in its beauty even the most sophisticated viewer.

Museum visitors can expect an extensive exposition of about 10,000 exhibits, illustrating the diversity of the living world of the planet: these are representatives of all groups of animals, from unicellular organisms to birds and mammals. Animals are arranged in a systematic order, type by type, squad by squad, in accordance with ideas about the degree of their relationship and the course of evolution. The traditional arrangement of exhibits in accordance with the natural system has been preserved, which makes it easy to navigate in any section of the collection.

Guests are greeted by the two largest exhibits located in the lobby of the museum. Near the stairs leading to the halls of the second floor, there is a skeleton of a woolly mammoth, one of the few exhibits of the Zoological Museum, which cannot formally be attributed to modern fauna. This skeleton is genuine, one of the most complete mammoth skeletons kept in natural science museums in Russia. To the right of the lobby, on the way to the Lower Hall of the Museum, there is a stuffed Indian elephant Molly, a favorite of visitors to the Moscow Zoo in the last century.

The main variety of animals, from unicellular to reptiles, is concentrated in the Lower Hall, on the ground floor of the museum. Here are exhibits of insects, lower chordates, fish, amphibians and reptiles, invertebrates, as well as showcases with the newest part of the permanent museum exhibition - the exposition of the "Hydrothermal Springs Communities".

Above it is the Upper Hall, it is entirely reserved for an exposition that tells about the diversity of birds and mammals. Most of the exhibits are located in accordance with the systematic position, but there are also separate biogroups, where animals and birds are presented in their natural habitat.

Also on the second floor is the Hall of Comparative Anatomy (the so-called Bone Hall), the exposition of which is devoted to the evolutionary morphology of vertebrates, i.e. changes in their structure in the course of historical development.

In the corridor of the second floor there is an exposition "The Zoological Museum in the history of Moscow University: collections and people", dedicated to the history of the museum from its foundation in 1791 to the present day.

The foyer and halls of the museum are decorated with more than a hundred paintings and panels by famous animal artists, whose works of art complement and illustrate groups of natural objects in their natural habitat.

The Zoological Museum of Moscow University has the status of a scientific and educational institution. Intensive scientific work is carried out in it, leading experts study various aspects of the diversity of modern animals. Experienced guides conduct guided tours and interactive activities designed for visitors of all ages. The museum has a lecture hall, where important biological information is prepared and presented in a popular form for our young guests and their parents, as well as unique popular science lectures designed for the widest audience. The museum has a circle of young naturalists in which the guys receive not only theoretical knowledge in zoology, but also regularly go to field practice. Even on weekends, the Scientific Terrarium is open with an extensive collection of live reptiles, where you can hold a live agama in your hands or feed a chameleon, and lecturers of the terrarium talk in detail about the animals presented.

Address: st. Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 6

Working mode:

The museum is open to the public from 10.00 to 18.00 (the box office is open until 17:00)

Day off - Monday

Sanitary day - the last Tuesday of each month

Ticket price:

for schoolchildren, students and pensioners - 50 rubles.

for adults - 200 rubles.

Research Zoological Museum of Lomonosov Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov is one of the oldest museums in the capital. It was founded in 1791. Initially, it was a university collection of textbooks in the natural sciences. In the future, the collection of exhibits greatly increased. To house the new collection, at the beginning of the 20th century a new building was built on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. Today the Zoological Museum in Moscow is one of the largest museums of natural history in the world. By its size in Russia, it ranks second after the St. Petersburg Zoological Museum.

You feel very comfortable in the spacious halls of the museum. It is interesting for both adults and children. The entire diversity of the living world of the planet is represented by more than 10,000 exhibits.

The exposition begins with single-celled animals, and ends with higher forms of life.

On the first floor of the museum you can see amphibians, reptiles, insects, mysterious inhabitants of the oceans. In one of the halls there is an exposition of shells. Very beautiful. I got some good photos. I was impressed by the butterflies of unusual shapes and colors.

On the second floor is the "Bone Hall". It contains the skeletons of animals of various zoological orders. It is interesting to compare the skeletons of modern animals with those that died out many thousands of years ago, such as mammoths in.

But perhaps the most interesting hall is on the second floor, where mammals from all over the world are collected.

Of course, this is not a zoo where it is interesting to watch live bears, wolves, tigers and other animals. In the zoological museum there are only stuffed animals and skeletons of animals. When studying the expositions of the museum, one should not forget that all the exhibits are a collection of manuals on the natural sciences.

The museum conducts intensive scientific work. Well-known domestic and foreign scientists cooperate with the museum. The Zoological Museum houses a huge library, which contains more than 200 thousand books and materials on biological subjects.

The museum regularly hosts tours, lectures, and a circle of young naturalists.

Museum halls

crocodiles

reticulated python

Showcase with preserved reptiles

Showcase with corals of different shapes and sizes from around the world

combed crocodile

hieroglyphic python

Gopher polyphemus. Southeastern USA

Elephant turtle. Galapagos Islands

Lobster

king crab

Strombus

newt charonia

Sea stars

Prionocidaris bispinous

Pentacrinus

Porbeagle

European sawmill

Sterlet

Siberian sturgeon

Coelacanth. The only representative of the extinct lobe-finned fish. Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa

In the lobby of the museum there is a very interesting exhibit - a stuffed Indian elephant Molly. In the post-war years, she lived in the Moscow Zoo. The world's first baby, born in captivity in August 1948, was Molly the Elephant.

Another exhibit, impressive for its size, is the skeleton of a male rare woolly mammoth. It was found in Yakutia in 1973. This is the last species of mammoth that lived on the planet. The skeleton has an interesting feature. There is a defect in one of the tusks. Most likely, during his lifetime, the animal received a serious injury to the bones of the facial part of the skull in a fight, which affected the abnormal development of the tusk. But this did not prevent the animal from living to an advanced age.

Unique picture-application "Coat of arms of the Russian Empire" (1842) made of beetles and butterflies. A personal gift from a resident of the city of Lubava (Slovenia) F.J. Schmidt to Moscow naturalists.

Museum staff

Scientist's office

Quote from Mikhail Bulgakov's "Fatal Eggs"

Comparative Anatomy Hall

Indian elephant skeleton

Skeletons of large animals are displayed side by side for comparison.

Indian rhinoceros skeleton

Display cases with skeletons of small animals

hippo skeleton

bison skeleton

Showcases with skeletons

Babirus skull with overdeveloped fangs

giraffe skeleton

Our "ancestors" according to Darwin's teachings (the origin of man from apes). Cute 🙂

Human skull. Textbook of the 19th century.

Very interesting old books and scientific papers

Lynx from the Klin district of the Moscow province. The work of F.K. Lorenz 1886

Hawk Owl. The work of F.K. Lorenz 1886

Mezhnyak (hybrid of capercaillie and black grouse). The work of F.K. Lorenz 1886

Hall of large mammals and birds. In my opinion, the most interesting.

Lama. South America, central Andes. Known only as a pet, domesticated about 4500 years ago.

Magnificent bison

Showcases with different goats and rams

Indian sambar. Hindustan, southeast Asia

Musk deer. Mountain coniferous forests of central, eastern and northeastern Asia. One of the subspecies is included in the Red Book of the USSR.

It's amazing how these stuffed animals are made, how well they are preserved.

Hippo skull (for comparison)

Forest glade with roe deer

Cupid's bow"

Mom with baby

Gorgeous horns

Boar female with cubs

reindeer

Caught a fish for lunch

Mongoose and cobras. The product of the folk craftsmen of India. A terrible sight.

I never cease to wonder how the master could make stuffed animals in motion?

Hunter with prey in his mouth

Leopard female with cubs

lion family

tiger family

beautiful pussy

Red Lynx. West of North America.

Manul. Mountain deserts and steppes of Central Asia. The species is listed in the Red Book of the USSR.

Polar she-bear with cub

hyena family

Wolf - click teeth

Brown bear

Anteater and others.

Sea leopard. Seas surrounding Antarctica.

Serious face"

goes somewhere

Frilled bird of paradise. New Guinea.

Fan bearing dove. New Guinea.

Passenger pigeon. North America. Exterminated in the late XIX - early XX centuries.

Malay Colao

Longitudinal section of the skull of a two-horned colao.

Bustard. Current male. Southern Europe, steppes of Asia, Northwest Africa. The species is included in the Red Book of the USSR.

Museum halls

Showcases with birds

Capercaillie. Forests of Eurasia.

The chick has hatched. Happy birthday! 🙂

falcon family

Flamingo

Pelicans

Herons, storks, etc.

Swan geese

Ostriches and others

Seagulls, albatrosses, etc.

Penguins

prehistoric birds

Zoological Museum of Moscow State University official site:

zmmu.msu.ru

Working mode:

The museum is open for visits from 10.00 to 18.00 (ticket office until 17.00) Thursday from 13.00 to 21.00 (ticket office until 20.00) Day off - Monday Sanitary day - the last Tuesday of each month

Ticket price:

for schoolchildren, students and pensioners - 150 rubles. for adults - 300 rubles. biolecture - 150 rubles.

Free - children under 7 years old, employees and students of Moscow State University, preferential groups of citizens.

Zoological Museum of Moscow State University on the map

Address: st. Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 6 Directions: to the metro stations "Okhotny Ryad" or "Biblioteka im. IN AND. Lenin", then on foot

Zoological Museum of Moscow State University- one of the oldest museums in the capital. It was founded in 1791 as a university collection of textbooks in the natural sciences. By the beginning of the 20th century, the collection of exhibits had grown so much that a separate building was built on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street to house it. At present, the museum is one of the largest and most representative institutions of its kind in the world and the second largest in Russia (after St. Petersburg).

In the spacious halls of the museum, visitors can see more than 10 thousand exhibits that illustrate the diversity of the living world of the planet. The expositions are built in accordance with evolutionary criteria and the international zoological classification, which makes it easy to navigate in any section of the collection. Miniature forms of life - for example, unicellular organisms, are presented in the form of dummies.

In the hall on the first floor there is a large part of the museum exhibits - from shells and insects to higher forms of life. Original dioramas provide an opportunity to see amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals in their natural habitat. One of the rooms houses an unusual exhibit that presents deep-sea life forms and ecological systems of the ocean floor.

On the second floor there is the “Bone Hall”, where the skeletons of animals of various zoological orders are collected. The "Upper Hall" is completely dedicated to the exposition, which tells about the diversity of birds and mammals. The objects of this collection are stuffed animals made by the best domestic taxidermists at the end of the 19th and throughout the 20th century. Most of the exhibits are placed in accordance with biological systematics. A number of stuffed animals are mounted as part of biogroups, which are located along the central line of the hall. The part of the exposition dedicated to birds includes several thematic showcases - "Bird's Market", "Hunting with birds of prey", "Birds of the Moscow region". Sections on birds and mammals are illustrated with information marts.

The two largest and most interesting exhibits of the museum, due to their solid size, settled in the lobby. One of them is a stuffed Indian elephant Molly, who lived in the Moscow Zoo in the post-war years. This is the first female elephant in the world, from which cubs born in captivity were obtained. The second exhibit is the skeleton of a male rare woolly mammoth - the last species of mammoths that lived on the planet. It has an interesting feature - traces of a serious fracture of the bones of the facial part of the skull. It is noticeable that the injury led to a violation of the normal growth of one of the tusks. Probably, the animal was injured in a fight, but later the bones fused, and the mammoth lived safely to an advanced age.

In addition to biological exhibits, the museum has a large collection of paintings by famous animal painters.

The Zoological Museum is famous for its library, which contains more than 200 thousand volumes of scientific literature and research on biological topics. Scientific work is carried out in the institution, well-known domestic and foreign scientists cooperate with it.

The museum hosts guided tours designed for visitors of different ages, and interactive activities for children from 4 to 15 years old. Lessons are held in the form of active communication - the guys independently complete tasks and discuss problematic issues. Seminars are accompanied by computer presentations and work with natural objects. For a better perception of information, the permanent exhibition and the educational collection of the museum are used. The museum has a circle of young naturalists, in which children not only receive theoretical knowledge in zoology, but also regularly go to field practice. The lecture hall of the museum conducts extracurricular activities for schoolchildren, it delivers unique popular science lectures designed for a wide audience.

A scientific terrarium is open on weekends - the museum has a large collection of living reptiles. Visitors can hold a live agama in their hands or feed a chameleon. The staff of the terrarium will talk about the life and habits of its inhabitants.

The cost of a visit to the museum: for adults - 300 rubles, for schoolchildren, students and pensioners - 150 rubles, a visit to a biological lecture hall - 100 rubles. For children under 7 years old, employees and students of Moscow State University, admission is free.

I propose to look at the museums of our capital not only as a repository of exhibits, but also as architectural objects. Let's start with one of the oldest - the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, located on Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 2

Building of the Zoological Museum

The official history of the Zoological Museum is usually counted from the formation of the Cabinet of Natural History in 1791. The first collection was based on donations from representatives of the Demidov dynasty, then there were gifts from Catherine the Second, Alexander the First, and Princess Dashkova. Almost the entire priceless collection perished in the fire of 1812, only a part of the sea shells was saved. Due to numerous donations, the collection was restored anew. During the 19th century, it was located in various university buildings on Nikitskaya Street, until a separate building was built specifically for the Zoological Museum in 1898-1902.

Facade of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University overlooking Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street

The author of the project was Academician of Architecture, Chief Architect of Moscow University Konstantin Mikhailovich Bykovsky. In total, on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, he built several buildings for the university. The building style of the Zoological Museum can be described as restrained eclecticism based on classicism. The first floor of the building along the entire facade is highlighted with decorative rustication, i.e. facing with square, tightly fitting stones, in this case with pyramidal surface treatment

The building has the shape of an angle in plan and is located along Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street with one branch, and along Nikitsky Lane with the other. The architect beautifully solved the problem of balancing the facades and placed the main entrance from a cut corner. Under the roof, along the entire facade of the building, there is a stucco frieze, in which, in addition to plant garlands, you can see many animals: squirrels, bats, various reptiles, herons, owls and other birds, heads of bears, hares, wolves, mountain goats and other and equids

On each of the facades of the museum there is a semicircular niche. Based on the classicist traditions in which the building was designed, I am not sure that it was supposed to have a window, as is the case now, but with a much greater degree of certainty it can be assumed that a niche was intended for a statue, most likely an allegorical one, of one of the cohorts of patron gods of science and knowledge

The building looks very curious from the courtyard: the decor of the facade is made as carefully as from the street, only it is not plastered or painted.

Interestingly, until 1953, part of the current premises of the museum was residential, there were apartments for professors of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University. Professors were visited by I. Mandelstam, M. Bulgakov, V. Kandinsky, R. Falk. It was here, within the walls of the Zoological Museum, that in 1931 Mandelstam wrote the famous: “Everything is just nonsense, sherry brandy, my angel…”. And Professor Alexei Severtsov served Bulgakov as the prototype of the famous Professor Persikov, the hero of the story "Fatal Eggs". Here, in one of the modest rooms, in the summer of 1940, Marina Tsvetaeva was sheltered with her son, who had nowhere to go after being evicted from Golitsino.

Halls of the Zoological Museum

In total, the museum has three exhibition halls on two floors. The halls are located in that part of the building that stretches along Bolshaya Nikitskaya. Along Nikitsky Lane there are offices and offices that are not accessible to visitors. In the Lower Hall, animals from unicellular to reptiles are presented; here are the most exhibits. Birds and mammals are shown in the Upper Hall. Also on the second floor there is a hall of comparative anatomy or the Bone Hall. See how spectacular the colonnade of the central aisle of the Lower Hall looks

The capitals of the columns are decorated with curls of acanthus leaves intertwined with snakes.

The old floor, lined with patterned metlakh tiles, has been preserved here. In the aisles, the tile pattern has been erased from the feet of numerous visitors, but there are well-preserved areas with a clearly readable pattern.

The upper hall immediately takes us to the era of Art Nouveau, the construction of the Eiffel Tower and the first skyscrapers, when they loved to emphasize structural elements.

Feel this rhythm of steps and railings, the laconic ornamentation of beams, the appropriateness of rivets

Staircase of the Upper Hall leading to the balconies-gallery

Along the side walls of the Upper Hall on the second floor stretch balconies-gallery, which are supported by Art Nouveau brackets.

These side balconies are not accessible to visitors, but sometimes on the Days of Museums, tourists are taken to this bridge, thrown from one wall to another

The floor in the Bone Hall is so cheerful

In the Bone Hall, one should also pay attention to the picturesque frieze on the theme of the history of the living world of the Earth. This is the work of the founder of Russian animalistics, the artist Vasily Vatagin, who worked for thirty years at the Zoological Museum and was also at the origins of the Darwin Museum

The value of V. Vatagin's work is in the exceptionally correct biological drawing, in the mastery of scientific illustration, as close as possible to the original and at the same time enriched with artistic intent. In those days, when the art and technology of photography had not yet reached its present heights, when there were no computer programs for image processing, biological drawing was practically an integral part of fundamental science. It turns out that still artistic illustrations, for example, in bird guides, are of much greater value than photographs, because very few photographs have an angle that allows you to see all the necessary identifying features.

Vatagin's works can be found in almost the entire exposition of the Zoological Museum. Huge picturesque panels depicting the life of wildlife meet visitors already in the foyer and are a real hallmark of the museum

Paintings by V. Vatagin in the lobby of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University

Funds and exposition of the Zoological Museum

It must be said right away that with the current level of transmission and preservation of the image, and with the opportunity to travel around the world, the museum exhibits do not make a stunning impression and sometimes seem primitive. But the immeasurable scientific value of the museum is determined not by its spectacle, but by the uniqueness of its funds. Only 14 thousand exhibits are presented in the halls, while the scientific funds include about 8-10 MILLION (!!!) items of storage. The collection of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University is currently the second largest in Russia (after the Zoological Institute and the Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg), and in the world it occupies approximately 13th place.

Moreover, the development of science does not diminish, but only increases the value of what has been accumulated. For example, Austrian scientists recently applied to the museum for samples brought by the Przhevalsky expedition for genetic comparison with the current inhabitants of the Asian steppes.

In the Zoological Museum, almost all exhibits are natural biological material. The museum basically does not exhibit plastic models. There are only two exceptions. This is a model of unicellular animals that cannot be seen without a microscope - radiolarians, and a cast of coelacanth - the rarest, considered extinct animal, of which there are around 100 copies in all museums of the world, and in our country there is a single copy in the Institute of Oceanology. Forms of storage include both classical - dry and wet preservation, and new ones - tissue samples for DNA analysis, various transcripts of the molecular level (genotypes, karyotypes, sequences, etc.), cryocollections, audio recordings of voices, etc. racks store hundreds of thousands of jars, vials and other vessels of thick glass with ground stoppers, additionally sealed with films of bull bladders or more modern materials. Despite all the tricks, alcohol from vials and cans gradually evaporates, so it has to be topped up regularly

Among the scientific premises there is the so-called "kozheednik" or, scientifically, "dermestarium", where animal skeletons are cleaned by leather-eater insects and where entry is prohibited even for employees. The building of the Zoological Museum has extensive cellars. In that basement, under Nikitsky Lane, there was a bomb shelter with a high degree of autonomy: airtight steel doors with bolts, like in a bunker. In the other direction, the dungeon goes towards the Kremlin, but not far: the passage is blocked with brickwork. The described basements, storages and rooms for scientists are not accessible to visitors, but then I want to tell you what you should pay attention to in the halls of the museum. Here in this narrow corridor of the second floor, do not pass by one of the most unusual exhibits

This is an image of the coat of arms of the Russian Empire, which at first glance seems to be embroidered with multi-colored beads and beads, but in fact it is lined with more than 5,500 beetles and 20 species of butterflies. This appliqué painting is almost 180 years old and was donated by the original Slovenian entomologist Ferdinand Jozsef Schmidt. In Soviet times, the coat of arms was hidden in storerooms. The picture was restored three times, picking up the lost insects of the same size and color, and if initially it consisted of specimens of the Balkan ethnofauna, now it is almost entirely of Russian species.

Not only scientific, but also historical value is a stuffed rhinoceros, or rather, a rhinoceros. The animal itself was bought in 1862 in Calcutta and transported to Moscow. They called her Semiramide, and the minister who looked after her gradually renamed her Monka. A noteworthy story is how Monka-Semiramide walked around Moscow from half a kilometer, when it was necessary to transfer her from a temporary place to a permanent one in the Zoo. The gendarmes blocked the traffic, about 20 workers gathered to keep the rhinoceros on a chain, a heavy log was also tied to the chain. But Monka ran, broke the chain and was stopped only by a piece of bread. So, having fed her about 11 kg of bread, they brought her to the Zoo. She lived there for 24 years, and after her death she presented the Zoological Museum with two exhibits: a stuffed animal in the Upper Hall and a skeleton in Kostnoy. Previously, a scarecrow stood in the aisle and there are still legends that people jumped over it - and not across, but along (!) - not only students, but also the luminaries of domestic science

In general, many inhabitants of the Moscow Zoo ended up on the museum’s exposition after death: these are giant pandas, and the Indian elephant, and the lion (a gift to I. Stalin from D. Nehru), several species of monkeys and birds

And the stuffed hippo, most likely, was made right in the exhibition hall, because due to its size it does not fit through the door leading to the hall. This exhibit was used in the film by Eldar Ryazanov "Garage" - it was on it that the "luckiest" member of the cooperative, performed by the director, slept

On my own behalf, I would advise you to pay attention to the showcase with the birds of central Russia. You will be surprised to see the species diversity of the most familiar birds to us: sparrows, tits, buntings. And here you can also find out the names of the birds that live next to us, in city squares and alleys

Everyone, of course, has their own sympathies in the animal world, but as an insect fan, I cannot help but draw your attention to butterfly stands.

In fact, out of the one and a half million species of animals on Earth known to us, up to a million are insects - so this is their planet)). Look at these handsome beetles - you just want to take them in your hands to feel their heaviness, solid cast bodies and admire the impeccable perfection of nature's creations

How to get to the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University

The official address of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University is Bolshaya Nikitskaya street, building 2 (former building 6). This is in the very center of Moscow, on the corner of Bolshaya Nikitskaya and Nikitsky lane, 6-7 minutes walk from the Okhotny Ryad metro station (exit to Tverskaya street, to the Yermolova theater):

Walk a minute longer from the stations of the Lenin Library, Aleksandrovsky Sad and Arbatskaya Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line:

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Thursday until 9 p.m., but visitors are not allowed in one hour before closing. Monday is a day off. The last Tuesday of the month is a sanitary day. Ticket price: full - 300 rubles, for schoolchildren, students, pensioners - 100 rubles.

The museum offers dozens of excursions for different ages. Their subject matter and design procedure can be found on the official website of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University. The museum has a bio-lecture room and a circle of young naturalists.

The zoological museum functioning at Moscow State University is considered the oldest and largest in the capital. Here you can get acquainted with a huge variety of all modern animals that live on our planet.

History of creation

Today, the existing zoological museum at Moscow State University is not only the largest in terms of its territory, but also the richest in terms of funds after a similar institution of a similar profile functioning at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Here are collected truly unique specimens and the richest scientific collections. The Zoological Museum of Moscow State University on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street is one of the ten largest in the world.

In 1755, according to the decree of Elizabeth Petrovna, the Moscow Imperial University was founded. Today it is known as Moscow State University. The Zoological Museum was opened thirty-six years later. However, this does not prevent us from considering it one of the oldest Russian natural science centers.

Its history dates back to 1791. It was at this time that the Cabinet of Natural History was founded at Moscow State University. The Zoological Museum was opened later on its base. Initially, the collection was replenished through private donations. The most significant was the collection from the Semyatsky cabinet and the museum of P. Demidov. Very rare specimens of animals and plants, minerals, coins, etc. were collected here. Unfortunately, almost all museum exhibits of the Imperial University were destroyed during a fire in 1812.

Miraculously, only a few rare shells of mollusks and corals survived.

branch

In the twenties, the zoological collection was separated from the partially restored cabinet. It formed the basis of the museum of the same name. The latter was placed in the former house of Pashkov, which was reconstructed into an auditorium building of Moscow State University. The zoological museum was organized according to a systematic principle. This, according to the organizers, made it possible to illustrate the entire natural evolution of animals as much as possible.

Leaders

From 1804 to 1832, the organization was headed by G. I. Fisher. He was an outstanding zoologist, a student of K. Linnaeus himself, who wrote the very first scientific works on the Russian fauna. In 1832, the first director of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University developed a project, according to which he proposed to organize the institution entrusted to him on the model of classical French, English and German counterparts. However, his proposal was not accepted.

From 1837 to 1858 the zoological museum was headed by K. F. Rul'e. Being the founder of the Russian ecological school, he paid the main attention to the domestic fauna - its study. Roulier attached great importance not only to the collection of serial materials on modern animals, but also on fossils. Thanks to this concept, by the end of the fifties of the nineteenth century, the museum had accumulated more than sixty-five thousand exhibits.

An invaluable role in the development of this institution was played by Professor A.P. Bogdanov, who led it from 1863 to 1896. It was he who divided the available funds, separated exposition, scientific and educational ones, systematized accounting work. In 1866, the exposition of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University was opened for viewing, and by the end of the nineteenth century, according to statistics, up to eight thousand people visited it annually.

Moving to a new building

At the beginning of the twentieth century, a new building was built specifically for the museum, which was headed by Professor A. Tikhomirov in those years. The project was made by Academician Bykhovsky. The new building was located at the corner of Dolgorukovsky (formerly Nikitsky) Lane and Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. It has survived to this day in its original form, without any structural changes.

In 1911, a new systematic exhibition was opened for visiting in the upper hall. In the twenties of the last century, the building on Bolshaya Nikitskaya also housed the premises for the work of employees of the Research Institute of Zoology, and since 1930 - some divisions of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University. The zoological museum was also introduced into its structure.

War years

In July 1941, the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University on Bolshaya Nikitskaya was closed for obvious reasons. Some of his scientific collections were evacuated to Ashgabat, while the rest were placed in the lower hall. Since March 1942, two halls on the second floor were reopened to the public, and after the end of the war, the lower level. The evacuated funds returned to their native land in 1943. The fifties of the last century were marked by the liberation of the museum building from the Faculty of Biology.

Halls of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University

Today, more than ten thousand exhibits are presented to visitors, illustrating the huge diversity of the animal world of our planet. In the spacious halls of the museum, the expositions are built systematically, according to evolutionary criteria and the international zoological classification. This allows visitors to easily navigate through the sections of the rich collection. Miniature life forms, for example, unicellular organisms, are represented in the museum by dummies.

The ground floor hall contains most of the exhibits, from insects and shells to higher beings. Presented in the form of original dioramas, the expositions enable visitors to see representatives of the animal world - reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds, etc. in their natural habitat. One of the rooms showcases deep-sea life forms as well as ocean floor ecosystems.

Top floor

The Zoological Museum of Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov is a three-story building. Its halls are on the first two. On the second floor is the "Bone Hall". This name was given to him due to the fact that it contains the skeletons of many animals belonging to various zoological orders. The upper hall today is completely reserved for an exposition telling about the huge variety of mammals and birds. Almost all objects of this exhibition are effigies made by the best Russian taxidermists working at the end of the nineteenth and during the twentieth century. In both halls, the exhibits are mostly placed in strict accordance with their systematic positions.

The symbol of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University is a small animal, the muskrat. It is he who is depicted on the emblem. There are so many interesting things in the museum that it is impossible to see everything in one day. One of the most recent exposures is the hydrothermal vent community. Against the background of other sections of the museum, it looks very unusual. The main object of this exposition is not a specific systematic group, but different animals that together make up a common ecosystem, which is “immersed” in the ocean. This is the only earth system of its kind, which directly owes its existence on a planetary scale to the processes taking place in the bowels of the earth.

Exhibits

A small number of stuffed animals are mounted along the central line of the upper hall. There are also themed showcases dedicated to birds - "Hunting with birds of prey", "Bird's Market", "Birds of the Moscow Region".

The Zoological Museum of Moscow State University carries out serious work, studying and systematizing knowledge about animals. Of the ten million exhibits available, only eighty percent have been exhibited. Among them there are also unique representatives of the fauna, for example, the heaviest goliath beetle, etc.

The largest and most interesting exhibits of the museum due to their solid size are presented in the lobby. One of them is a stuffed elephant, which lived in the Moscow Zoo in the post-war years. The second exhibit is the skeleton of a rare woolly mammoth - the last species that lived on the planet. It has an interesting feature - a trace of a serious fracture of the skull bone. In addition to biological exhibits, the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University has a good collection of paintings by animal artists.

Additional Information

The institution carries out active scientific work. Many well-known scientists, including foreign ones, cooperate with the museum. He has a good library, which contains more than two hundred thousand volumes of literature and research related to biological topics. The museum organizes not only excursions for visitors of different ages, but also interactive activities for children from four to fifteen years old. Lessons are conducted according to the type of active communication. Thematic children's parties are constantly held in the museum: “Bird Day”, “Russian Desman”, etc. By the way, the last animal is, as already mentioned, the symbol of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University.

On weekends, there is a scientific terrarium. The museum contains numerous living reptiles. Visitors are allowed to feed the chameleons, hold the agama in their hands, and the terrarium staff will tell you about the habits of their wards in a fascinating way. The cost of a ticket to visit the museum for adults is two hundred, and schoolchildren, students and pensioners need to pay fifty rubles.