Research Zoological Museum of Moscow State University

Zoological Museum of Moscow State University is the oldest Russian museum dedicated to zoology. It will be interesting not only for children and professional zoologists. The museum is worth visiting for everyone who wants to broaden their horizons, learn more about the fauna of our planet and just to spend time with benefit.

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Video: Zoological Museum of Moscow State University

Contents

History of the Zoological Museum

In 1755, the Moscow University was founded, where a collection of natural history objects – the so-called Natural Cabinet – began to be compiled. The collection included not only fauna specimens, but also minerals and plants. The collection grew, and soon it required a separate building. At first it was placed in the Aptekarsky House (the oldest botanical garden in Russia), and then moved to the new building of the university, where it is located to this day.

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In 1791, the Natural Cabinet was renamed a museum – this year is considered the date of its foundation. Initially, the exhibits were available only to employees and students of Moscow University, but in 1866 the museum opened its doors to all comers. By the way, this Russian museum is not only the oldest zoological museum, but also the oldest public one.

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In 1812, the entire museum building burned down during the Patriotic War – only the collections of shells and polyps survived. After that, Russian and foreign professors began to jointly restore the collection.

In 1844, it became obvious that the zoological collection occupied almost all the space of the museum, while minerals huddled in a small cubbyhole – there was almost no space left for them. For this reason, the museum management decided to separate zoology from mineralogy and divided the collection – the fauna remained in place, while the minerals moved to the Auditorium Building of the University.

What to see: halls and exhibitions

‘ Lower Hall

Upper Hall

The upper hall houses birds and mammals. Most of the exposition are skillful stuffed animals, some of which were made back in the 19th century. Most of the exhibits are arranged according to taxonomic principles, but some animals are organized into groups demonstrating the fauna of certain ecosystems.

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‘ Upper Hall
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Hall of Comparative Anatomy

It is also referred to as the Bone Hall. This room is a unique collection of exhibits from a century ago. Animal skeletons are presented here, from which you can study evolutionary morphology. The exhibits clearly demonstrate the development and change in animal anatomy.

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In addition to skeletons in the Bone Hall are alcohol preparations, from which you can consider the structure of internal organs of some animals. And, of course, sketches, diagrams and tables explaining the structure and evolution of the species represented can be found throughout the hall.

‘ Hall of Comparative Anatomy

Tickets and opening hours

‘ official website of the museum or at the ticket office.

The Zoological Museum of MSU is open from Tuesday through Sunday. The museum is open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Thursday. Every Tuesday, the Bone Room is closed to the public, and the Lower and Upper Rooms are open as usual. The last Tuesday of each month is sanitation day.

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You may have heard about free days in Moscow museums (every third Sunday of the month you can visit many Moscow museums for free). Unfortunately, this does not apply to the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University – it is not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Culture of Moscow. But here you can buy discounted tickets at a reduced cost. The privileged categories include:

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  • pensioners of the Russian Federation;
  • students of secondary and specialized secondary educational institutions;
  • students;
  • parents in large families.

Children under the age of 7 accompanied by an adult can visit the museum for free.

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How to get there

The Zoological Museum of Moscow State University is located at 6 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. This white and blue building was built in 1902. You won’t miss the entrance – it is located on the corner of the building where Nikitsky Lane intersects with Bolshaya Nikitskaya. The nearest metro stations are Okhotny Ryad and Alexandrovsky Sad. In the first case, you will have to walk along Mokhovaya Street to the south, and in the second – along Romanov Lane to the north.

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