People living in this northern region cherish their amazingly rich nature. In 1983, a regional museum was opened in Ulan-Ude, which is the only environmental and educational museum of nature throughout Siberia and the Far East.
The main mission of the Museum of Nature of Buryatia in the city of Ulan-Ude is to educate the population in terms of ecology.
General information about Buryatia
The Republic occupies the southern part of Eastern Siberia. It is located along the east coast of the lake. Baikal and has an elongated shape in the direction from the northeast to the southwest. In the south, it borders on Mongolia, and in the east and west, respectively, on the Chita and Irkutsk regions.
For comparison, it should be noted that the territory of Buryatia (351 thousand sq. km) is almost the same as that of Germany. The indigenous people are Buryats, but Russians are the largest.
It is not for nothing that the Museum of Nature of Buryatia was created in this corner of Siberia (photo later in the article). One of the most beautiful regions of Eastern Siberia is a delightful land of steppes and mountains. The nature of these places is very diverse. The beauty of the magnificent Lake Baikal is wonderfully combined with the snowy peaks of the majestic Sayan mountain ranges, with wide rivers and with endless expanses of taiga forests.
It is also important to note that the territory of this republic accounts for the main part (about 60%) of the coastline of Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake on Earth, which has the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a unique aquatic ecosystem with a special and unique nature management regime.
A brief history of the creation of the Museum of Nature of Buryatia in Ulan-Ude
The Environmental Education Natural Science Museum is housed in the former Public Assembly House, a two-story historic building built by Austrians (prisoners of war) during World War I.
The Decree of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR on the establishment of the Museum of Nature was issued in mid-February 1978, and in 1983 it was opened on the basis of the Department of Nature of the Museum of Local Lore (Verkhneudinsk). In 2011, he became part of the State Cultural Institution "National Museum of the Republic of Belarus".
The Museum of Nature of Buryatia is a member of the Open Museum Association, whose main mission is environmental education.
Museum Features
Museum space:
- exhibition part - 650 sq. meters;
- fund depository – 62 sq. meters;
- temporary exhibition halls - 58 sq. meters.
Total number of unitsstorage is 16,000, of which 6,437 are items of the main fund. The average annual number of visitors is 60,500 people. The number of museum employees is 35, including 13 scientists.
Exhibitions and events
The collections of the Museum of Nature of Buryatia are divided into 7 storage groups: paleontology, geology, botany, zoology, diagrams and paintings, slides and photos. It also conducts scientific research on a variety of topics.
The exposition is located in five halls and is composed by the landscape method using a very original architectural and artistic solution. The main theme is "Man and Nature", which perfectly reflects the natural we alth of Buryatia, protection, as well as the relationship between the two components of life: the natural environment and man. The central theme is the unique Lake Baikal. More than 20,000 exhibits located in the spacious halls of the Museum of Nature of Buryatia tell about the magnificent nature, diversity and richness of mineral resources, about the amazing flora and fauna, as well as about the uniqueness of the greatest Baikal.
As experience has shown, the variety of events and exhibitions created by the employees of this institution is almost inexhaustible. In the premises of the museum, scientific conferences (one or two) and environmental events are held annually, lectures are given, sightseeing tours are made. There are competitions, exhibitions (about 30) and interesting children's meetings. The latter include the following activities: classes in the children's laboratory "Window to Nature", thematic excursions,performances of the own museum theater "Soul of Baikal", traveling exhibitions "Visiting Eroshka" and many others. others
The Museum of Nature of Buryatia is the winner of the competition called "A Changing Museum in a Changing World".
Separate exhibits of the museum
The most interesting items of the museum fund:
- stuffed black crane;
- stuffed bustard;
- golden egg;
- stuffed manul cat;
- stuffed cormorant;
- stuffed small golomyanka (or golomyanka Dybovsky);
- stuffed black vulture;
- stuffed famous Przewalski's horse;
- stuffed black stork;
- fragments of a mammoth skeleton.
Reviews
The Museum of Nature of Buryatia, according to visitors' reviews, leaves a lot of positive emotions. The expositions of the museum fund allow you to better learn about the incredible we alth and features of the nature of the region. Excursions for kids and schoolchildren are especially informative.
Pretty impressive is the beautiful large layout of Lake Baikal. An indescribable effect is achieved thanks to the original illumination from the inside. It seems that the view of the reservoir opens from space.
The general assessment of most visitors is an old, kind, very informative and interesting museum. Today it is not only a repository of valuable scientific and natural collections, but also one of the centers for environmental education of the younger generation, promotion of environmental knowledge, as well as the most visited by tourists andguests of the whole republic.
How to get to the Museum of Nature of Buryatia? Address: st. Lenina, 46. You can get there by public transport or by taxi. The following significant places of the city are located nearby: 105 meters from the shopping center "Siberia", 171 meters from the hotel "Barguzin", 380 meters from Sovetov Square.
A little about some of the wonders of nature in the region
In order to educate children and adults in patriotism and love for the Motherland, as well as respect for the natural environment, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic held a competition "Seven Wonders of Nature of Buryatia". During this event, everyone could vote for their favorite natural site. As a result, a huge amount of information was collected on 621 natural objects of value in aesthetic, ecological, historical, cultural and scientific terms.
As a result, the most amazing wonders of nature were chosen by the inhabitants of the republic.
- Mountain Barkhan-Uula, located on the territory of the Kurumkan region.
- Mount Under Baabay (territory of Zakamensky district).
- Alla river gorge (territory of Kurumkan region).
- Slyudyansky Lakes (Severobaikalsky district).
- Waterfall on the river. Shumilikha (Severobaikalsky district).
- Garga thermal springs (Kurumkan region).
- Canyon on the river. Jide (Sorgostyn Khabsagai), located in the Zakamensky district.
In conclusion
The peculiarity of the museum is that the most valuable part of the collections arenatural specimens collected in nature and then subjected to certain processing and fixation for long-term storage and further study.
It should also be noted that the interactive exhibition called "Journey to the World of Water" is especially popular among visitors, in particular among children. The event is held in the hall, which is decorated in the form of the Mir underwater vehicle. In the process of “diving” to various depths of Baikal, the youngest visitors get to know the flora and fauna of the lake, “explore” the bottom of the reservoir and the outlets of numerous hydrothermal springs.
