Description of the attraction
The Colored Stone Museum is located in Monchegorsk. It was formed in 1970 at the initiative of the geologist Vladimir Nikolayevich Dava. He lived and worked in Monchegorsk in 1969-1984. Over the years, Vladimir Nikolaevich put his heart and soul into the creation and development of the museum. He wrote the books "Stones of Joy" and "Amethyst drives away dashing thoughts", which were published by the Murmansk Book Publishing House. V. N. died. Dove in 1984 and was buried in Monchegorsk.
Initially, the museum was organized for geologists, but soon they knew about it not only in the city, but also outside it. In the Murmansk region, famous for its rich mineral deposits, there are several mineralogical museums, where visitors can get acquainted with the local mineral resources. Be that as it may, the peculiarity of the Monchegorsk Museum is the presence in its exposition of samples and products from the most beautiful minerals, decorative rocks from numerous corners of Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, as well as magnificent gems of the Kola Peninsula.
The exposition of the museum, which opens it and is the "visiting card" of the Kola Peninsula, is represented by amethyst brushes: lilac, lilac, dark purple. All of them are from the Cape Ship field (in the south of the Kola Peninsula). Many rare minerals are found in the local bowels, one of which is eudialyte.
The exposition includes astrophyllite from the Khibiny Eveslogchor deposit. Sometimes its elongated needle-like, lamellar crystals create radial-radiant aggregates, the so-called astrophyllite stars or, as they are also called, the "sun of Lapland", since their color is golden-bronze, and their luster is pearlescent. The largest museum specimen is kyanite, its homeland is the western Keivy. Kyanite crystals are sky blue.
The museum displays many varieties of quartz brought from different parts of Russia and other republics. Crystals of water-transparent rock crystal compete with transparent smoky quartz, greenish-gray prase, resinous black morion. Chalcedony - hidden crystalline variations of quartz are represented by carnelian, chrysoprase, kahalong, agate.
A separate showcase in the exposition is the "Natural Picture Gallery" - drawing and landscape jasper (homeland - Altai and the Urals). Fancy patterns, evening twilight and seascapes are formed by bright contrasting (red, green, black) and delicate (pink, fawn) colors.
The collection of the Colored Stone Museum is regularly replenished, there are about 3500 items. In 2001, geologists of the Central Kola Expedition OJSC handed over to the museum for permanent storage a collection of minerals (more than 2000 samples) of Professor, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences from Leningrad I. I. Chupilina. The collection contains many rare minerals from deposits in Russia and other countries: China, Mongolia, Korea, Czech Republic, Germany, USA and so on. Museum workers are sure that this collection of the museum will be of interest to specialists and lovers of stone.
The museum is engaged in extensive exhibition work. These are both traveling exhibitions from their own funds, and stationary ones from the funds of other regional museums and private collections: samples of colored stone, products, paintings from stone chips, figurines made of natural stone by the stone-cutters of Monchegorsk.
In addition to exhibition activities, the Colored Stone Museum is engaged in scientific and educational work. His collection contains many interesting lectures for students and adults: "Natural Monuments of Murman", "Secrets of Stone Names", "Freshwater Pearls of the Kola Peninsula" and others. The Colored Stone Museum is a highlight of the city of Monchegorsk. After all, it has already been visited by over 250,000 people.
