Description of the attraction
Mineralogical Museum. AE Fersman was founded in 1716 and is one of the largest in the world. The collection of the museum contains 135 thousand samples of minerals from various deposits located in Russia and abroad.
The basis of the museum's funds consists of five collections: systematic, a collection of crystals, a collection of deposits, a collection of formations and transformations, a collection of precious and ornamental stones. In the halls of the museum, you can see eighteen thematic, permanent exhibitions. They exhibit about 13 thousand samples. Exhibitions can be divided into two groups: for geologists - scientific and for a wide range of visitors - popular science.
The history of the museum is closely connected with the development of mineralogy in Russia. Almost all famous Russian mineralogists either worked in the museum, or their activities were associated with it. The core of the museum is the collection of the Mineral Cabinet of the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera, organized in 1716 by order of Peter I. For this, in Danzig (now - Gdansk) a large collection of minerals (1195 mineral samples) was purchased from Dr. Gottwald. The collection was replenished with Russian samples from Russian deposits. In 1719, the collection was exhibited for public viewing in the premises of the Kikin Chambers.
Currently, the museum is located in a building that is an architectural monument of the early 19th century. This is the former arena of Count Orlov - Chesmensky. The original decoration of the interiors of the building - painting of ceilings and stucco moldings - has been well preserved. Since 1830, the building belonged to the imperial family and was used as a reception hall.
The name of Academician Fersman was given to the Mineralogical Museum of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1956. A lot of scientific work is being done in the museum. It is a repository of one hundred and twenty thousand mineral samples. The museum compiles card catalogs for individual minerals and their deposits. The museum has a grinding shop for minerals. The main task of the museum is the accumulation and preservation of scientific material from Russian and foreign deposits. The museum conducts research work on the samples obtained. We are constantly working on the development of various thematic exhibitions.
Since 2002, the Moscow Club of Friends of Mineralogy has been operating at the museum.
