Description of the attraction
Physicist Igor Kurchatov was called the “father” of the Soviet atomic bomb, but he himself was a supporter of the use of the atom for peaceful purposes. Igor Kurchatov was born into a poor family of a teacher and land surveyor in southern Russia, but thanks to his talent as a researcher he was able to become an academician and founded the Institute of Atomic Energy (now the Kurchatov Institute).
The life and scientific activities of the legendary Soviet physicist are presented in the memorial house-museum located in Moscow at the address: pl. Kurchatov, 46. The museum was founded in 1962 and opened in 1970 in the building where Academician Kurchatov and his family lived in 1946-1960.
The building itself was built by the architect Ivan Zholtovsky in the middle of the 19th century. The building has not undergone reconstruction, and the atmosphere of the Kurchatov family has been preserved in it.
The area of the museum is about 400 sq. meters, on which more than 25 thousand items are stored and exhibited. In addition to the personal belongings of the academician and his family members, the museum has several unique collections of photographs, documents, state awards, film materials, as well as materials dedicated to the history of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" and the history of Soviet nuclear power in general.
The museum has more than once become a platform for filming various television programs about the so-called "Atomic Project of the USSR". More than a dozen exhibits of the Kurchatov house-museum have the status of a monument of science and technology, including the academician's personal weapons, devices that he used in his scientific activities.
The museum is also engaged in the study of little-known facts of the biography of Academician Kurchatov, popularization of his scientific heritage, holding conferences and exhibitions, participated in the preparation for the publication of a six-volume collection of scientific works of the outstanding scientist.
