We have visited the Mining Museum of our academic partner, the Mining University, several times before, and last Saturday we embarked on a new geological adventure—we visited the Central Research Geological Exploration Museum named after Academician F.N. Chernyshev, which is part of the All-Russian Scientific Research Geological Institute named after A.P. Karpinsky (VSEGEI).

Historical background

The institute dates back to 1882, when the Geological Committee was established by decree of Alexander III. A building was constructed for it at 74 Sredny Prospekt (architect Alexander Poleshchuk). It is an example of neoclassicism: grand staircases with floating flights, columns, and arcades in the spirit of Italian palazzos.

Gems of the collection

The museum's collection contains about 80,000 specimens, which occupy the entire fourth floor. Two exhibits are considered the main treasures:
The panel “Industry of Socialism” (1937) is a monumental mosaic made of jewelry and semi-precious stones. This unique map of the USSR, made of semi-precious and precious minerals, was awarded the Grand Prix at the 1937 World's Fair “Art and Technology in Modern Life” in Paris, and later received a gold medal in New York in 1939.
The skeleton of a duck-billed dinosaur, a contemporary of ancient reptiles that lived 70 million years ago (in the museum since 1925).

Minerals and ancient inhabitants

The museum's collection is truly unique. The mineral and paleontological collections are impressive: huge ammonites, mammoth and armored fish skulls, and a mosasaur jaw. The exhibition “Stone Sketches” showed minerals in an unexpected light — as associations with artistic images.