PALEONTOLOGICAL MUSEUM 04.04.2024

The Orlov Paleontological Museum is an integral part of the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is rightfully considered one of the largest natural history museums in the world. The Museum's exposition is dedicated to the evolution of the organic world of the Earth.
The history of the Institute and the Museum dates back to the one founded in 1714. Peter I Kunstkamera, which received bones and teeth of Ice Age mammals that interested the tsar, as well as other outlandish finds. Later, the collected collections were stored in the Mineral Cabinet of the Academy of Sciences, which later became the Mineralogical Museum. By the 200th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1925, it was divided into two independent museums - the Geological and, in fact, the Mineralogical. The Geological Museum, headed by A.A.Borisyak, has a valuable collection of paleontological material. It was based on the Osteological Department and the Severo-Dvinskaya Gallery, which presented the skeletons of Permian vertebrates, extracted by Professor V.P.Amalitsky as a result of long-term excavations at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Employees of the Institute in Leningrad at the time of its foundation, the Institute possessed unique museum funds. The exposition was located in two halls with a total area of 1,500 square meters. m and was open to the public. It was planned to expand it further by collecting several large paleontological expeditions. Already in 1931, A.P.Hartman-Weinberg prepared a general plan for the Museum, which was not fully implemented due to the relocation of the Institute from Leningrad to Moscow. At that time, there were many pressing issues related to the future of the Museum. On the one hand, it was urgently necessary to find a suitable room in Moscow, on the other hand, we had to think about creating a new exhibition that meets the modern requirements of science and museum business.
The exposition of the old Museum in 1937. By the XVII session of the International Geological Congress, the Paleontological Museum was opened. It was located on a large
Kaluzhskaya Street (later renamed Leninsky Prospekt), at 16, in the premises of Count Orlov's manege. The exhibition area was originally only 700 sq. m. Nevertheless, many remarkable paleontological objects found their place in the Museum - collections of different generations of Russian paleontologists, held both in Russia and abroad.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Museum was closed, and a significant part of its collections were sent to Alma-Ata. Immediately after returning from the evacuation, the staff began to restore the exposition. In 1944, the Museum reopened its doors to the general public. At the same time, the Institute was headed by Yu.A.Orlov. Thanks to successful fieldwork and excavations, paleontological collections were constantly replenished. It was increasingly difficult to find a place in the exhibition for new interesting finds, and the cramped room became practically unsuitable for museum work. In 1954 The museum had to be closed, much to the chagrin of its staff and visitors.
The construction of a new building of the Institute and Museum Academician Yu.A.Orlov was convinced that the Museum needed its own spacious house, where its unique collections would be fully presented and would be available for study to a wide range of educated people, primarily schoolchildren and students. In 1965, after overcoming a series of years of troubles, he achieved the decision of the government of the USSR to create a new Paleontological Museum and allocate two million rubles to solve this problem.
In 1966, after the sudden death of Yu.A.Orlov, the Museum was named after him.
The project of the building was developed specifically for the Museum in GIPRONIA of the USSR Academy of Sciences by an author's team led by Yu.P.Platonov. It was approved in 1968 and subsequently awarded the USSR State Prize. However, construction began only in 1972. For almost two decades, leading researchers of the Paleontological Institute and a creative group, which included architects, design engineers, designers and the best animal artists in Moscow, worked on the creation of the new Paleontological Museum. Thanks to their joint efforts, a unique museum ensemble was created, which has no analogues in world practice. The red-brick building of the Museum in its architecture resembles an ancient fortress with a central courtyard, around which there are four exhibition areas with four adjacent towers.
The museum's website 👉 www.paleo.ru/museum/about/

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The Orlov Paleontological Museum is an integral part of the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is rightfully considered one of the largest natural history museums in the world. The Museum's exposition is dedicated to the evolution of the organic world of the Earth.
The history of the Institute and the Museum dates back to the one founded in 1714. Peter I Kunstkamera, which received bones and teeth of Ice Age mammals that interested the tsar, as well as other outlandish finds. Later, the collected collections were stored in the Mineral Cabinet of the Academy of Sciences, which later became the Mineralogical Museum. By the 200th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1925, it was divided into two independent museums - the Geological and, in fact, the Mineralogical. The Geological Museum, headed by A.A.Borisyak, has a valuable collection of paleontological material. It was based on the Osteological Department and the Severo-Dvinskaya Gallery, which presented the skeletons of Permian vertebrates, extracted by Professor V.P.Amalitsky as a result of long-term excavations at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Employees of the Institute in Leningrad at the time of its foundation, the Institute possessed unique museum funds. The exposition was located in two halls with a total area of 1,500 square meters. m and was open to the public. It was planned to expand it further by collecting several large paleontological expeditions. Already in 1931, A.P.Hartman-Weinberg prepared a general plan for the Museum, which was not fully implemented due to the relocation of the Institute from Leningrad to Moscow. At that time, there were many pressing issues related to the future of the Museum. On the one hand, it was urgently necessary to find a suitable room in Moscow, on the other hand, we had to think about creating a new exhibition that meets the modern requirements of science and museum business.
The exposition of the old Museum in 1937. By the XVII session of the International Geological Congress, the Paleontological Museum was opened. It was located on a large
Kaluzhskaya Street (later renamed Leninsky Prospekt), at 16, in the premises of Count Orlov's manege. The exhibition area was originally only 700 sq. m. Nevertheless, many remarkable paleontological objects found their place in the Museum - collections of different generations of Russian paleontologists, held both in Russia and abroad.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Museum was closed, and a significant part of its collections were sent to Alma-Ata. Immediately after returning from the evacuation, the staff began to restore the exposition. In 1944, the Museum reopened its doors to the general public. At the same time, the Institute was headed by Yu.A.Orlov. Thanks to successful fieldwork and excavations, paleontological collections were constantly replenished. It was increasingly difficult to find a place in the exhibition for new interesting finds, and the cramped room became practically unsuitable for museum work. In 1954 The museum had to be closed, much to the chagrin of its staff and visitors.
The construction of a new building of the Institute and Museum Academician Yu.A.Orlov was convinced that the Museum needed its own spacious house, where its unique collections would be fully presented and would be available for study to a wide range of educated people, primarily schoolchildren and students. In 1965, after overcoming a series of years of troubles, he achieved the decision of the government of the USSR to create a new Paleontological Museum and allocate two million rubles to solve this problem.
In 1966, after the sudden death of Yu.A.Orlov, the Museum was named after him.
The project of the building was developed specifically for the Museum in GIPRONIA of the USSR Academy of Sciences by an author's team led by Yu.P.Platonov. It was approved in 1968 and subsequently awarded the USSR State Prize. However, construction began only in 1972. For almost two decades, leading researchers of the Paleontological Institute and a creative group, which included architects, design engineers, designers and the best animal artists in Moscow, worked on the creation of the new Paleontological Museum. Thanks to their joint efforts, a unique museum ensemble was created, which has no analogues in world practice. The red-brick building of the Museum in its architecture resembles an ancient fortress with a central courtyard, around which there are four exhibition areas with four adjacent towers.
Long-term expeditionary research conducted by the Institute's staff on the territory of the former USSR, China, Mongolia and other countries allowed us to collect the richest collections of paleontological material, some of which are on display at the Museum. The four exhibition areas of the Museum, which include six halls, consistently introduce into the mysterious world of ancient animals and plants, starting from the most ancient and ending with almost modern ones. In each hall, visitors can see not only groups of organisms characteristic of a certain geological time, but also the most interesting faunal complexes.
The new Paleontological Museum is located in a picturesque corner of the southwestern outskirts of the capital, at 123 Trade Union Street. It received its first visitors in 1987. Since then, the Museum has been one of the largest scientific and educational centers in Moscow.