First underground geology museum for children to open in Krylatskoye

Moscow’s first underground geology museum for children will open at Skazka (Fairytale) Park in Krylatskoye. The new educational site has been named the Magic Cave.

From the outside, it will look like a grotto. Inside, there will be a real cave with exhibition rooms draped by stalagmites and stalactites (bizarre mineral formations shaped like flowers, bulbs, coral or spirals. – mos.ru). The Magic Cave will showcase rock crystal, malachite, amethyst, quartz, limestone, sandstone and many other minerals and rocks from various parts of Russia.

Guides will take young visitors into the world of mineral riches. At the entrance, all excursionists will have to put on hard hats with flashlights, as it will be completely dark inside the cave.

“This museum for children has been created through the assistance of the Vernadsky Geology Museum. The idea is to familiarise the younger generations with geology in general and the geologist’s profession in particular,” Sergei Cherkasov, Director of the Vernadsky State Geology Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said. “The limestone and sandstone samples have been brought from the North Caucasus, the apatite ore used in the production of phosphate fertilisers came from the Kola Peninsula and the iron ore came from the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. Volcanic bombs from Kamchatka and polymetallic ores from the Urals will arrive soon.”

Excursions will be conducted daily from 10:00 am to 6:40 pm. The admission fee is 400 roubles.

Young visitors will learn how rock is excavated, what medical plaster is made from, what a stone icicle and a volcanic bomb mean, what types of rock were used in the construction of Moscow architectural monuments and much more.

“The museum will offer children a unique opportunity to find themselves in a real cave almost in the centre of Moscow, in a natural area. It is a chance to explore the world through a game, get acquainted with complex scientific information, explore ancient times and see and touch them, without leaving the city,” Head of the Moscow Department for Environmental Management and  Protection Anton Kulbachevsky said.

Incidentally, there is an open-air geology museum in the same park, with rock specimens from all over Russia on display, and a little house styled like a gnome’s home nearby. Lessons in geology and paleontology for all who wish to attend them are conducted there during weekends.    

The Skazka theme park opened in summer 2016 on the territory of the Moskvoretsky Nature Reserve in the Western Administrative Area. Its main attractions are Hasky Land, sprawling across 3.5 hectares and offering sled dog rides, a two-storey fairytale castle for quests and a year-round ferris wheel, which opened in August. Next year it will receive solar panels and will operate in energy-efficient mode.