There are a lot of unusual museums in Novosibirsk. The USSR Museum appeal to lovers of nostalgia for the Soviet past and young people. The Sun Museum contains various images of the main star in our solar system - ancient, modern, wooden, clay, metal, talismans and amulets.
The Museum of Death continues the group of unusual museums; it presents the funerary traditions of many nations of the world. It is already on the UNESCO List and has no analogues in the world. The Roerich Museum is second only to its Moscow counterpart. The mixture of world religions, unique spiritual knowledge, beautiful art canvases and gifts from around the world - all this is presented in the museum exhibits.
There are still many interesting and unique museums in Novosibirsk where you should definitely visit in order to get to know history and culture better: the Museum of Happiness, the Toy Museum, the Museum of Siberian Birch Bark, the Museum of Water, Air Transport, the Planetarium and others.
1. Historical and architectural open-air museum in Novosibirsk
The history of the museum began in 1969, when an ethnographic expedition surveyed a wooden church in the vicinity of the abandoned city of Zashiversk in Yakutia, which struck everyone with harmony and completeness of its architectural appearance. For the sake of preserving the masterpiece, it was decided to disassemble it and transport it to Novosibirsk. But only 12 years later, a piece of land was allocated for the museum, where it was collected.
The territory of 46.5 hectares is divided into several zones where ethnographic, archeological and architectural monuments belonging to different periods of Siberian history and belonging to many peoples are exhibited. The most notable exhibit is the Church of the Savior of the Hand-to-Hand Image from Zashiversk. The classic octagon on the quadrangle with a hipped roof and a small onion with a cross is made of Siberian larch in the 17th century. For three centuries, the logs turned to stone, so the appearance of the temple remained untouched. The church has been re-consecrated; from time to time there are services in it. The oldest exhibit of the museum’s archeological zone is a flint boulder, 300 thousand years ago serving as a source of blanks for stone chopping, scrapers and knives for inhabitants of Altai caves. The stone was heated and then doused with cold water; sharp flakes were put into action.
A circle of stones standing upright is the reconstruction of the sanctuary on the Bronze Age mound. Scythian and Turkic women with belligerent mustaches look menacingly at each other. The light beige stone from Zabaikalie is decorated with Buddhist inscription in Tibetan and Old Mongolian languages “For the good of all who live on earth have been placed”. The sector of experimental archeology is quite unusual. There are exhibited reconstructions of various traps that were used by the locals when hunting for fur-bearing animals, bears and deer.
Address: st. Ionosphernaya, 6-2 / 2
2. Museum of Aviation named after A.I. Pokryshkin in Novosibirsk
In the center of Novosibirsk, on the territory of the regional branch of DOSAAF, there is a museum named after A.I. Pokryshkin. Basically, only local aviation enthusiasts know about it, and sometimes it is not easy to get there - and yet a very interesting exposition is gathered here. The place for the museum was not chosen by chance - in 1934 the Novosibirsk Aero Club was opened here, which trained several thousand pilots, aviation specialists, and then paratroopers. Training is still ongoing, though in a more peaceful way - now the club specializes in parachuting..
Alexander Pokryshkin, in whose honor the museum is named, is a truly outstanding personality. Among all the fighter pilots of the anti-Hitler coalition, he ranks second in performance. During World War II, for any pilot, every flight could be the last - the death rate in the Air Force exceeded 40%. Pokryshkin managed to make more than 600 successful sorties, a quarter of which involved direct participation in hostilities. The glorious career of one of the best pilots aces risked to end without a good start: the first aircraft shot down by Pokryshkin belonged to the USSR forces.
Address: st. Krylov, 24
3. Museum of railway equipment in Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk Museum of Railway Technology named after N. A. Akulinin is a place where you can see trains and locomotives of all time, starting from the end of the 19th century. The collection has more than 100 copies; the uniqueness of the museum is in the variety of exposure and the excellent condition of the exhibits. Most of the cars can be seen - whether it is a 1st class passenger car with an original interior or a train car from the time of the Second World War.
In the 90s of the last century, the headquarters of the locomotive economy proposed to create a museum based on the accumulated unused technology. Nikolay Akulinin, an honorary veteran of the West-Siberian railway, gave the idea to do it in Novosibirsk. After retirement, he devoted himself entirely to the creation of the exposition and became the first director of the museum. The discovery occurred in 2000 to the next day of the railway. By this time, the museum has collected more than 60 exhibits - locomotives, freight and passenger cars, travel equipment, which were subsequently restored. The exposition is based on diesel locomotives and steam locomotives of the first half of the last century, electric locomotives and electric trains of 1950-1970s, freight and passenger cars of different eras. Basically, it is a technique that worked on the West-Siberian railway.
Attention is drawn to the rich carriage of Tsarist Russia, designed for 6-8 people. Several single and double compartments with luxurious décor, a restaurant with a carved buffet and oak furniture. On the wall of the car hangs the imperial coat of arms. Grain hoppers, mixers, cisterns, a special wagon for the transport of alcohol, dumpers for livestock - the wagons were built for the needs of their time. Visitors are greatly impressed by the ambulance train and the Soviet prison wagon. Among the rare specimens is an armored car of 1898, a locomotive tank.
Address: Razyezdnaya st., 54/1
4. Museum of history and culture of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East in Novosibirskе
Contemporaries of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons hunted mammoths in Siberia and fought with cave bears, long-forgotten tribes mined ore and smelted metal, hordes of nomads rolled in Europe with avalanche, Cossack troopers chopped jails and churches, Old Believers hid in secret herts, shamans quacked under the shanty in places of power. In this land there is a lot of evidence of rich and complex life, the most interesting finds are exhibited in the Museum of History and Culture of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East.
The exposition is built on the historical and cultural principle, on the stands of 5 halls you can see objects telling about the development of civilization and spiritual culture of the peoples inhabiting Siberia and Primorye. Excursions are conducted by researchers of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Address: Zolotodolinskaya St., 4
5. Museum of World Funeral Culture in Novosibirsk
The Museum of Funeral Culture (or the Museum of Death) is perhaps the most unusual in Novosibirsk. Despite the short period of existence - from May 2012 - it is already recognized as one of the most popular sights of Siberia. Even before the exposition became available for visitors, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Mostly majestic and beautiful, sometimes scary and terrifying - this museum remains in memory for a long time. In Russia, the Museum of World Funeral Culture has no analogues.
The collection occupies two buildings near the Novosibirsk crematorium. The creators of the exhibition call their goal the preservation of the memorial culture of Russia, the disclosure of attitudes towards death in different periods of history. The museum constantly organizes exhibitions, quests, regularly participates in the “Night of Museums”.
Address: st. Voentorgovskaya, 4/16
6. Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk
The Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk is one of the numerous Roerich centers in Russia and abroad, in which you can not only see the wonderful paintings of the artist and his talented sons, but also learn more about the Living Ethics philosophy, which brought the Roerichs fame of some of the most important spiritual teachers of the 20th century. In the four halls of the museum, more than 60 canvases are represented, on which Orthodox saints and heroes of folk epics, the majestic landscapes of the Himalayas and fantastic visions of the unity of all life with Existence appear. And here you can listen to the sound of the Bell of Peace and visit the chapel of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
The history of the Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk begins in 1960, when the city art gallery received 60 canvases by his father as a gift from S. N. Roerich. According to the artist's will, they were to be presented in permanent exhibition. By the 1970s the idea of creating a separate museum has matured, and in 1974 its construction began on the principle of "popular construction". The museum was created entirely with private donations and was officially opened to the public in 2007.
Address: Communisticheskaya St., 38
7. Museum “Siberian bark” in Novosibirsk
The only birch bark museum in the world, Siberian Birch Bark, appeared in the center of Novosibirsk in the summer of 2002. Its creator, a woman with the telling name Idea Lozhkina, who originally collected a collection based on her personal archive, began to search for works by Siberian craftsmen, setting a goal to popularize the local arts and crafts. The museum was opened in an old house by the standards of Novosibirsk on Gorky Street (the former Tobizenovskaya). Erected in 1917 for a rich merchant family, this building is interesting for its decor with folk motifs and a mezzanine. In Soviet times, communal apartments were located in the house.
The museum contains works of more than 30 masters from different cities of Russia, mainly from Siberia and the Far East. There are several hundred exhibits in 7 rooms - from birch barkware and household items to religious symbols, icons and paintings, also made from this fragile material. According to the creators, the collection provides an alternative look at bark and its use in our day.
Address: st. Sverdlov, 21
8. Museum of the sun in Novosibirsk
In Novosibirsk Academgorodok there is a unique museum. Absolutely all the exhibits, and there are more than 2000, are devoted to the sun. This is the first sun museum in Russia and the world. A large part of the exhibition is a private collection of images of the sun and the solar gods of the museum’s founder, Valery Lipenkov.
In the Novosibirsk Museum of the Sun a variety of images of the sun, talismans, charms from many countries of the world, copies of archaeological finds carved from wood are collected. In short, everything that is somehow connected with the solar theme. The sun museum has been around for over 20 years. It was opened in 1992. Interestingly, the museum originated in the most ordinary children's club carving wood teen club "Sunny". First, a former employee of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences collected images of the sun and everything related to the celestial body. Soon the hobby grew into the business of the whole life of Valery Lipenkov. .
Address: st. Ivanov, 11A
9. USSR Museum in Novosibirsk
If you want to briefly return to the past, when life in the country was completely different, you can visit the Museum of the USSR in Novosibirsk. Here you can not just see how they lived in those years, but also touch it with your own hands and even use items that were in everyday use then. This place is imbued with the spirit of the past and more reminiscent of an antique shop than a museum, but this fact only adds zest to it. The museum was opened in 2009 in an old merchant house of pre-revolutionary construction and occupied several of its rooms and a basement. It became the first museum of this kind in Russia. The main goal of its creator, Idea Timofeevna Lozhkina, was the cultivation of social peace, the maintenance of cultural dialogue between the Soviet and post-Soviet generations, the preservation of the Soviet heritage and the cultivation of a respectful attitude towards Russia.
The museum houses hundreds of objects from Soviet times, the tour begins right at the entrance, where there are sleds, and old pictures and photos are hung on the walls. In the room next to it is a small military corner - on the tables and shelves are flasks, caps, an engineer shovel, and helmets. Next door is a collection of old cameras and a portable gramophone with plates, an accordion, a war survivor, a typewriter and other gizmos.
Address: st. Maxim Gorky, 16
10. Novosibirsk State Museum of Local History
The two-story building in the style of rationalistic modernity on Krasny Prospekt is the central point of the third largest city in Russia. Since the late 80s of the last century there is the City Museum of Local Lore, or rather, its historical department. On an area of more than 3000 square meters the following exhibitions are located: collections of household and religious objects of peoples living in Siberia (basement), collections telling about the history of Novosibirsk (1st floor), as well as temporary expositions (2nd floor).
Designed at the beginning of the 20th century by the architect Andrei Kryachkov, the building before the revolution served as the urban trading building of Novonikolayevsk. The 1st floor was occupied by shops, the basement was adapted for warehouses, and on the 2nd floor there were administrative premises - city government, treasury, and bank. On the top floor there was a large room for up to 1000 people. In Soviet times, the building continued to perform trade and administrative functions. Also the popular restaurant "Orbit" worked in it. For several years, the museum building was repaired and opened for visitors only at the beginning of 2016. Today it is a historical and architectural monument of Novosibirsk.
Address: Red Ave, 23
11. Novosibirsk State Art Museum
One of the most popular tourist places in the capital of Siberia is the Novosibirsk Art Museum. Opened in 1958, and in 1982 moved to the former building of the Siberian Revolutionary Committee, today it stores more than 11 thousand exhibits - outstanding works of Russian and European art. Every year there are dozens of exhibitions of various directions, many lectures, meetings and master classes are held. The massive museum building was designed by the famous Siberian architect Andrei Kryachkov (the author of the city's trade building on the same street where the City Museum of Local Lore is located today) in the mid-20s of the 20th century. Style is fashionable in those years Art Deco with Egyptian elements.
Attempts to create art gallery of Siberian artists began 30 years before the opening of the museum. Then, for this purpose, the initiative group purchased about 50 paintings by local artists; however, as a result, they had to be given to the Museum of Local Lore, only in the 60s they were in Art Museum. To achieve the opening of the museum in the rapidly developing Novosibirsk artists could only during the thaw. At first, under the exposition, only 5 rooms were allotted on the 1st floor of a residential building - 260 sq. m. Basically, these were works donated to the museum by other museum complexes - the Hermitage, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the State Historical Museum, the Pavlovsk Palace.
From 70s the museum began to search for exhibits on its own - in private collections and at exhibitions, now these works are among the most valuable. Soon, the 2nd floor of the building was given under the exposition, but for an ever-growing collection this was not enough. Through the efforts of the staff, the museum received a large building of the regional committee of the CPSU, part of which is an architectural monument. From this time begins the active exhibition activities of the Novosibirsk Art Museum.
Address: Red Ave, 5
12. Museum of happiness in Novosibirsk
In Novosibirsk there is a unique museum. There are no analogues in Russia. An amazing place where you can see a map that has sailed around the world and an umbrella that fulfills desires is called the “Museum of Happiness”. By the way, the house in which the museum is located is an architectural monument. It was built in 1910. The historical significance of the two-story wooden building is that here in 1927-1929 there a statesman, the organizer of the “Road of Life” for besieged Leningrad Alexei Kosygin lived.
Perhaps the old house, which seems to have a soul, is the perfect place for such an unusual museum. Actually, the whole museum is still one small room on the second floor. Going up the creaking wooden stairs, we find ourselves in the "hallway" of the Museum of Happiness. Here we are greeted by the sign "Welcome to the happiest museum of Russia" and children's drawings, in which the kids depicted their understanding of happiness. And another sign asks visitors before entering the museum to think about the question "What is happiness for me"? Even without going inside, you tune in to some special atmosphere. The question is banal, however, how often do we ask it ourselves in the confusion of days? The whole Museum of Happiness is a small room in which a huge number of exhibits have surprisingly been accommodated. What is just not here! Eyes scatter - to put it mildly. Now there are more than 1000 exhibits in the Museum of Happiness, and only half of them could be put on public display - the rest simply did not fit.
Address: street 1905, 13
13. Central Siberian Geological Museum in Novosibirsk
The Central Siberian Geological Museum is located in Novosibirsk. It was founded in 1958 as a small independent laboratory. Over time, Professor G.L. Pospelov suggested creating his own collection of ores and minerals. So the main exposition of the museum began to gather. The most interesting specimens are placed in a huge stone panel and paintings. Some of the largest pieces are exhibited on special pedestals. The most interesting examples are the world's largest danburite druse weighing more than 200 kilograms, five huge druse of rock crystal with a total weight of about a ton and ores of native iron found in different parts of Russia. Almost all the exhibits were collected in different years by the staff and specialists of the museum during the expeditions. About 60 exhibits are synthesized minerals - diamonds, emeralds and opals. In addition, 56 samples of meteorites are stored in the museum.
Recently, a paleontological department was created at the museum, which provided several collections of remains, which, taking into account the found micro fauna, comprise about 45,000 specimens.
Address: Ave. Akademik Koptyug, 3
Museum of the Siberian Military District History in Novosibirsk
The Museum of the History of the Siberian Military District was established with the purpose of bringing to the visitors the traditions of the Russian army, from the pre-revolutionary period to the present day, and acquaint with important historical information. The museum is located in the building of the Officers' House of the Novosibirsk garrison - a monument of architecture of the beginning of the 20th century. At the entrance to the museum, a metal stele was installed with the names of 1,255 Siberian Heroes of the Soviet Union stamped out with names. The whole museum exposition is located on the territory of six rooms with a total area of about 600 square meters.
Three main halls and most of the exhibition areas are devoted to the theme of the Great Patriotic War. There are the unique originals of documents, combat awards, personal belongings and many photos of Siberian liberators. Two other halls are dedicated to the memory of the post-war days of the Siberian Military District and the valor of fellow soldiers in areas of military conflicts. On the days of military holidays, the museum team holds events in military units, military schools, meetings with war and military veterans are organized. According to tradition, at the museum, the personnel of the Novosibirsk garrison take a military oath.
Address: Ave. Red 63
15. Museum of Communications of Siberia in Novosibirsk
The Siberian Communications Museum in the center of Novosibirsk was opened by Sibirtelecom OJSC on June 21, 2005. The museum has many exhibits on the development of communications. In particular, here you can see samples of the first telephone and telegraph devices, television receivers and radio equipment, means of space communications.
There are unique collections, one of them is a collection of 22 old telephones of a Siberian collector Yu. M. Melnikov. The museum broadens the mind and helps the visitor learn more about the history of communication development, how it all began and how we came to modern achievements. The first Soviet television receiver KVN attracts special attention of visitors at the exhibition.
Address: st. Sovietskaya, 33
16. Museum of the History of Siberian Architecture named after S.N. Balandin in Novosibirsk
The Museum of the History of Siberian Architecture is one of the business cards of the Novosibirsk State University of Architecture, Design and Arts, a large scientific division, the collection of which has more than 15 thousand items. The museum is named after its founder, professor, doctor of architecture, honored architect of Russia Sergei Nikolaevich Balandin (1930-2004). The three main themes the museum is dedicated to are the history of Siberian architecture, the history of architectural education in Siberia, and the creative heritage of Siberian architects and city planners. The collection includes projects, models, photographs, scientific works, memorial objects, architectural periodicals, sculpture, stained glass windows and much more.
Of greatest interest are collections of works by students of architects from the 1920s through the 1990s, projects by the famous Siberian architect Andrei Dmitrievich Kryachkov, and the history of the largest building in Novosibirsk, the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater. A tour of the museum includes visits to the five rooms and galleries of wooden plat bands of the 1900-1910s.
Address: Red Avenue, 38
Novosibirsk Museum of Toys in Novosibirsk
The Novosibirsk Toy Museum is the only museum of its kind in the Urals. The exposition of the museum includes toys made by representatives of different cultures and schools. The presented collection introduces the history of the development of this craft, ranging from the usual hobby and ending with a full-fledged craft. Almost all the exhibits of a huge collection are made by hand. The main pride of the toy museum is a collection of dolls, assembled in all regions of Russia. Nesting dolls can be seen both factory and copyrighted, there are also works with unique designs and paintings.
For young visitors to the museum, it is possible not only to see the collection, but also to touch the toys and play with them. There is the opportunity to attend workshops on the production of toys and souvenirs. At present, there are more than 3 thousand exhibits in the Novosibirsk Toy Museum.
Address: st. Communistisheskaya, 43
18. Museum "S.M. Kirov in Siberia" in Novosibirsk
House-Museum “S. M. Kirov in Siberia” is a branch of the Novosibirsk State Museum of Local History and is located in the historical center of the city. It is visited by residents and tourists for more than 60 years. The uniqueness of the museum is that even its building itself can be called an exhibit, as it is an example of typical urban planning of the early twentieth century and from this point of view it is of interest to specialists in the field of architecture.
The first section of the house-museum exposition allows visitors to see first-hand the interiors inhabited by the city philistines of the times of the Russian revolutions, to get acquainted with the everyday life, sometimes hidden from prying eyes. The second section is devoted directly to S. M. Kirov, his personal life (among the exhibits are his belongings), revolutionary and state activities, as evidenced by numerous photographs and historical documents. Here the guide will tell about the revolutionaries of Novosibirsk, among which D. Kovalchuk, Shamshins, D. Shamshurin.
Expositions of the house-museum “S. M. Kirov in Siberia” is of interest both to historians and researchers specializing in the study of Russian revolutions, as well as to ordinary visitors who are not indifferent to the history of Russia.
Address: st. Lenin, 23
Museum of Science and Technology of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk
The Museum of Science and Technology is a museum in Novosibirsk created by Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The exhibition of the museum is devoted to the history of the development of computers that were used in the Soviet era. Here are the household appliances of the 20th century, radio equipment, photographic equipment, game consoles, the first communication devices, such as, for example, the first generation of lamp computers, which were used in the 1950s and 60s. You will be surprised at the size of this unit, because the first computers occupied half a room. There is also a 1970s Soviet era copier the size of a small cabinet and even the legendary GAZ-69. Such rarities you can hardly see anywhere else. The museum has about a thousand exhibits in the collection.
The Museum of Science and Technology was opened in 2006, and it is headed by N.N. Pokrovsky. In Museum a game-playing complex "Igrotekh" was created. This training complex is designed so that visitors show a keen interest in the exhibits of the museum and take an active part in the tasks. Although the amount of knowledge gained in the course of these "lessons" is not very large. But after participating in the game vivid impressions will remain.
Address: Detsky proezd, 15
20. City Museum of Radiation Disasters in Novosibirsk
The city public museum of radiation disasters, created by the Foundation for Assistance to Disabled People of Radiation Disasters, was opened on March 12, 2003. The museum expositions are located on an area of 131.4 square meters. Visual materials about radiation accidents and catastrophes, testing of nuclear weapons are placed in shop windows and stands, as well as on individual posters, photographs, paintings, layouts.
Visitors can familiarize themselves with various devices of radiation-chemical and dosimetric control, personal protective equipment donated to the museum by the work collective of the chemical concentrate plant. The personal documents of the Novosibirsk liquidators are widely presented: passes to the Chernobyl zone, radiation dose record cards, certificates of appreciation and acknowledgments, articles. A separate showcase for Chernobyl badges, signs, medals of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Chernobyl Union of Russia is highlighted. On the stands there are reminders and posters about the rules of behavior and protection in case of natural disasters, man-made accidents and catastrophes.
The exhibition materials located in the City Public Museum of Radiation Disasters remind you how carefully and responsibly you need to treat our planet, how professionally you need to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes and to do everything to live in a world without atomic disasters.
Address: 2nd Krasnodonsky lane, 3
21. Art Gallery on Sovietskaya in Novosibirsk
The Art Gallery on Sovietskaya is located in the Central District, ten minutes’ walk from the Ploshchad Lenina metro station. The gallery has an extensive collection of works of modern painting and decorative art. Here are held group and personal exhibitions of contemporary Siberian artists, including venerable painters who are members of the Union of Artists of Russia, as well as young, talented authors. In addition, the gallery organizes visiting workshops.
Visitors can purchase their favorite works and unique books, as well as order work from masters and artists. In addition to the paintings, the gallery has a wide selection of souvenirs: birch bark, handmade ceramics, jewelry boxes and much more.
Address: st. Sovietskaya, 8
Historical Park "Russia - my history" in Novosibirsk
On November 12, 2017, the multimedia historical park “Russia - My history” was opened in Novosibirsk. The opening of the park is the first step towards the possible creation of a whole cluster here dedicated to the history of the country, local lore and patriotic education of the younger generation.
Historical Park allows you to look at events objectively, comprehensively. It introduces the details of times and events. You can even see what the Old Russian exchange rate was, what they drank and ate in this or that era. One of the potentially popular objects is a “live” book, in which an image appears as if by magic - on empty pages.
Address: Military Town Territory, 17
