The main types of objects of natural history exhibitions in Russian regional museums

Abstract

The article discusses the main types of objects which can be presented at a natural history exhibition and their relationship. The emphasis is on the experience of Russian regional museums, in which such exhibitions serve the task of popularizing scientific knowledge and education of respect for local nature. In regional collections, natural collections can be part of the general exhibition or separated into an independent museum. It is argued that the specifics of collecting and exhibiting samples of nature was determined already in the early stages of the formation of natural history collections. Unlike exhibitions of other profiles, the nature department can display not only natural samples, but also their reproductions. Cases of the need to use the replicas of natural samples, most typical for regional museums, are considered. The importance of painting, sculpture and photography for creating a full-fledged realistic image of the phenomena and processes of living nature or reproducing the early pages of the development of life on Earth is analyzed. The use of auxiliary material is considered, which allows to supplement the presentation of natural samples. Examples of traditional forms of auxiliary material and the possibilities of using digital technologies to enrich the exhibition with information are given.