Internet and Museums: The Polytechnic Museum launched an Internet-portal, marking its 150th anniversary

The Polytechnic Museum has prepared a special program to mark its 150th anniversary, which will be celebrated in December 2022. The portal was launched, making it possible to read the memories of visitors, watch videos and listen to the new thematic podcast. Users will also have an opportunity to learn about all events planned for adults and children to mark the anniversary.

“In the last 150 years of existence of the Polytechnic Museum, science and technologies have made a huge leap forward. During this time, over 200 thousand unique items and mechanisms, which make it possible to trace the evolution and progress of the human thought, have entered our collections. Nevertheless, the museum has already gone beyond its historical walls: one can make sure of that by attending events marking the anniversary. Exhibitions, lectures by scientists, excursions around the Open Collection, workshops, participation in scientific festivals – this is just a small part of the prepared program. The Decade of Science and Technology is currently held in Russia. Thus, it is important for residents of various regions of our country to be able to be included in the anniversary of the Polytechnic Museum. In order to do this, it is enough to visit the website 150.polymus.ru, where videos, podcasts, memories and texts, dedicated to the past, the present and the future are collected”, – Director General of the Polytechnic Museum Yelena Pronicheva said.

Visitors to the website will learn a lot of interesting facts about the Polytechnic Museum. The resource features a timeline with the main historical milestones: from the idea of the founding fathers to establish the first public museum in Moscow, the opening of the Polytechnic Exhibition in 1872, the construction of the building on Lubyanka Square until the exhibitions of the USSR times and the most recent projects. The memories of museum visitors of various eras will help to dive into the museum atmosphere: reflections of the first guests, observations of Korney Chukovsky and Yevgeny Yevtushenko, reviews of contemporaries on recent events – STEM-bachelorette, Intellectual Environment, excursions around the storage facility opened in 2014.

The website’s Media section features educational videos, audios, quizzes and articles on various topics, associated with science and technology. For example, one can watch a video telling how the museum acquired the only Russian automobile built in the pre-revolutionary times, or to listen to an informative conversation with a scientist.

This section also presents the premiere of the anniversary season – the podcast Big Audience. It reveals the history of the museum: how it was established, how it changed and what role did it play in people’s lives. Hosts will talk to the museum specialists about the ways the exhibits are preserved, which items in the museum’s collections are the rarest and what fascinating things were found while transferring the collection. All 10 episodes are available on the portal, as well as on other platforms: Yandex.Music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts. There is also featured a children’s podcast Tasya is looking for answers, recorded in the radio performance format.

The portal 150.polymus.ru provides all information about the relevant exhibitions and events of the museum. Here, one is able to sign up for sightseeing and thematic tours, learn the opening schedule of the large-scale exhibition project Life with viruses, held by the museum together with the Nacimbio Holdings of the Rostec State Corporation, in Russian cities. There is also available the schedule of the already loved by visitors Branch with a Scientist, Intellectual Environment and meetings from the cycle 100 Questions to a Scientist. During the anniversary season, new formats of the public program will be introduced – for example, Breakfasts of the Polytechnic Museum, Scientific Battles, children’s Polyquizzes.

The website’s Masterpieces of the Collection section presents a part of the large collection of unique exhibits of the Polytechnic Museum, digital copies of which are made with the support of the patron of the arts Ruslan Goryukhin. Photographs are complemented with interesting descriptions and detailed characteristics. Year 2022 will come to an end with the presentation of the anniversary publication 100 Unique Exhibits from the Collections of the Polytechnic Museum, which will include the digitized items as well.