The mysteries of the microworld will be revealed to visitors of the Nature and Ecological Museum of Polotsk

A modern digital microscope has appeared in the Nature and Ecology Museum of the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve. As the museum director Valery Lednik explained, special programs are currently being developed at the institution that will allow visitors to observe the real life of the microworld.

The Penta Viev Celestron digital microscope magnifies the studied object by 2.4 thousand times and displays the image on an LCD screen. "This equipment allows us to examine the smallest details of the surrounding world, and therefore we plan to use it for special biology classes. The topics can be very diverse - "Life in a Drop of Water" or, for example, "Home Ecology" - here you can see who lives next to humans in carpets, pillows, inhabits other everyday household items," the interlocutor shared. He added that no other museum in the region has such equipment. "Not all world museums can boast of a device of such power. The microscope became the most significant gift the museum received for its tenth anniversary, celebrated in September of this year," said Valery Lednik. The interlocutor emphasized that the museum is developing interactive work methods. "The majority of visitors are children who come with their parents on weekends or visit the museum as part of organized school groups. For active "whys," the museum has prepared a special interactive guide to the exhibition "Kaleidoscope of Mysteries and Discoveries."

"The most attentive and knowledgeable travelers who have completed the game path tasks receive commemorative prizes from the museum as a reward," he noted. Special programs "Autumn in Nature," "Mysteries of the Winter Forest," and "Safe Summer" have been developed, which are rich in visual images and sounds of nature. In addition, naturalists have the opportunity to peek into the "homes" of forest dwellers. "The 'Owl's Hollow,' which we built from cardboard but turned out very realistic, is particularly popular with our visitors. Not only children but also adults enthusiastically reach their hands inside and pull out mice, snakes, and other 'breakfast remnants' of the feathered predator," said the museum director. The National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve is a museum association with all the functions inherent in a museum and a museum-reserve. It has republican significance and regional subordination. It comprises 11 museums: the Children's Museum, the Local History Museum, the Museum of Belarusian Book Printing, the Museum-Library of Simeon of Polotsk, the Museum of Military Glory, the Museum of the History of the Architecture of St. Sophia Cathedral, the Museum-Apartment of Hero of the Soviet Union Z. Tusnolobova-Marchenko, the Museum of Traditional Hand Weaving of the Pozerie Region, the Nature and Ecological Museum, the Stationary Exhibition "A Walk along Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street," and the Art Gallery.

In 2010, the historical and cultural complex "Field of Military Glory," dedicated to the history of the Polotsk fortified region (located in the village of Gomel, Polotsk district), was included in the museum-reserve. Architectural monuments are adapted for the exhibition spaces of the main part of the museums: St. Sophia Cathedral (mid-11th - mid-18th century), the Lutheran Church (1888), the Brotherhood School (late 18th century), residential buildings on Voykov Street and Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street (19th - early 20th century), Peter I's House (1692), and the former building of the Jesuit collegium (18th century). Interestingly, the Nature and Ecological Museum is located in a water tower building. The total exhibition area of all museums in the reserve is about 4 thousand square meters.

Alena Tikhonova, BELTA.