On 15 May, VDNH will hold themed events at its Museum City sites as part of the Museums at Night campaign. The opening hours of VDNH's own museum projects, namely the Slovo and Cosmonautics and Aviation centres, the VDNH Museum and the Buran interactive museum complex, will be extended until midnight. Some of them will offer free guided tours. VDNH residents Moskvarium and the Museum of Cinema have also prepared themed programmes. VDNH visitors can also take part in free evening guided tours around the territory.
On 15 May, the Slovo and Cosmonautics and Aviation centres, the VDNH Museum and the Buran interactive museum complex will work until 12:00 a.m. as part of the Museums at Night campaign, timed to coincide with International Museum Day. The entrance to the museum spaces will be open until 11:30 p.m. The entrance to the Centre of Slavic Writing and the VDNH Museum will be free from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. As for the Cosmonautics and Aviation Centre and the Buran interactive museum complex, you will need to buy a ticket. However, visitors who sign up for free guided tours in advance will be able to enter the pavilions free of charge.
The Slovo and Cosmonautics and Aviation centres will hold free guided tours on 15 May.
The tours at the Centre of Slavic Writing, located in pavilion No. 58, start at 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. The sightseeing tour Cyrillic Script in Space and Time: From Inception to Present Day will introduce the participants to the main milestones in the history of Ancient Rus writing. They will learn about the first alphabets, Cyrillic and Glagolitic, and some of the earliest Cyrillic writings extant. Interactive exhibits will help the participants immerse themselves in the historical context: they will find themselves in a monastery cell, a zemstvo school and a printing workshop. They will also get acquainted with the oral speech of the Ancient Rus and learn about the features of the language. Visitors will also have access to special zones where they will be able to independently trace the history of letters and listen to folk and urban folklore. Advance registration is required. The number of participants is limited to 20 people per group.
The Cosmonautics and Aviation Centre will hold free guided tours at 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. During the sightseeing tour of the centre, the visitors will learn about the history of the unique pavilion, which has become one of the key symbols of VDNH. They will also see the centre's 60-metre dome from the inside and learn how the exposition inside the famous hangar changed over time. Accompanied by a tour guide, the visitors will take a trip around KB-1. Space Boulevard to discover the history of Russian cosmonautics and around KB-2. Design Bureau, whose exposition ranges from the first rockets to the future expeditions to distant planets, and will be able to dream in KB-3. The Cosmodrome of the Future after the tour. The excursionists will also be impressed by the full-size model of the famous Mir complex and will learn what its modules were called and what they were intended for. And, of course, they will hear the details of the first manned space flight in history. Attendance is free by prior registration.
To take a walk around VDNH in the evening, you can join a free sightseeing tour at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on 15 May. Sign up by following this link. The tour starts at the information centre located inside VDNH's Main Entrance Arch. It heads along the Central Alley. During the tour, the participants will be able to see the results of VDNH's large-scale revival programme and learn about the history of Russia's Main Exhibition. They will walk along the Central Alley, where 19 cultural heritage sites of federal importance are located. They will listen to interesting facts about the pavilions of the former Soviet republics and the legendary Friendship of the Peoples and Stone Flower fountains. The group will then proceed to the Square of Industry to admire the Pavilion No. 34 Space and the model of the Vostok launch vehicle. The tour will end with a visit to the Pond Zone.
On 15 May, the Moskvarium Centre of Oceanography and Marine Biology will also be open until midnight. From 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., an unusual tour guide, a robot named Aquarius, will greet the visitors in the coral reef zone of the Aquarium exposition, which is home to hundreds of marine inhabitants: lionfish, clownfish, sand eels, tropical boxfish, coral polyps, sea anemones and stonefish, the most poisonous fish in the world. Thanks to artificial intelligence and an extensive database of 12,000 Moskvarium inhabitants, the robot knows almost everything about aquatic life, so it will tell the visitors about the nightlife on the reefs and answer their questions. The robot also knows how to dance, sing, take pictures and send them via email. Moskvarium visitors will also be able to see the night glow of the corals thanks to the 'lunar' lighting. To visit the oceanarium at night, you need to purchase a ticket to the Aquarium.
Additional free mini-buses will run to and from the VDNH metro station to Moskvarium on the evening of 15 May for the convenience of visitors. The centre's visitors will be able to easily reach the complex and the metro.
For those staying at home, Moskvarium will post the themed video-tour A Night at the Oceanarium on its YouTube channel.
Entrance to the Museum of Cinema will be free throughout the 15th of May. To keep the visitors safe, the museum has introduced sessions: no more than 50 visitors can enter the exhibition space during a single session. Session schedule: from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The museum will also hold a free guided tour, film screenings, a lecture and a book presentation on 15 May. Follow this link to register for the events and see the detailed programme and rules for visitors.
This year, the Museums at Night campaign celebrates its 15th anniversary. City, federal and private museums and galleries, as well as theatres and libraries, will hold more than 250 free events on 15 and 16 May. Museums and the Future will be the main theme of the campaign events.