December 28, 2015 at 14:51Where to go boom on weekends and holidays in Moscow?
It is always nice to find an unexplored cool place in Moscow, weekends and holidays are the perfect time to make a list of such places. Here are my top ten places, maybe someone will improve the list in the comments:
1. Roboëlka
If you need to go out with children somewhere on holidays, the choice is obvious - Roboëlka in the falconers. A DIY performance in which actors and children make gray costumes from cardboard boxes and foam rubber, and then watch a performance about the kingdom of robots where the queen mother is struck by a virus (as I understand it) and she intrigues the princess, as a result she is thrown into the dump where she finds her a team of robots suspiciously resembling ninja turtles. You need to see this moment when the whole hall of children shouts “Restart it”, “turn the flash drive” or “do not click on this banner”. You feel very old and young again at the same time, a strange but pleasant feeling. In the end, everything turns out well, the family backup saves everyone. Well, the unexpected appearance of Santa Claus, but I did not tell you that.
Teach children to live in a world of post-apocalypse today, when robots come to power they will be ready. In addition to the performance, there are also a lot of playgrounds, a workshop and two real Tesla coils, and even lightsaber battles with four industrial robots at once! This is a very important point, because you should not even hope that you can get out of the roboelka without buying as many lightsabers as you can - in fact, the Roboelka is easiest to find in the park by the crowds of children fighting on lightsabers with cardboard boxes on their heads.
Tickets would also be nice to take in advance, you can immediately order a ticket to take a robo-gift, see details at www.roboelka.ru
2. Stock greenhouse of the Botanical Garden IM Tsitsin
If you have no children, but have a girlfriend or at least a girlfriend, the first place for visits -tropical greenhouse .
You can visit the old building of the greenhouse and it itself is an artifact to match the plants inside. Firstly, it is the length of a football field, it has five climatic zones. Secondly, the greenhouse was completely taken out of the German Potsdam to Moscow in 1946, therefore, on all arches, valves, numerous heating pipes and hydroponics, there are German terms smelted directly on metal. This is the most steampunk place in Moscow that you can think of. The greenhouse itself was not just “exported”, but ordered “turnkey” and bought from German botanists for currency, which helped them survive the war.
The greenhouse has mostly warm humid subtropics, so the entrance in contrast with street frost creates a fantastic impression - like a hydroponic garden on a spaceship. But much more interesting are the plants collected here. Behind each of the two hundred species there is an interesting story, you can learn it by going on an excursion - guides are professional nerds who know much more than they say but are always ready to answer questions and delve into the topic. For example, when did the seeds (sunflower) appear? Before or after potatoes?
The sunflower was also brought to Europe from America, but without much success. Francisco Pizarro discovered him in Tavantinsuyu (Peru), where the locals revered the image of sunflower as a symbol of the sun deity - Inti. Golden statues of this flower, as well as seeds, were delivered to Europe and sown in 1510 in the Madrid Botanical Garden. But unlike corn, tomatoes and potatoes, the sunflower was a wild, insufficiently cultivated and productive plant; therefore, it was rather perceived as an ornamental plant, well, you can still seed the seeds.
Everything changed in 1913. During the Stolypen reforms, Russian breeders were able to develop the first cold and disease resistant variety and sowed hundreds of hectares for the first time, which made it possible to obtain “lean oil” in industrial quantities. After the revolution, Russian varieties came to America and from there already captured the whole world.
Or a simpler example - everyone heard that jewelry is measured in carats, but this is also a plant. An ancient unit of weight of gemstones is associated with acacia seeds Ceratonia siliqua, widespread in the Mediterranean countries; the average weight of acacia seed is always stable and equal to 0.19 grams. Moreover, the word "carat" is derived from the Greek name of this plant xepatiov, which means "little horn" and is associated with the shape of the pods.
In short, prepare questions for the guides - they have a story in store for each of the two hundred plants. The subtropics in the middle of snowy Moscow are a great place for romantic walks. See the schedule of excursions in their group.
3. The Secret Museum of the Central Telegraph
It’s just impossible to get into it, only by appointment and with all the formalities, but this is the coolest technical museum in Moscow, because perhaps all communication systems from antique flare telegraphs to mobile communications are collected here. And the museum is located in the building of the central telegraph, which allows you to connect all these ancient teletypes and telexes to communication networks. All this is accompanied by an excellent excursion and collection - for example, a collection of old pre-revolutionary telegrams.
Well, in other matters, I already wrote in detail about the museum. In addition, you can always send a telegram to someone of your friends, it will be delivered by a postman on a beautiful postcard - Russia is the last country in the world where you can still send a telegram, take advantage of this opportunity very soon.
Excursions in the museum are free, only on weekdays, groups of no more than eight to ten people, you can arrange a visit to the museum by calling 8-495-504-38-11.
4. Star City
If we are talking about closed places, then we can not help but recall the star city- a bunch of museums, an astronaut training center, a copy of the MIR station, a hydrolaboratory, a planetarium, a centrifuge, and finally a MCC. For one day, you can feel like an astronaut - they are trained at all these facilities, upon arrival you may well encounter them. Well, or with the fact that they will occupy a hydrolaboratory and you just have to look at them from the side of the pool.
All this is in one place, only 25 km from Moscow, but getting into it just doesn’t work out - you need to book a tour at least five days in advance and hope that the FSB will allow you to visit. It’s almost impossible for foreigners to enter, so appreciate this privilege.
5. Monino / Cuban
There are still many geek places in the Moscow Region, for example, the Institute of High Energy Physics in Protvino, but if we are talking about the weekend, then how not to get out to the tank training ground in Kubinka or at the Monino air museum - there are dozens of cars that can be studied in detail. If you play tanks, touch them all in real life - an indescribable impression. Well, in Monino it’s the same, but with airplanes, there are many of them! The museum demonstrates the evolution of technology from the first plywood airplanes to supersonic.
You’ll have to go all day, but it's worth it - you won’t see so much equipment in one day anywhere and never.
6. Oceanarium
We will mentally return to VDNH - in addition to the greenhouse, there are a couple of worthy objects here. The largest oceanarium in Europe is anyway cool. In addition to a fascinating study of the underwater world, here you can not only see, but also touch various crustaceans - and even reach for a star, however, a sea star. But this, you know, is already something. In addition, visitors can watch shows featuring eight-meter killer whales.
Judge for yourself - on the planet there are essentially four dominant species occupying the top of their food pyramid: humans, birds, ants and whales. Now in Moscow you can chat with all four. I wanted to write here about which killer whales and whales are cool, but I’d better give you one fact - in the aquarium you have to change the program of your performance at least once every two weeks, otherwise the killer whales get bored and stop responding to the teams, and even without spectators they’re not can - miss and lower the fins. And with the audience it’s a completely different matter, but it’s better to see it once:
It’s very difficult to get to the Moskvarium - all of Moscow wants to go there now, buy tickets in advance .
7. Animation Exhibition
Cinderella and Snow White, Hulk and Spider-Man, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck - all these hand-drawn celebrities can be found at Watch Me Move. Moreover, Moscow, VDNH, pavilion No. 15 "Radio electronics and communications" is just the next line in their tour schedule. Previously, they had already managed to travel to South America and visit Rio de Janeiro, as well as to please their fans in Madrid, Detroit, Nashville and Monterrey. And do not think that this exhibition is designed exclusively for visitors of primary school age. It will be interesting to spend a couple of hours even for those who are skeptical about the art of animation. All exhibits, or rather, the characters are grouped "by interests". In one of the halls they show cartoons dedicated to the legends and myths of different countries; in the other you will meet heroes endowed with superpowers; in the third, you can get acquainted with animated films created using the latest visual effects.
8. Museum of Paleontology
One of the largest natural history museums in the world. Four exhibition areas of the museum, including six halls, are sequentially introduced into the mysterious world of ancient animals and plants, from the oldest to almost modern. All evolution is at a glance. Built at the sunset of the USSR in 1987, the museum is the best example of communist architecture, in some rooms it may seem that you are in the scenery of the Alien or Predator. Remember the scene at the predator on the ship, where there are trophy skulls on the walls? Here:
At the museumfull of skeletons, there is even the famous diplodocus of Nicholas II. Another separate joke of the paleontological museums is the “dinosaur leg”. In each such museum, paleontologists put the leg of the dinosaur that it was exactly floor to ceiling - at the visit of the president or mayor, scientists proudly demonstrate the leg stating that there are really big dinosaurs in the storerooms, but there is nowhere to put them. According to legend, this is how we got the modern museum building.
9. Museum of the Cold War in the anti-nuclear bunker on Taganka
Played Fallout? Feel the world of post-apocalypse on yourself in the very center of Moscow. Go down 50 meters underground, squint and imagine that at the height of the Caribbean crisis, but something went wrong. "GO-42" was conceived as an anti-nuclear shelter for the first persons of the USSR, located in the very center of Moscow. In 1956, the facility was commissioned. By that time, the political situation had changed, and a decision was made to deploy a long-range aviation command post at the facility. For three decades, until 1986, from the bunker, command was carried out of strategic bombers carrying nuclear weapons on their board. In October 1962, it was here that the command of strategic aviation was located and in a sense it was quite possible to shoot here "Dr. Strangelove, or how I stopped being afraid and fell in love with the atomic bomb."
I think there is no better place in Moscow for studying history than this bunker - it is itself as a historical document. There is a whole museum in the bunker , ready to offer you a dozen different excursions.
10. Comic book shop Chuk and geek
What is most important for a geek? The ironic picture on the shirt - whoever is more ironic, is steeper by geek standards. But there are no ironic T-shirt shops, so let's finish our review on a sarcastic note - there is nothing better than buying gray (and friends) as a gift for comics that are too cool even for the Internet.
Shop Chuk and Geeklocated in the center and is distinguished by the presence of the hottest new products. I will not go into details, I just notice that the store now has such a counter-cultural cool as Megahex, Maus, Fight Club 2, Guardians, Red Superman or Horde. That is why we love comics - in them you can draw what cannot be anywhere else.
There must be things that you even have to hide from your parents. PS Thanks to Varlamov and Roussos for the pictures, I took the rest on the Internet.
1. Roboëlka
If you need to go out with children somewhere on holidays, the choice is obvious - Roboëlka in the falconers. A DIY performance in which actors and children make gray costumes from cardboard boxes and foam rubber, and then watch a performance about the kingdom of robots where the queen mother is struck by a virus (as I understand it) and she intrigues the princess, as a result she is thrown into the dump where she finds her a team of robots suspiciously resembling ninja turtles. You need to see this moment when the whole hall of children shouts “Restart it”, “turn the flash drive” or “do not click on this banner”. You feel very old and young again at the same time, a strange but pleasant feeling. In the end, everything turns out well, the family backup saves everyone. Well, the unexpected appearance of Santa Claus, but I did not tell you that.
Teach children to live in a world of post-apocalypse today, when robots come to power they will be ready. In addition to the performance, there are also a lot of playgrounds, a workshop and two real Tesla coils, and even lightsaber battles with four industrial robots at once! This is a very important point, because you should not even hope that you can get out of the roboelka without buying as many lightsabers as you can - in fact, the Roboelka is easiest to find in the park by the crowds of children fighting on lightsabers with cardboard boxes on their heads.
Tickets would also be nice to take in advance, you can immediately order a ticket to take a robo-gift, see details at www.roboelka.ru
2. Stock greenhouse of the Botanical Garden IM Tsitsin
If you have no children, but have a girlfriend or at least a girlfriend, the first place for visits -tropical greenhouse .
You can visit the old building of the greenhouse and it itself is an artifact to match the plants inside. Firstly, it is the length of a football field, it has five climatic zones. Secondly, the greenhouse was completely taken out of the German Potsdam to Moscow in 1946, therefore, on all arches, valves, numerous heating pipes and hydroponics, there are German terms smelted directly on metal. This is the most steampunk place in Moscow that you can think of. The greenhouse itself was not just “exported”, but ordered “turnkey” and bought from German botanists for currency, which helped them survive the war.
The greenhouse has mostly warm humid subtropics, so the entrance in contrast with street frost creates a fantastic impression - like a hydroponic garden on a spaceship. But much more interesting are the plants collected here. Behind each of the two hundred species there is an interesting story, you can learn it by going on an excursion - guides are professional nerds who know much more than they say but are always ready to answer questions and delve into the topic. For example, when did the seeds (sunflower) appear? Before or after potatoes?
The sunflower was also brought to Europe from America, but without much success. Francisco Pizarro discovered him in Tavantinsuyu (Peru), where the locals revered the image of sunflower as a symbol of the sun deity - Inti. Golden statues of this flower, as well as seeds, were delivered to Europe and sown in 1510 in the Madrid Botanical Garden. But unlike corn, tomatoes and potatoes, the sunflower was a wild, insufficiently cultivated and productive plant; therefore, it was rather perceived as an ornamental plant, well, you can still seed the seeds.
Everything changed in 1913. During the Stolypen reforms, Russian breeders were able to develop the first cold and disease resistant variety and sowed hundreds of hectares for the first time, which made it possible to obtain “lean oil” in industrial quantities. After the revolution, Russian varieties came to America and from there already captured the whole world.
Or a simpler example - everyone heard that jewelry is measured in carats, but this is also a plant. An ancient unit of weight of gemstones is associated with acacia seeds Ceratonia siliqua, widespread in the Mediterranean countries; the average weight of acacia seed is always stable and equal to 0.19 grams. Moreover, the word "carat" is derived from the Greek name of this plant xepatiov, which means "little horn" and is associated with the shape of the pods.
In short, prepare questions for the guides - they have a story in store for each of the two hundred plants. The subtropics in the middle of snowy Moscow are a great place for romantic walks. See the schedule of excursions in their group.
3. The Secret Museum of the Central Telegraph
It’s just impossible to get into it, only by appointment and with all the formalities, but this is the coolest technical museum in Moscow, because perhaps all communication systems from antique flare telegraphs to mobile communications are collected here. And the museum is located in the building of the central telegraph, which allows you to connect all these ancient teletypes and telexes to communication networks. All this is accompanied by an excellent excursion and collection - for example, a collection of old pre-revolutionary telegrams.
Well, in other matters, I already wrote in detail about the museum. In addition, you can always send a telegram to someone of your friends, it will be delivered by a postman on a beautiful postcard - Russia is the last country in the world where you can still send a telegram, take advantage of this opportunity very soon.
Excursions in the museum are free, only on weekdays, groups of no more than eight to ten people, you can arrange a visit to the museum by calling 8-495-504-38-11.
4. Star City
If we are talking about closed places, then we can not help but recall the star city- a bunch of museums, an astronaut training center, a copy of the MIR station, a hydrolaboratory, a planetarium, a centrifuge, and finally a MCC. For one day, you can feel like an astronaut - they are trained at all these facilities, upon arrival you may well encounter them. Well, or with the fact that they will occupy a hydrolaboratory and you just have to look at them from the side of the pool.
All this is in one place, only 25 km from Moscow, but getting into it just doesn’t work out - you need to book a tour at least five days in advance and hope that the FSB will allow you to visit. It’s almost impossible for foreigners to enter, so appreciate this privilege.
5. Monino / Cuban
There are still many geek places in the Moscow Region, for example, the Institute of High Energy Physics in Protvino, but if we are talking about the weekend, then how not to get out to the tank training ground in Kubinka or at the Monino air museum - there are dozens of cars that can be studied in detail. If you play tanks, touch them all in real life - an indescribable impression. Well, in Monino it’s the same, but with airplanes, there are many of them! The museum demonstrates the evolution of technology from the first plywood airplanes to supersonic.
You’ll have to go all day, but it's worth it - you won’t see so much equipment in one day anywhere and never.
6. Oceanarium
We will mentally return to VDNH - in addition to the greenhouse, there are a couple of worthy objects here. The largest oceanarium in Europe is anyway cool. In addition to a fascinating study of the underwater world, here you can not only see, but also touch various crustaceans - and even reach for a star, however, a sea star. But this, you know, is already something. In addition, visitors can watch shows featuring eight-meter killer whales.
Judge for yourself - on the planet there are essentially four dominant species occupying the top of their food pyramid: humans, birds, ants and whales. Now in Moscow you can chat with all four. I wanted to write here about which killer whales and whales are cool, but I’d better give you one fact - in the aquarium you have to change the program of your performance at least once every two weeks, otherwise the killer whales get bored and stop responding to the teams, and even without spectators they’re not can - miss and lower the fins. And with the audience it’s a completely different matter, but it’s better to see it once:
It’s very difficult to get to the Moskvarium - all of Moscow wants to go there now, buy tickets in advance .
7. Animation Exhibition
Cinderella and Snow White, Hulk and Spider-Man, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck - all these hand-drawn celebrities can be found at Watch Me Move. Moreover, Moscow, VDNH, pavilion No. 15 "Radio electronics and communications" is just the next line in their tour schedule. Previously, they had already managed to travel to South America and visit Rio de Janeiro, as well as to please their fans in Madrid, Detroit, Nashville and Monterrey. And do not think that this exhibition is designed exclusively for visitors of primary school age. It will be interesting to spend a couple of hours even for those who are skeptical about the art of animation. All exhibits, or rather, the characters are grouped "by interests". In one of the halls they show cartoons dedicated to the legends and myths of different countries; in the other you will meet heroes endowed with superpowers; in the third, you can get acquainted with animated films created using the latest visual effects.
8. Museum of Paleontology
One of the largest natural history museums in the world. Four exhibition areas of the museum, including six halls, are sequentially introduced into the mysterious world of ancient animals and plants, from the oldest to almost modern. All evolution is at a glance. Built at the sunset of the USSR in 1987, the museum is the best example of communist architecture, in some rooms it may seem that you are in the scenery of the Alien or Predator. Remember the scene at the predator on the ship, where there are trophy skulls on the walls? Here:
At the museumfull of skeletons, there is even the famous diplodocus of Nicholas II. Another separate joke of the paleontological museums is the “dinosaur leg”. In each such museum, paleontologists put the leg of the dinosaur that it was exactly floor to ceiling - at the visit of the president or mayor, scientists proudly demonstrate the leg stating that there are really big dinosaurs in the storerooms, but there is nowhere to put them. According to legend, this is how we got the modern museum building.
9. Museum of the Cold War in the anti-nuclear bunker on Taganka
Played Fallout? Feel the world of post-apocalypse on yourself in the very center of Moscow. Go down 50 meters underground, squint and imagine that at the height of the Caribbean crisis, but something went wrong. "GO-42" was conceived as an anti-nuclear shelter for the first persons of the USSR, located in the very center of Moscow. In 1956, the facility was commissioned. By that time, the political situation had changed, and a decision was made to deploy a long-range aviation command post at the facility. For three decades, until 1986, from the bunker, command was carried out of strategic bombers carrying nuclear weapons on their board. In October 1962, it was here that the command of strategic aviation was located and in a sense it was quite possible to shoot here "Dr. Strangelove, or how I stopped being afraid and fell in love with the atomic bomb."
I think there is no better place in Moscow for studying history than this bunker - it is itself as a historical document. There is a whole museum in the bunker , ready to offer you a dozen different excursions.
10. Comic book shop Chuk and geek
What is most important for a geek? The ironic picture on the shirt - whoever is more ironic, is steeper by geek standards. But there are no ironic T-shirt shops, so let's finish our review on a sarcastic note - there is nothing better than buying gray (and friends) as a gift for comics that are too cool even for the Internet.
Shop Chuk and Geeklocated in the center and is distinguished by the presence of the hottest new products. I will not go into details, I just notice that the store now has such a counter-cultural cool as Megahex, Maus, Fight Club 2, Guardians, Red Superman or Horde. That is why we love comics - in them you can draw what cannot be anywhere else.
There must be things that you even have to hide from your parents. PS Thanks to Varlamov and Roussos for the pictures, I took the rest on the Internet.