The article discusses various forms of local history activities to be implemented in the interaction of natural science museums and secondary schools. The practical experience of employees of the Earth Science Museum of Lomonosov Moscow State University in the field of local history is described, namely: conducting a professional development program (Summer School), thematic classes with students, and consultations on the creation of educational expositions in school museums. A thematic plan of the section “Nature of the Native land” in a school museum is given. The prerequisites for successful cooperation between natural science museums and secondary schools in the joint implementation of local history activities are substantiated.

Based on V.I. Vernadsky’s teaching of the biosphere and modern scientific data, an attempt was made to analyze the mechanisms of the dynamics of modern global processes using the example of climate changes. Possible causes of the warming, both natural and anthropogenic, observed in the last century are considered. It is shown that it is the increase in temperature that causes the increase in the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, and not vice versa, as follows from the greenhouse effect hypothesis. This seems to be the main cause for the low effectiveness of any international efforts to stabilize the climate. The course of natural processes, as well as the evolution of the biosphere as a whole, has an unstable, cyclical nature, running according to its own laws. Particular attention is paid to V.I. Vernadsky’s doctrine of the biosphere, his views on the role of reason and scientific research in solving problems inevitably arisen in the course of evolution on Earth, caused by the rapidly developing, from a historical standpoint, humanity. Scientific research is a reliable defender of both the interests of mankind and the biosphere as a whole. This was V.I. Vernadsky’s basis of his positive outlook on the future of our civilization and the biosphere.

The article presents a comparative analysis of the development of the system of protected natural areas (PNA) in China and our country. PNA in China began to form in the middle of the 20th century following the example of the USSR, that is, with the creation of nature reserves with a strict protection regime. In the late 1960s, China saw a suspension in the development of the PNA system and even its partial reorganization, which was also typical for our country a decade earlier. Since the end of the 20th century and to the present, both in Russia and China, the PNA system has been actively developing – the number of protected areas is increasing and they are being restructured in accordance with the categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The article presents an analysis of the exhibition activities of the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University as an important component of scientific and educational work, significantly expanding educational and outreach activities. In accordance with the development of science and the socio-political situation in our country and the world, the topics of exhibitions, places and methods of their holding changed. At the same time, they reflected the current aspects of the 270-year history of Moscow University as if in a mirror.

A temporary exhibition “Crimea in the works of naturalists, artists and writers” was opened in the Earth Science Museum of MSU at June 10, 2024. The exhibition is located in the so called “Naturalist’s Cabinet” (the main building of MSU, 24th floor). Its subject reflects some directions of the scientific and cultural developing of Crimea from the 18th century up to modern time. Most attention is payed to the scientists and graduates of Moscow University.

The thermal evolution of the permafrost in the sedimentary section of the Tyumen superdeep SG-6 well has been numerically reconstructed using the ICE2020 software package, which is part of the GALO flat basin modeling system. The thermal evolution of the sedimentary strata in the last 3.5 My is considered as the final stage of the basin modeling, whose formation began with continental rifting in the Late Permian. Abrupt climate changes in the late Pliocene–Holocene led to a decrease in the rock temperature by 15–20°C in the upper 1–1.5 km of the SG-6 sedimentary section. The maximum thickness of the permafrost in the study area was about 711 m, reached 2.6 Mya. The maximum thickness of the permafrost for the last ice age (23–18 thous and years ago) was 412 m, reached about 14.5 thousand years ago. According to our modeling, the modern base of the permafrost is at the depth of 311 m and is degrading with the rate about 13 m/1000 y. The results of our calculations with a database of climatic data limited to the last 50 and 100 thousand years differ markedly from the modeling results with the complete database for the last 3.5 My.

The article talks about the important role played by the rectilinear-directing mechanism in the history of world science and technology. Using the example of pantograph, an early mathematical instrument, we will trace the development of this design, unique in its simplicity, over time and show rare examples of these devices from the collection of the Museum of Bauman Moscow State Technical University. The widespread use of pantographs dates back to the 18th–19th centuries, which allows us to reveal the relationship between natural sciences (the body of knowledge about the Earth, natural objects, phenomena and processes) and engineering, purely technical disciplines, using the example of the use of these scientific instruments in the activities of naturalists and scientists and inventors. Until recently, in mechanical engineering, the use of pantograph mechanisms made it possible to solve the problems of producing parts with complex shaped surfaces on copying machines without the use of CNC systems. Nowadays, copying machines with pantographs continue to be produced, but rather for hobbies, leisure, and artistic processing of materials. The authors’ choice of the topic is dictated by the infrequent mention of such tools and mechanisms in modern Russian publications and sources.

The prevalence of the ecological approach over the historical and partly natural-historical ones in the exposition and exhibition activities of museums may have negative consequences in the perception of the population. In domestic museums, the theme of the history of environmental protection, public environmental organizations, especially youth ones, is poorly represented. Among them are nature protection squads (NPS) and their whole movement, which was most active in the 1970–1980s. Most of their archives have been lost. Therefore, the exhibition at the Voronezh Regional Local History Museum “Youth on guard of nature”, dedicated to the 50^th anniversary of NPS in Voronezh State University, can be considered unique.

From March 24 to June 5, 2023, the Voronezh Regional Local History Museum for the first time among domestic museums demonstrated an exhibition dedicated to the activities of a student public environmental organization in the 1970s–1990s. The article substantiates the uniqueness of this exhibition and the relevance of such museum expositions. It tells about its multitasking and creative solution of a number of issues of the exposition. Questions are raised about the proportionality between the ecological and historical approaches (including the history of ecological aspects of culture) in museum expositions.

The article analyzes geotourism perspectives based on natural history museums. Significant trends for the integrated development of geotourism and natural history museums are formulated. These trends allow revealing prospective views on the tourist potential of the territory. In order to clarify the geotourism development potential at the place of the Earth’s geochronological key stages, several museums were analyzed in conjunction with the geotoponyms of geological systems in the world. A geoheritage interpretation model, correlating ex situ museums and in situ objects, is developed. It includes territorial aspects and substantive formats of interpretation, depending on the target audience and the format of interaction with geoheritage. Geoheritage evaluation includes three groups of criteria (scientific, educational and geotourism), each being estimated to summarize approaches for the museum representation. The criteria are ranged according to the comparison purpose of in situ and ex situ forms. The variety of geoheritage interpretation forms allows suggesting recommendations for geotourism development. One symbolically significant way is the museumification of in situ and ex situ objects to correlate the museum network and the network of protected areas as a complex tourist infrastructure. For the Perm Region as a historically significant place of the Permian geological system discovery, the priority is to develop a complex plan to integrate the possibilities of geoheritage representation through museum forms and in the natural environment. In view of the objective scientific data, the Perm Region has no GSSP of the Permian system; therefore the role of the “symbolic stratotype” should have the Permian Period Museum as the basic object of the geotourism infrastructure and the starting point of tourist routes. The supportive role in the Permian geoheritage preservation and representation belongs to the network of municipal and university museums.

Main areas of work of the group of collections of the Earth Science Museum of MSU are reflected in the article from its inception to the present: the history of foundation, the composition of collections and the main areas of activity for acquisition, study, storage and accounting of collections. Features of the collection work in natural history museums are considered.

In the northwestern part of the Saratov Volga region, an unusually large (more than
4 m) for the region erratic boulder of an irregularly rounded polygonal shape was found, composed of Shoksha quartzite with sandstone and gravelstone interlayers. Its locality was investigated by a special expedition, the sample was removed from the parent substrate, moved more than 220 km and installed on the territory of the Saratov State Technical University named after Yu.A. Gagarin. The experience of exhibiting it on the university campus showed the effectiveness of implanting the object into the system of landscape design of the territory, turning it into one of the symbols of the university and an element of cultural space, as well as the rationality of positioning it as an original museum exhibit in the format of the Natural History Museum of the SSTU. Today, the specimen is a key element of the “ice age micropark” being developed in the open air and is thematically associated with a part of the exposition of the central hall of the Museum of Natural History of the SSTU, reflecting the Quaternary stage of the development of nature and man. In addition to excursion activities, the exhibit is used to deliver field lectures and conduct specially designed practical classes on the «foundations of geology», «historical geology», «Earth science», and other disciplines. All accompanying materials collected by the expedition are arranged in the form of a special collection of the museum’s scientific funds. Assessment of the object from the standpoint of geo-heritage allows us to propose giving it the status of a natural monument of local importance.

May of 2026 marks the 150th anniversary of the outstanding biologist and geo­grapher, theorist and historian of science, Academician, Moscow University graduate Leo S. Berg (1876–1950), who became famous during his life as the greatest ichthyologist in our country. He published numerous papers with descriptions of single fish species, as well as general monographs on the ichthyofauna of our country and its regions. He also focused on fishing, domestic aquaculture and zoogeographical zoning by ichthyofauna. The article discusses L.S. Berg’s research on palaeontology, which began during his expeditions to the Aral Sea in 1899–1906. He studied the Meso-Cenozoic deposits of the Aral coastline and their fossil fauna. Since the 1930s, Leo Berg continued his palaeoichthyological research, studying in detail the Late Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic actinopterygian and other fishes. He described a number of fossil taxa of ichthyofauna and critically revised the system of fossil agnathans and fishes. The article provides brief biographical information of L.S. Berg, one of the classics of world ichthyology in the 20th century.

The life and work of Professor Igor L. Vasilyev (1940–2019) is an illustrative example of the versatility of a? university geologist. As a native of Tambov City and a graduate from the renowned Saratov Higher Geological School during its peak (1950s–1960s), Professor Vasilyev spent the majority of his life working in Transbaikalia (Buryatia), researching Paleozoic and Proterozoic deposits in areas of hydrothermal ore genesis. Here, he put forward an original interdisciplinary concept of coevolution of synchronously developing volcanic systems and reef structures in the coastal zone of a marine basin with an output to ore formation. He worked as a researcher, a practical geologist, a teacher, and an organizer of the scientific and educational process. In the 1990s, after returning to his native Tambov City, Professor I.L. Vasilyev taught the course of engineering geology at The Technical University and actively engaged in museum work, organizing field trips and creating a set of educational collections, followed by the initial museum exhibition in the format of a geological cabinet. Currently, the museum cluster he established is being developed within the scientific and educational center “Coevolution of Geospheres Museum” of Tambov State Technical University.

Professor N.E. Zhukovsky placed strong emphasis on visual clarity in writing and explaining his scientific works, repeatedly addressing the importance of geometric representation in theoretical mechanics. Drawing on archival materials from the Museum of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the authors demonstrate that the “Russian Method of Craft Training” was built on the accumulated theoretical scientific foundation of the mid 19th century, gradually enriched by systematic collections of tools and teaching aids for each subject, and further developed through the practical work of students and their teachers. Examples of mechanisms created by Professor N.E. Zhukovsky can be found in the writings of his students and followers, in the works of Soviet scientists, and in museums of foreign universities–all of which hold high cultural value as part of our society’s scientific and pedagogical heritage. Through the case study of creating the museum replica “Hess’ Loxodromic Pendulum” based on Zhukovsky’s calculations, the article illustrates the substantial cultural potential embedded in the papers and designs of the Russian scholar. It shows how much inspiration and new scientific ideas contemporary educators and students can still draw from the now classic works of Professor Zhukovsky and his disciples. The reader will become acquainted with the principles of this scholar’s scientific and pedagogical activity—vivid examples of genuine scientific dedication by a scholar and patriot of our country.

The paper traces in stages the key trends and events in the history of the complex of scientific and educational areas which originated and developed in the Saratov Volga region largely due to the activities of V.I. Vernadsky’s students and followers. On the example of the most outstanding personalities, the influence of such personalities on features of the evolutionary dynamics of specific organizations, the city and the region is shown. Such an analysis allows us to see interregional interactions from a new perspective, the role of the region for the country, as well as to propose original scientific and educational projects for further study and popularization of V.I. Vernadsky’s heritage.

The paper is devoted to the influence of outstanding Russian scientists Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev and Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev on the formation of the views of their brilliant student Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky, his formation as a great Russian thinker and naturalist on a planetary scale, as well as their further creative interaction.

The paper provides a review of the existing common education in Russia in the context of V.I. Vernadsky’s ideas of the noösphere. An analysis was made of the compliance of the content of educational standards and exemplary educational programs for the common education school with V.I. Vernadsky’s main ideas of the noösphere.

Brief information is given about the samples of vernadite from the mineralogical collection of the Earth Science Museum, which were passed for display at the exhibition organized for the anniversary of V.I. Vernadsky. The history of the discovery and studying of vernadite and features of its chemism, modern concepts of its crystal structure, genesis as well as some practical applications are addressed. Attribution of the exhibition samples as vernadites is questionable due to the lack of information about their instrumental diagnostics.

Having started his biogeochemical studies in 1916, V.I. Vernadsky revealed that the generally accepted opinion about the origin of life from inert matter had no scientific sources. But all data of biology and paleontology indicate that all life comes from life (Francesco Redi’s principle). Vernadsky found convincing evidence of biogenesis in the state of biological space–time, which allowed him to describe the biosphere as a planetary shell, actually forming other geospheres. Vernadsky’s concept of the planetary role of living matter is currently gaining overriding and fundamental importance for all Earth sciences.

A number of interactive visitor interaction mechanisms are proposed within the format of a natural science university museum. A pilot project, tested at the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University, provides the opportunity to immerse its visitors into the main exhibition using simple VR technologies, including 3D filming of the search and recovery of future museum objects during expeditions. The content of the new exhibition, in particular, consists of appropriately processed episodes of popular science films shot by the “Floating Universities Flotilla” expedition along the Volga, Don, and Caspian regions. In addition to the regional connection to the hall’s theme, links to specific exhibits and locations are provided; video segments are dedicated to the history of the search and selection of a particular exhibit (or their series) located in the hall, as well as the specifics of the location and research area of the expedition. Thus, visitors have the opportunity to participate in a virtual field trip, whose product, in the form of exhibits, is displayed in a specific museum hall. In addition to the permanent, stationary virtual cluster, a mobile version of the project presentation has been developed, which was tested at the 2024 All-Russian Science Festival at Moscow State University. To this end, the Earth Science Museum’s portable pavilion was equipped with virtual glasses, which allow festival visitors to “go on an expedition” along the routes of the “Floating Universities Flotilla,” “visit” the find sites, participate in the discovery and recovery process, and load them onto a research vessel. The virtual project’s creators—winners of the All-Russian "Youth and Museum" competition—served as guides and companions on the virtual field route. In 2025, as part of the “Floating Universities Flotilla” scientific and educational expedition, 360° video production was conducted along a predetermined route plan through natural sites to select potential museum exhibits.

The article analyzes a collection of minerals and rocks compiled in 1911 in Yekaterinburg city in the mineralogical workshop of the Commission for the Dissemination of Natural Science Knowledge of the Ural Society of Natural Science Lovers, stored in the Museum of Scientific Heritage (Ulan-Ude city). It includes both material (stone samples) and written sources (handwritten and printed). It contains information on the history of science, education and museum work in our country in the first decades of the 20th century. The collection was compiled according to J.D. Dana’s mineralogical systematics, typical for museum practice of that period. Its geography covers mainly the Southern Urals, but individual samples were collected in other regions of the Russian Empire.
The collection box contains its catalog, as well as scraps of the newspaper “Russkoye Slovo” and a fragment of a note of 1911, confirming the dating of the collection. The autograph on the catalogue belongs to Nadezhda O. Sharakshinova, a famous folklorist, through whose family the collection came to Buryatia. A second autograph was presumably left by the Yekaterinburg merchant Pyotr I. Yarinsky (~1868–?).
The educational mineral collections of the Ural Society of Natural Science Lovers were in demand by educational institutions across the country in the first decades of the 20th century. This activity is presented in sufficient detail in archival documents and research works. However, very few such educational aids have survived in museum collections. For the Museum of Scientific Heritage, the collection is an opportunity to expand the mineral diversity and geography of its collection; a document that stands out for its historical, scientific and memorial value.

The open-air exhibition “Glaciers from the Arctic to Moscow” aims to present the interdisciplinary issues of complex cosmoglobal aspects and mechanisms of interaction between the geospheres, which are the product of climate change spanning the entire history of the planet and continuously affecting ecosystems. The exhibition is organized at the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University in collaboration with the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University as a cluster of the Youth Museum. A synthetic version of the distribution of glacial covers in the territory of the East European Plain and a version of the most commonly accepted scale of glaciations and interglaciations of the Quaternary period with the main astrochronological reference points have been specially developed and designed to be easily understood by a wide range of visitors to the exhibition. Special attention is paid to Milanković’s cycles, and original information stands have been created to reflect their work. The natural basis of the exhibition is formed by a group of different-sized erratic boulders, arranged according to the reconstructed location of the rocks that form them in their parent locations, modeling the “glacier route” on the East European Plain. By analyzing the “travel notes” in the form of systems of characteristic grooves and “tan crusts,” as well as the composition of the rocks, together with each visitor, it is possible to reconstruct the path of a particular boulder, and, with the help of information boards, to try to understand the scenario of the glacier’s development, the history of the region, and the planet as a whole. The created exhibition can be positioned as a universal conceptual and design solution for the space of a university science museum.

This article examines the anthropogenic contribution to the planet’s climate system due to thermal pollution. Despite the quantitative predominance of solar and geothermal energy in the Earth’s heat balance, anthropogenic heat impacts the planet’s most sensitive shell – the biosphere. Thermal pollution in various countries has been assessed based on specific (per unit area) energy consumption, as all energy consumed by humanity is ultimately converted into heat and released into the biosphere. Specific carbon dioxide emissions also serve as an indirect indicator (marker) of thermal pollution, as fossil fuels remain the primary energy source. Calculated correlation coefficients between thermal pollution indicators (specific energy consumption and CO2 emissions) and climate warming in various regions have revealed a low positive correlation between these indicators (0.17–0.13, respectively), which indicates thermal pollution’s contribution to global warming to be still insignificant. Thus, the current contribution of anthropogenic heat to the climate system is primarily regional, which is undoubtedly important to consider in environmental policy to prevent the negative impact of this factor on the functioning of natural ecosystems. This is especially important in the context of global warming, primarily caused by natural factors.

The article considers the origins, nature and results of influence exerted by the famous Russian female mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891) on her contemporary – Professor Nikolai Zhukovsky (1847–1921), who was an outstanding scientist in the field of mechanics and went down in history as the «father of Russian aviation». The circumstances of Professor Zhukovsky’s acquaintance with Sofia Kovalevskaya are analyzed. Based on the results of the content analysis of the epistolary heritage of S. Kovalevskaya and N. Zhukovsky, a conclusion was made about the absence of regular communication between these scientists through correspondence, despite N. Zhukovsky’s interest in the issues previously studied by S. Kovalevskaya. N. Zhukovsky’s contribution to the solution of the problem of motion of a heavy rigid body around a fixed point is analyzed, his original method used in his works on this subject is revealed. Few examples are given of N. Zhukovsky’s interest in solving other issues related to S. Kovalevskaya’s scientific interests. This article was prepared for the 175th anniversary of Sofia Kovalevskaya’s birth. Sources stored in the archival funds of the Scientific Memorial Museum of Professor Zhukovsky were used.

The article analyzes the history of the periodicals “Earth Science” and “Life of the Earth” as an important direction in the development of Russian geographical thought, which has led to the emergence of a number of prominent scholars in the fields of Russian academic geography, anthropology, ethnography, and beyond. In the longer than 130-year history of Russian-language geoscientific periodicals, these publications can be positioned as key ones. In their development, a number of stages are distinguished separately and synchronously in time, each being determined by the complex action of a number of factors (peculiarities of the situation in the country, restructuring of scientific societies in Russia, and biographical features of some outstanding scientists). The new data and original archival documents revealed during our research are valuable not only in terms of scientific novelty, but also as material for the development of scientific and educational museum and library activities.

This paper examines the hierarchical organization of principles in soil science, emphasizing their continuity with classical positions from various scientific fields and their role in integrating theory and practice. The study highlights differences in the genesis of principles, ranging from theoretical generalizations to experimentally validated propositions. Special attention is given to ideas of V.I. Vernadsky and V.V. Dokuchaev, who laid the foundations for the systemic and evolutionary-historical approaches to soil study. It is demonstrated that the scientific worldview serves as the pinnacle of this hierarchy, defining a system of generalizations, including the principles of systemicity, historicism, and the primacy of scientific approaches formulated by Academician G.V. Dobrovolsky. These principles ensure unity between theoretical and applied directions, rooted in the classical supra-conceptual ideas by V.V. Dokuchaev, whose works underpin the genetic approach to soil study. Within the hierarchy, following the scientific worldview come methodological principles neutral to specific disciplinary sections, followed by concepts, laws, and principles. For instance, N.M. Sibirtsev’s genetic principle, formulated in the 19th century, continues to define approaches to soil genesis. The paper underscores the importance of continuity, showing that Dokuchaev’s principles of systemicity and historicism remain fundamental for developing new scientific leads. The hierarchical organization of principles and their intra- and interdisciplinary continuity serve as key instruments for the progress in soil science, enabling integration of diverse knowledge into a unified scientific field. The necessity for further systematization of principles, particularly in biogeochemical cycles and interdisciplinary research, and terminology harmonization to strengthen the link between theory and practice is also emphasized.

May of 2025 marks the 180th anniversary of the Siberian researcher, geologist and geo­grapher Jan Stanislaw Franciszek Czerski (1845–1892). However, he worked not only in the field of geology and geography. An important part in Czerski’s researches was works on paleontology and zoology; he is also known as an archaeologist. In 1871–1879, Czerski worked at the museum of the Siberian (Eastern Siberian) Branch of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society in Irkutsk. He studied, catalogued and significantly expanded the zoological and paleontological collections of the museum. The article provides brief information from Jan Czerski’s life. His main works on the study of modern and quaternary Siberian mammals, which laid the foundation for further research in this area, are analyzed. Czerski’s paleontological research ranks him among the outstanding palaeontologists of the second half of the 19th century.

During ten field seasons, in the format of the scientific and educational expedition “Flotilla of Floating Universities”, whose concept is based on the synthesis of science and art, many researches and educational, volunteer and publishing projects and events have been implemented in the Volga region, the Caspian region, the Don region and the Urals. The research areas of the tenth field season in 2024 (Samara–Saratov Volga region) focused on: a) stratigraphic and astrochronological analysis of sections of Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments, b) studying the role of living matter in the evolution of geoecosystems with special attention to biosimilar bodies (paleosoils, hardgrounds), c) analyzing the distribution of cosmic matter in natural environments in the zone of the “Saratov meteor shower” in 1918, and d) the history of the Great academic expeditions in the 18th century (the Volga routes of I.I. Lepekhin, P.S. Pallas, and I.P. Falk). The key scientific and educational projects were a field meeting of the RAS Commission for the Study of the Heritage of Outstanding Scientists (V.I. Vernadsky section) and a field session of the Moscow Society of Naturalists (MOIP) on the Volsk–Saratov section of the expedition’s main route.

The article provides scientific and artistic descriptions of the paintings composing the triptych “Transformation of the River Network of the Russian Plain”, namely: G.E. Satel’s “Moscow Canal” and M.A. Suzdaltsev’s “At the Construction of the Volga Hydroelectric Power Station named after V.I. Lenin” and “Tsimlyansk Reservoir (Sea)”. The creative path of the artists G.E. Satel and M.A. Suzdaltsev, the background to the creation of their joint triptych, the interaction of the acting director of the Museum Yu.K. Yefremov with these artists applying for the commission, and his opinion of the resulting paintings are considered. The connection between the triptych paintings and the natural science exposition of the hall is shown. Comparisons are made with the paintings “Ob” by I.V. Titkov and “Yenisei” by Ya.D. Romas.

The results of our research conducted at the junction of geology, speleology and archeology are presented. Every cave is considered as an integral part of the enclosing geological system. Representative examples show the nature of the interrelationships of caves with structures of the continental crust of Eurasia, Africa and North America. The research was performed within the framework of the pulsationally expanding Earth model. According to this model, at the Pleistocene–Holocene turn, our planet was bombarded by a stream of asteroids, after which it switched to a pulsed compression mode, with a sharp activation of orogeny at the Holocene beginning. At that time, caves with their Paleolithic–Neolithic cultural layers were deformed. Their deformations are considered as Holocene activation indicators.

The article traces milestones of the formation and development of sciadography in the Botanical Garden of Moscow University in the 19–20th centuries in the aspect of the history of science. In accordance with the logic of the development of scientific know­ledge, taxonomic ideas about the Umbelliferae were transformed as research methods improved. Studying of the Umbelliferae became a specialty of the Botanical Garden of Moscow University. The evolution of approaches to the construction of the system of this family of angiosperms is considered: from G.F. Hoffmann’s artificial system (early 19th century), based on comparative morphological data, to B.M. Kozo-Polyansky’s natural system (early 20th century), based on the principles of evolutionary morphology, and further, to phylogenetic systematics based on modern research methods and quantitative methods of data processing. This approach was developed by V.N. Tikhomirov and M.G. Pimenov, their colleagues and students (since the 1970s). January 2025 marks the 265th anniversary of the birth of G.F. Hoffmann (1760–1826) and the 135th anniversary of the birth of B.M. Kozo-Polyansky (1890–1957).

The article lists the meteorite samples having supplemented the collection of the Earth Science Museum over the past few years. A brief description of the meteorites, the search and find history are given. Some meteorite expeditions of the staff of the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University are briefly described.

The article presents a retrospective analysis of the development of educational and enlightenment activities in the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University named after Lomonosov from the moment of its foundation to the present. The following trends are highlighted: expansion of the forms and methods of museum pedagogy over time, introduction of interactive methods in the practice of the educational and enlightenment activities, work with various age visitor groups (from younger pupils and students to adults), as well as the use of digital methods in the educational process.

The position of the nasal sacs and nostrils, as well as some features of the brain structure in antiarchs (placoderm fishes) are analyzed, based mainly on the examples of Bothriolepis and Asterolepis. A new possible reconstruction of the olfactory system and brain in antiarchs is proposed. The paired nasal sacs are closely located to the anterior wall of the telencephalon; tracti olfactorii are absent; telencephalon is situated anterior to the diencephalon, as it was reconstructed for other placoderms; and the epiphysis process is elongated. The mesencephalon, cerebellum and medula oblongata, bearing the fossa romboidea, are placed posterior to the diencephalon in the otico-occipital part of the endocranium.

Expedition work is an important aspect of the activities of any natural science university museum, starting directly from its formation as a scientific, educational and enlightening center. As the museum structure develops, the role of such expeditions is transformed, acquiring the character of an evolutionarily necessary structural and functional mechanism. In the 75-year history of the Earth Science Museum of MSU, three main stages of expeditionary activity are distinguished. The first one is associated with the formation of the Museum in the 1950–60s and reflects, as the main task, the formation of an array of naturalia (natural objects), as well as photographic materials and works of art, which formed the basis of the exposition and collection base. The second stage is marked by targeted expeditions for specific local exhibition and research tasks, involving field collection of natural facts. At the third stage in the 21st century, the functional spectrum of the Museum’s expeditionary activities is expanding: field work, in addition to the traditional mechanism of new acquisitions, becomes an arena for positioning the Museum for the general public outside its classical space, an interactive cluster of education and popularization of science, involving various social groups in the area of the expedition’s work in museum co-creation. The Museum’s expeditions are widely reflected in popular science films and books, at “Science Festivals”, in the media space and blogosphere. These innovations have been testing in recent years in the mode of the scientific and educational expedition “Floating Universities Flotilla” in the Volga region, which has become an important resource for the implementation of the concept of a mobile network museum, as well as the formation of a youth museum as a promising interdisciplinary project of the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University.

The gallery of artistic portraits of outstanding Russian and foreign naturalists, consisting of sculptures and paintings, occupies an important place in the exposition of the Earth Science Museum at Moscow State University. The 270th anniversary of the Moscow State University named after Lomonosov and 75th anniversary of its Earth Science Museum is an occasion to turn to the activities of scientists directly related to Moscow University. The portraits of paleontologists of the 19th – first half of the 20th century, which were at the beginning of the science of fossil organisms at Moscow University, are shown in the museum halls. They have contributed to the development of this science, as well as museology at the university, and laid the foundation for modern research and teaching paleontological courses. Among them are the learners of Johann Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim (1771–1853) – Charles Roulier (1814–1858) and Grigory E. Shchurovsky (1803–1884), Vladimir O. Kovalevsky (1842–1883), Aleksei Petrovich (1854–1929) and Maria Vasilievna (1854–1938) Pavlovs, and Aleksei Alekseevich Borisyak (1872–1944). Brief biographical information of the scientists is provided. Their contribution to the development and organization of paleontological research at Moscow University is shown.

The article tells about the creation of a museum at the Institute of Developmental Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in a virtual format and about plans to open a permanent exhibition in a hall. The history of the Institute and the contribution of its outstanding employees are briefly considered.

Scientific museums in the Russian Federation, in accordance with current legislation, are switching to the collection management standard developed for the Ministry of Culture. The absolute priority of preserving museum items is a serious obstacle to the implementation of the standard, which greatly limits the possibility of their scientific examination, which is contrary to the interests of scientists. The examination of museum items, like any other use, including exhibiting, inevitably has a negative impact on their preservation. At the same time, the examination serves to increase the value of any item, its relevance for modern culture.

The methodology of scientists’ work with collections began to form in the period of antiquity. In our country, tools for processing, describing, systematizing and storing collections were formed in the 18th–19th centuries, namely in scientific museums, museums of the Academy of Sciences. Museums in the Russian Empire were part of the scientific organization system. However, after the Soviet reforms in the 1930s, museum and scientific activities were radically separated. As a result, the research function of museums under the Ministry of Culture is poorly implemented, which is enshrined in current regulatory documents.

Scientific museums, due to their subordination to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, have scientific research as their target indicators, which determines their priority over traditional museum indicators (storage and replenishment of funds, exhibits and attracting visitors). Attempts to combine the interests of examining and preserving collections have been discussed for several decades. This problem is especially evident in relation to natural science collections and museums, most of which are under the scientific department. Its solution requires the development of a methodology for handling museum collections and amendments to regulatory documentation.

The article reviews the activities of the famous botanist Mikhail I. Golenkin (1864–1941) as an organizer of Russian science. Honored Professor of Moscow University (1916), Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1929), M.I. Golenkin headed the Department of Plant Morphology and Systematics for many years (1904–1918; in 1918–1929 – Department of Plant Morphology and Systematics of higher plants) of Moscow University and its Botanical Garden (1902–1930), at the same time (1922–1931) he was director of the Research Institute of Botany of the Association of Research Institutes at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. Professor Golenkin was an honorary member of the Russian Botanical Society and the Moscow Society of Naturalists (since 1921), Vice–president of the MSN (1930–1932). 2024 marks the 160th anniversary of Prof. M. I. Golenkin’s birth.

Based on the bio-bibliographic essays by Konstantin I. Meyer (1881–1965), head of the Chair of Morphology and Systematics of Higher Plants (1929–1931 and 1938–1963) and director of the Botanical Garden of Moscow University (1940–1948), the article traces the formation evolution of the Moscow School of Plant Morphologists, founded by Ivan N. Gorozhankin, who headed the Chair of Plant Morphology and Systematics (1875–1904) and the Botanical Garden of Moscow University (1874–1902). The diversification of scientific issues in line with the comparative morphological research direction developed by this scientific school in Russian botany is shown on the basis of the works of Gorozhankin’s most famous students. 2024 marks the 120th anniversary of the death of I.N. Gorozhankin (1848–1904) and the 160th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail I. Golenkin (1864–1941), his successor at the chair and in the Botanical Garden.

The article presents the main stages of the scientific path of Ivan A. Heim (Bernhard Andreas von Heim, 1758–1821), a representative of the German academic society, who moved to Russia in 1779 and held the position of the rector of Moscow University from 1808 to 1819. I.A. Heim’s scientific heritage in the field of linguistics, geography and statistics is considered. The great merits of I.A. Heim in the organization of evacuation of Moscow University during the Patriotic War of 1812 and its subsequent restoration are shown.

The exposition of the department "Natural Zones" in the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University (25th floor, halls Nos 18–20) presents 15 full-scale exhibits of dry 3D fragments of biogeocenoses, namely: spotted tundra; forest tundra; swamps: flat-hummocky tundra, oligotrophic upland and mesotrophic lowland sedge; spruce-green grass; grass-grass and tipchak-grass steppes; subtropical mountain forest; alpine meadows; semi-deserts; deserts – clay, wormwood-solyanka and ilak belosaksaulnik on ridge sands; and savannas. These exhibits demonstrate the interaction of the main natural components characteristic of the respective climatic conditions (soils, flora, and fauna). The article gives a description of the animal species represented in the exposition based on a visual examination of zoological exhibits and a study of their nomenclature and taxonomic changes.

The article presents the results of studies of a number of sections of Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) deposits in the Saratov Right Bank region (settlements Krasnyi Oktyabr’, Doktorovka, Kurdyum and Shirokoe), confined to the Yelshano-Kurdyum uplift. Oryctocenosis combines autochthonous (ichnofossils), subautochthonous (bivalves and gastropods) and allochthonous (ammonites, wood fragments) elements. Sedimentological and mineralogical indicators (ripple marks, desiccation cracks, wedge-shaped structures, cross-bedding, glauconite, and calcite veinlets), as well as fossil remains and features of their taphonomy, allow us to diagnose the coastal ecosystem of the epicontinental sea basin. In the ecosystem format, we see a variety of physico-geographical situations: areas of the bottom which are periodically actively bioturbated and hydrodynamically transformed into mature hardground; zones of active hydrodynamics with the formation of cross-bedding; and zones of subaerial surfaces with the possible development of stick soils. Reconstruction of the paleoecosystem is complicated by the presence of a number of natural facts that have not been unambiguously interpreted, images of which are given in the article. The studied sections are of interest from the standpoint of geoheritage. Selected natural facts are actively involved in the development of a number of geoscientific university museums.

The problem of global climate warming and attempts to solve it, including using low-carbon power engineering, are analyzed. The success of solving this problem depends on the degree of understanding of the processes which cause it. As more and more data speak about natural causes of climate fluctuations, and of anthropogenic factors the greatest contribution to the warming is made by thermal pollution rather than the anthropogenic growth of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, low-carbon power, with all its positive qualities, is unable to solve the problem of climate warming.

The article considers an ecology course in relation to the most optimal approach for primary school children–on the example of various ecosystems of the world with consideration of individual examples of adaptation genesis and evolution of wildlife. The authors used the following teaching techniques and methods: avoiding the teacher’s adaptive speech, forming the skill of hypothesizing, and laying the foundations of biological drawing. All this helps us to make a better transition from theoretical educational programs to the practical acquaintance of children with the biodiversity of natural communities. This course can be used within the framework of museum pedagogy and on educational platforms, which can be the natural landscapes of protected areas of regional significance (nature reserves and preserves, natural monuments).

As part of MSU’s Strategic Development Programme, the Youth Museum initiative is currently under development as a mobile-network project. The project consists of a system of interacting nodes, comprising a central site on the MSU campus and a network of regional subdivisions. The proposal suggests the use of mobile field museum exhibitions as an effective mechanism of interaction. In recent years, the aforementioned system was experimentally tested within the “Flotilla of Floating Universities” scientific and educational expedition. This project comprises a set of interrelated research, educational, training, artistic, and other projects. The direct and active involvement of students and schoolchildren led to the development of creative methods for the traveling exhibitions «Ancient Lukomorye» and «Living Matter in Geospheres», as well as to the methods of joint empirical and information gathering for the development of central and regional «Youth Museum» clusters. Materials were collected to create pilot versions of exhibitions, educational collections and the launch of interactive platforms at Tambov State Technical University: «Cretaceous Beach» («Palaeoecological Sandbox»), «Page of the Stone Chronicle» («Dissecting Table of a Beginner Palaeoecologist»), and others. These exhibitions are designed to ensure that they can be used effectively in educational and outreach activities on a wide range of topics. Students and schoolchildren will have the opportunity to conduct small-scale individual and collaborative research projects of varying levels of complexity using the platform format.

This article continues a series of publications devoted to the photographs from the collection made up by D.N. Anuchin at the turn of the 20th century. Nowadays the collection is stored in the MSU Earth Science Museum. Finland at the end of the 19th century is in focus this time, namely Helsingfors (Helsinki) and the Imatra Rapids. The photographs were taken by Daniel Nyblin (1856-1923), one of the most significant photographers in the history of Finland, “the father of the Finnish photographic art.” His works are considered to be of great artistic and historical value. Old photographs serve as an introduction to Finland at the end of the 19th century, including its wildlife, history and culture. Yet, Daniel Nyblin is little known in Russia. This article is to bridge the gap. The article also covers the contribution of D.N. Anuchin in the study of both Finno-Ugric peoples and Finland. This issue has not been addressed in Russian scientific literature.

To mark the 160^th anniversary of V.I. Vernadsky's birth, Lomonosov Moscow State University has organized an exhibition based on the theme of “living matter”, which to a greater or lesser extent permeates all the geospheres of our planet, provides many mechanisms of interaction between the geospheres and links between the planet and the cosmos. Natural exhibits demonstrate peculiarities of the geochemical transformation of individual organisms and their communities during the transition from the biosphere to the lithosphere, the diversity of biocosmic bodies in the history of our planet, the possibilities of modern sciences in reconstructing geobiosystems of the past. The structure of the exhibition includes a number of special blocks containing original exhibits and information, namely: “Scientist’s Cabinet” with information about the life path, scientific directions and some students and followers of Academician V.I. Vernadsky (connected to him through Moscow University). The cluster “Co-evolution of the Biosphere and Lithosphere” with disclosure of the mechanisms of transition of living matter and integral ecosystems into the “stone record” of the Earth, the structure of the pedosphere in a broad sense, the diversity of biogeoprocesses and their products in the history of the Earth, the formation of “archives of nature” in the geospheres, the functioning of geobiodynamically active zones on the example of the East European Platform; the cluster “University’s Lukomorye”, reflecting peculiarities of coastal geo-ecosystems for the general public (on the example of the Paleocene of the Volga region). Most of the exhibits of the exhibition have been obtained during the scientific and educational expedition “Flotilla of Floating Universities” (2015–2022) from the Volga region, the Caspian Sea, the Don region and the Urals and are considered in the future as the basis for the development of a model polygon of the “MSU Youth Museum”.

The concept of biogeocenoses as structural units of the biosphere is reflected in the exposition of the department “Natural Zones” (Halls No. 18–20 on the 25^th floor) of the Moscow State University Museum of Earth Science: the interaction of the main natural components characteristic of the corresponding climatic conditions – soils, flora and fauna – is succinctly demonstrated. There are 15 full-scale exhibits of dry volumetric fragments of biogeocenoses: spotted tundra; forest tundra; swamps: flat-hummocky tundra, oligotrophic upland and mesotrophic lowland sedge; spruce-green grass; grass-grass and tipchak-grass steppes; subtropical mountain forest; alpine meadows; semi–deserts; deserts – clay, wormwood-solyanka and ilak belosaksaulnik on ridge sands; and savannas as well.

The reason for writing this article was the off-site meeting of the museology section of the Moscow Society of Naturalists on December 22, 2022, to get acquainted with the exhibition «Past and Present of the Fauna of the Vladimir Region» permanently operating in the House of Culture in Strunino. The initial task of the paper was to analyze the situation with the moving to a new location of the well-known scientific, educational and entertainment museum «Ice Age» in Moscow. The museum was established in 2004 on the basis of the richest paleontological specimens collected by F.K. Shidlovsky National Alliance during multiple expeditions to the northeast of Yakutia, Chukotka, Altai and the Southern Urals. In 2004–2014, the museum functioned as a scientific and exposition center in pavilion No. 71 at the All-Russian Exhibition Center, which not only popularized knowledge about the animals of the Ice Age, but also provided unique exhibits for research by paleontologists. After several years of searching, the creator of the museum finally found a suitable place to accommodate large exhibits. It was necessary to decide how, by continuing the comprehensive educational and research activities, to ensure a wide attendance of the museum in a place remote from Moscow. Thorough studying of the information showed how much the task is broader and more serious than it seemed at first glance. The activity of an outstanding energetic person, devoted to a significant social goal, turned out to be connected with roots deeply rooted in the historical past of the country. Support for a specific undertaking has become important for the implementation of a comprehensive project of the museum, cultural, scientific and educational nature, up to the prospects for the development of the region. And at the same time, the identified problem can be considered as an example of a person’s involvement in the history of the country and responsibility for his/her actions.