Exhibition "To the Expedition!"

On December 9 at 17:00 there was the opening of the exhibition "Into the Expedition! 

Expeditions are a part of museum life, just as important, but not as visible to museum visitors as opening exhibitions and displaying exhibits. It is as a result of expeditions that new objects, documents, and photographs are added to the museum's collection. Expeditions become the basis of scientific research.

The idea of the expedition can appear if you need to study human life, both in the epoch of ancient Priamurye, and in the Soviet time. The engine of the expedition is the organizer. He bears all the responsibility for the organization, the passage and the results. Many names of courageous seekers of knowledge, who devoted themselves to fascinating work, are written in the history of the museum. 

Preparing for an expedition sometimes takes much longer than the trip itself. Historians need to study past events in detail using archival materials, find the necessary information about the subject (event or place) of their study, and request the necessary documents. Ethnographers get acquainted with the results of other studies, make special questionnaires, and establish connections with future guides and assistants. "Naturalists" are not easy either: the object of their study (plant or animal) can be affected by both weather and environmental conditions. Archaeologists need to obtain permission to explore or excavate in the form of an "Open Sheet". 

Before the expedition, participants need to prepare working tools, various equipment, utensils, packing materials, check and replenish the first aid kit, and make a list of products to be purchased on the eve of departure. An important part of any expedition is photography and/or video of the field research. It is not uncommon for a photographer to be part of an expedition.

Boats, reindeer, foot, all-terrain vehicles and helicopters, dog sleds and planes - this is by no means a complete list of the means by which expedition participants have to travel. The peculiarities of transport logistics have to be taken into account when delivering collected objects to the museum. 

Often the success of an expedition depends on the guides, assistants, and local residents who meet on the way of museum workers. The museum staff remembers them with warmth and gratitude. 

On every expedition there inevitably comes a time for "going back". Field diaries, acceptance reports, questionnaires are filled out, memories are recorded, close ties are established with new acquaintances, and all collection items are packed. However, the expedition does not end there. The participants will describe and verify everything collected, transfer these materials to the collections for storage, and write reports, articles, and monographs. The goal of this process is to acquaint visitors to the museum with the results of the research, to show the objects, to create an image of a bygone time, a lost natural landscape, and forgotten traditions.

Some expeditions have very few records, while others are full of descriptions, travel diaries, and route maps. A museum expedition does not reveal the secrets of the past, but it invites us to become an accomplice to what took place, it gives us the opportunity to see the setting and immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of past events. 

We invite you to visit the exhibition "Into Expedition!", where you will learn about all the subtleties of preparing for an expedition. The exhibition will be open until February 12, 2023.