Музей Мирового океана как альтернативная образовательная площадка для популяризации естествознания для детей и молодежи

Abstract

In modern society, a museum has a number of functions, and its tasks as a social institution are changing. The article presents the case of the Museum of the World Ocean as one of the platforms for promoting natural sciences, including geography, to preschoolers and schoolchildren. The museum has consistently updated its expositions and expanded its facilities, emerging as one of the largest cultural, historical and educational complexes popular with tourists and local visitors. The museum’s special features — various activity zones and special exhibitions have been created on the Embankment of the Historical Fleet and in the vicinity of revived 19th-century architectural monuments, the Royal and the Friedrichsburg Gates. The Museum of the World Ocean has received a wide range of awards and prizes, which confirms its recognition as an important social and cultural centre of the Kaliningrad region. The method of expert interviews enabled the researcher to analyse the achievements and the obstacles in the Museum’s work with children and youngsters; to determine the basic educational technologies and activity formats, including interactive and gaming activities, and the principles for implementing museum pedagogy; to construct a social portrait of visitors, and to predict the main areas for further development. The article discusses the means for organising visitor feedback. Over the past 15 years the museum has opened new building and is planning the construction of a unique globe-shaped Planet Ocean Centre. A positive dynamic may be observed in the trend for expansion not only in terms of quantity, but also of quality, i.e. innovative approach to work. Like any social institution, the museum in its transformation reflects the needs of society, particularly, in those areas where children and youngsters are involved in educational and scientific work allowing them to determine their personal and professional development paths.