About Nature and Ecology Museum

Nature and Ecology Museum was opened on 3rd September 2005 in the building of a former water tower, built in 1953. Its height is 32,7 m, diameter – 8 m. The exhibit space is 300 sq. m., more than a thousand items of natural history collection is on display.

An epigraph to the exposition is the words of Y. Bondarev: “Environmental awareness is a ladder that connects earth, sky and man into a single union”.

Four expositional levels of the museum are “strung” on a ladder that symbolizes the Tree of Life. The idea of World Tree is one of the most ancient. According to Slavic mythology, the Tree of Life is standing on the edge of the Universe, its top rests against the skies, its roots reach the hell. The Tree is the way the gods use to come down and up and this is the way to enter other worlds. This idea expressed the connection of man and creation, the the meaning of his earthly and divine nature.

Travel up the ladder of Nature and Ecology Museum allows us to look into different “worlds” of nature and ecology, go up to the top of environmental awareness. The first level, called “Belarus – our home”, tells us about biological diversity and uniqueness of Belarusian nature. The second level, called “The Dowry of Civilization”, acquaints us with ecological problems of a modern city. The third level, called “Territories under protection”, tells us about nature reserves and natural monuments, species out of the Red book. On the forth level there is a video, lecture and exhibition hall, also a viewing platform with a great view of the city.