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Help the Usolye Nature Museum

Region: Russia, Russian Far East, Siberia
Author: Nina Vlasevskaya
Consortium Member: Pacific Environment and Resources Center (PERC)
Status: Funded and Ongoing Budget: $1430 Collected: $1430 Needs: $0
Result: To develop a museum exhibit about Lake Baikal for public education of schoolchildren and adults in and around Usolye.
Donors: Mike Shor, with Virtual Foundation Matching Funds [September 1997]
Comment: Progress Report

Need:
The Usolye Nature Museum, founded in 1993, aims to educate children and the public about flora and fauna in Central and Eastern Siberia, and in particular about the unique biodiversity of Lake Baikal. This kind of education is very important, since children and adults will not take care of nature without knowing what makes up that nature. The museum helps expand the worldview of nature among youth in the region.

The museum is still growing and establishing its exhibits. Unfortunately, no funds are available for the local government to support this work. The museum continues solely based on the dedication of the enthusiastic volunteers that work there. The museum needs support to develop an exhibit about the biodiversity of Lake Baikal.

Goal:
To develop a museum exhibit about Lake Baikal for public education of schoolchildren and adults in and around Usolye.

Methods:
The exhibit will acquaint visitors with the unique biodiversity of Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake. The fauna of Lake Baikal is most impressive -- more than 1,500 different species of animals inhabit the lake, and more than half of those are endemic -- found nowhere else in the world!

The exhibit will serve as a focal point for field trips from the school and youth outdoors group. Support will allow the museum to purchase posters, photographs, literature, and other materials. The museum will also be able to develop hands-on educational exhibits that focus on the environment of Lake Baikal. Finally, the exhibit will also talk about threats to Lake Baikal -- including industrial pollution -- and what long-term effects this may have on the unique nature of the region.

Outcomes:
The project will result in an exhibit about the biodiversity of Lake Baikal and in a series of classes and presentations for the local public to raise their environmental awareness.
Time Frame: Fall 1997 and Spring 1998.

Budget