Moscow for Kids

Moscow Oceanarium

The Moscow Oceanarium has been recently opened on the lower level of the "Rio" shopping center. It is just tiny comparing to that in Singapore, though it is nicely designed and still covers an area of 3500 square meters. The oceanarium claims to be unique because it represents flora and fauna from all over the world: fishes, coral, animals, birds and reptiles. For example, "Arctic regions and Antarctica" shows small penguins, Kamchatka crabs and Far East trout. There are also some side entertainments such as bowling and a 5D cinema, where you can feel the earth shivering, the wind blowing, and splashes of water.

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Moscow Zoo

The Moscow Zoo is one of the oldest and biggest in Europe, it was founded in 1864. It is a home of about eight thousand animals belonging to 1127 species. The zoo keepers take great care of all of them, and many inhabitants have their special sponsors. Visitors come here to see polar bears, tigers and liones, elephants, giraffs, monkeys, crocs and of course, the Pallas` Cat, who is the zoo's logo animal and, frankly speaking, too proud to be visible often. There is also Dolphinarium where white whales, dolphins, sea lions, walruses and fur seals give perfomances 2-4 times a day. In the marine aquariums of the Exotarium you will find the colourful inhabitants of coral reefs.

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Moscow Paleontology Museum

The Moscow Paleontological Museum is among the largest paleontological museums in the world. It occupies 4200 square meters of display space and contains exhibits representing almost every type of fossil organism. Precambrian fossils from Siberia are of special interest. Two of six halls are dedicated to dinosaurs and therapsids who inhabited Russia and Mongolia in the late Paleozoic and the Mesozoic. The biggest exhibit is a mould of a Diplodocus skeleton, the same size as a 3-stored building.

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Darwin Museum

The museum was established by a follower of the Darwin's evolution theory A.Kots in 1907, and many of 5000 stuffed animal exhibits are over 100 years old. The museum has the world's biggest collection of aberrant mammals and birds, and quite interesting collection of albino animals too. Some exhibits have interactive components. For example, you can feel and touch examples of animals' skin or fur or press various buttons that emit the sound of the animal in question. Your curious kid may find out what his weight in mice would be or how many human beings of his size would take to equal a large elephant.

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Cats Theatre

The world's only Cats Theatre, run by the Kuklachevs family since 1990, was awarded many international prizes and the title of "the most original theatre in the world". Over 120 cats perform alongside human clowns in the variaty of shows including The Swan Lake and Cats From Outer Space. Yury Kuklachev says that cats cannot be trained, and artists have to spend long hours examining each cat's natural behaviour before developing tricks to incorporate this into a performance.

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Puppet Theatre

The Obraztsov Puppet Theatre's repertoire is quite various having performances for children of any age and their parents. Spectators may choose to see one of Russian folk tales, Gulliver's Travels, or maybe The love for three oranges. One of the best and long-lived performances for adults and youth is Divine Comedy having no relation to Dante Alighieri. Guests also can make a fascinating tour to the Puppets museum to learn more about puppets' family and their secrets.

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