If you’ve ever wondered how tornadoes are formed, or what causes Maxwell’s Wheel to spin around, you and find the answers to these questions and a whole lot more at Kiev’s latest new attraction, the Experimentarium Science and Technology museum for kids.
Slightly unusual and most definitely unique for a city such as Kiev, the Experimentarium is quite unlike anything Ukrainians have seen before – an interactive museum where visitors can explore a maze made entirely out of mirrors, see dozens of optical illusions, draw through a mirror, and even listen to music with their teeth.
The Experimentarium explores all three sciences - Physics, biology and chemistry
The Experimentarium occupies more than 2,000 sq. meters of space over six floors of its building in downtown Kiev’s Podil district, with interactive exhibits covering virtually every single aspect of natural science – it’s the one museum where everything can be touched.
Designers have split the Experimentarium up into numerous rooms, covering each of the branches of physics, as well as a section on biology, which covers subjects like basic anatomy.
A tour of the Experimentarium begins with an exploration of basic mechanics. Inside one of the first rooms is an enormous Maxwell’s Wheel, mounted on a horizontal axle and suspended from the ceiling. Visitors are free to interact with the wheel and learn about energy conservation processes.
The dinosaurs in the natural history section are always popular
After this, we come to the acoustics room, which has already proven itself to be one of the most popular exhibits. The room is overflowing with musical instruments, including drums, a piano, and an organ – noisy but informative experience that demonstrates the basic rules of acoustic quality.
The mystery of optical illusions is explored in the next room, as visitors get to make their way through a vast labyrinth of different shaped mirrors. Following this, we come to something even more intriguing, in the shape of the museum’s biology room, home to grisly exhibits like human brains and fetuses, among others.
Olga Pshenycha, a school teacher who came to visit the museum with one of her classes, told the Kiev Post about her experiences at the Experimentarium:
“It’s very hard to explain physics to kids. But here they can try, touch and feel all those scientific theories described in books. Honestly, I don’t like physics but this place I find to be very exciting,”
Kids of all ages can benefit from the Experimentarium's "hands on" approach to learning
The Experimentarium opened up its doors for the first time on September 30, and in just one month has become one of the city’s most popular attractions, welcoming in excess of 1,000 visitors a day. It opens daily from 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., on weekends and holidays. To learn more, check out their official website, or see them on Facebook.