How did the idea to create the Museum of Skulls and Skeletons come about?
Our exhibition is the second museum opened within the Museum Group of the PARA DOX Hotel and Entertainment Center.
The history of our museum group began in 2012 with the opening of the water tower of the Cat Museum “MURARIUM.” On July 6, 2015, a large Hotel and Entertainment Center opened on the same site. The upper floors house a boutique hotel; on the second floor is our entertainment-educational Museum of Skulls and Skeletons and escape rooms, which were at the height of their popularity in 2015, while the first floor contains a bowling alley and a café. During the construction phase of the center we did not immediately decide on the concept of the future museum, since there were several collections available.
Because our owner has a medical education, the idea to open a museum on this theme is not surprising. Fortunately, thanks to the team's interest and the efforts of medical professionals, managers, patrons, music lovers and merchandisers, we were able fairly quickly to present the “inner” world of a person to people in a positive and engaging format.
Although only a small part of the museum's exposition is dedicated to anatomy — there are even real skulls — the main collection tells the story of the human archetype in world cultures. Art objects were collected for many years in various corners of the globe; there are even exhibits brought from Mexico and Peru.
Our museum's short name is “MChS,” but we have no relation to the Ministry of Emergency Situations — it’s just a coincidence of initials.
A friendly skeleton greets visitors
What is the concept of the museum?
Our art collection is dedicated to the human archetype in the cultures of different peoples of the world. We tell the stories of many traditions connected with skulls and skeletons: the Day of the Dead in Mexico, lavish carnivals and their main symbol — the Calavera (sugar skull), the origins of Halloween, ancient traditions of cranial trepanation practiced in Central American countries, and the artificially elongated skulls discovered in various archaeological excavations. Incidentally, it is known that such skull shapes were created artificially and could be worn only by members of the highest social castes. In our collection there are skulls made of basalt and crystal that reproduce these unusual elongated forms. We also have exhibits devoted to biker culture. Our hall is decorated with a real Yamaha motorcycle. It is operational — it last rode in 2016 at the opening of the Kaliningrad region's motor season. There are many biker and motorcycle helmets and various accessories, including even men's boxer shorts depicting a sugar skull. Our collection contains many interesting and unexpected items.
Yamaha motorcycle — an operational exhibit of the museum
What useful things can you learn when visiting the museum?
I mentioned earlier our small medical display. It is aimed more at children, but it contains curious facts about human anatomy that will interest adult visitors as well. For example, here you can see a large disassemblable model of the human skull with 29 component bones, compare casts of Neanderthal and modern human skulls, and study plastic models of various foot arches. Incidentally, using those as examples we explain why since the time of Ivan the Terrible young men with flat feet were not accepted into the army. Separately we tell about various smoking accessories and drinking vessels. The exposition also contains gifts from the local hospital — a stretcher and an antique dental chair resembling a torture chair. The collection includes exhibits made in the popular trash-art technique: skulls made from microchips, skulls painted in the styles of Khokhloma and Zhostovo. Despite the frightening theme, our museum has an atmosphere of art that visitors highly appreciate.
Hand-painted skull
Tell us about a few exhibits in the museum that you consider the most unusual?
As you know, our region is famous for amber — we have 90% of the world's deposits of this mineral. One interesting exhibit in our collection is a life-size amber skull, fused from several large pieces. It was made by Sergey Petrov — a Kaliningrad craftsman and researcher who studies the properties of amber.
We also have “musical” X-ray records. During the Iron Curtain era, fashionable foreign music and rock’n’roll were banned, so music was illicitly recorded in basements onto X-ray plates and secretly played on gramophones. Our collection contains about 10 such plates, on which you can even make out the grooves of the recording.
Our exposition includes a wooden model of the Tibetan ritual flute ganling. In fact, such flutes were made from a human femur and used in a ritual called chöd. The word “chöd” translates from Tibetan as “cutting off” and refers to the removal of all fears on the path to Awakening. Usually monks and yogis undergo this practice. For the ritual, the practitioner chooses a secluded, deserted place, then blows into the ganling and summons spirits of the three worlds, offering their own body as a sacrifice to the demons. One who endures such a test cuts off attachments and fears and attains Awakening.
By the way, there is a test for our guests too — walking through the ribbon labyrinth. The labyrinth is unlit; ribbons hang from ceiling to floor, and people feel their way through tangled corridors in search of the exit. An interesting observation: children find the exit much faster than adults because they have a lower threshold of fear.
What tour programs and events are held at the museum?
We conduct classic guided tours of the museum, but we also host themed children's events: lifesaving lessons and pirate parties. Lifesaving lessons are interactive talks that we can additionally organize by prior arrangement for group visits; they last about 20–30 minutes. In such sessions children and their parents learn, in a fun, light and informative way, how to behave in emergencies and how to use a fire extinguisher and other useful equipment. In summer the traffic police held an engaging lecture here called “Left, right and forward — the smart pedestrian,” dedicated to safe behavior on and near roads. Visitors could sit in a service vehicle, inspect its equipment, honk the horn and turn on the siren. We come up with informative event formats that will be interesting to everyone without exception.
Meeting with a traffic police officer "Left, right and forward — the smart pedestrian"
Share your plans for the future?
Confidentially: we are planning a small move within our Hotel and Entertainment Center. The collection of exhibits is constantly growing, and we want to present it in an updated format. In the near future lifesaving lessons will begin to be held on a scheduled, regular basis, and there will also be even more bright, memorable and useful events for our guests.
