Museum and exhibition center "Nakhodka"

The museum opened in November 1980. At that time, the institution was called the Museum of the History of Nakhodka and acted as a branch of the Primorsky State United Museum named after V.K. Arsenyev. The first director of the museum was R.N. Pautova. The building of a 12-apartment residential building on 6 Vladivostokskaya Street was chosen for the museum. House with stove heating, without sewage and running water, in the ground floor with a shoe workshop, built in 1947. The choice of this house was not accidental: here in the “old” city center was created a single cultural complex – near the Children’s Music School, the children’s cinema “Priboi”, the Palace of Culture of Seafarers, two libraries. The reconstruction of the house for the future museum has been going on since 1978 with the simultaneous collection of future exhibits.

The institution was tasked with: collecting and preserving the historical and cultural heritage of the Nakhodka urban district, studying and publishing through various types of communications, fostering love for the native city and the region among residents, promoting the development of intercultural ties. The staff of the museum to the opening consisted of only 11 people: two researchers, a guide, four museum curators, a cleaner, a cashier-controller, a building maintenance worker and a director (head of the branch).

During the first decade, the museum staff collected, scientifically processed, systematized more than fifteen thousand items of storage. They conducted excursions, gave lectures, which were accompanied by the display of museum collections (lectures were given in vocational schools, dormitories, military units, on the ships of BAMRA, etc.), organized meetings of schoolchildren with interesting people of the city, mounted and exhibited stationary and mobile exhibitions. Mass events were held within the walls of the museum, such as solemn receptions in the Komsomol and pioneers, press conferences were held (for example, for the 65th anniversary of the Komsomol). Almost from the first days, the museum became one of the important cultural centers of the city.

Beginning the road

By the 30th anniversary of the city in the exhibition hall at the end of 1979, an exhibition was mounted - the first in the history of the museum - "Finding in the 10th Five-Year Plan", but opened only in May 1980. At the same time, a leaflet containing scientific and chronological information on the history of the formation of the city was released for the first time.

Numerous exhibitions made a great contribution to the culture of the city. It should be noted the most significant, thanks to which citizens and guests of the city first got acquainted with the works of foreign artists. In 1981, a Soviet-American exhibition of students and teachers of two institutes was organized: the Cornish Institute of Seattle and the Far Eastern Institute of Arts of Vladivostok.

In 1991, the status of the museum changed, it became an independent municipal cultural institution "Museum and Exhibition Center of Nakhodka". Since 1990, the museum is headed by G.P. Konogorov. Over three decades, the purpose of the museum has changed depending on the socio-political situation in the country, expositions and forms of work with visitors have changed, new employees have come, and a creative team has been formed.

In 1998, the second stationary historical exhibition “City by the Sea” was opened.

Since 1998, the museum, together with the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, has been conducting archaeological research of the Catherine Fortress (XIII century).

Since 2000, the results of scientific research have been published in the Local History Bulletin, a scientific publication of the IEC of Nakhodka.

In 2001, the Children's Interactive Museum appeared in the structure of the museum.

2006 - 2013 - the period of implementation of museum projects, as a result of which new museum sites for working with visitors appeared: "Paleovillage", "Two Captains" and "Roller Museum".

The museum has more than 32 thousand items of storage, and 19 collections, which are part of the state museum fund and are available for research. Here you can find unique photo documents on the history of the city. The subjects of the collections range from rare books, numismatics, documents, to archaeological objects. Of particular interest are household items of immigrants of the early XX century, works of painting and decorative and applied art of Russian and foreign masters.

Every year the museum is visited by more than 30 thousand residents and guests of the city.
Today, the museum has exhibition and historical halls, an art salon, a museum laboratory.