The Russian Museum

The museum will be organized in the easter Corps de Guards pavilion that is the part of the Michael's (Engineers') Castle ensemble. Three storeys availability (area volume is 1150 sq. m.) will allow conducting work with children auditorim in accordance with tasks and functions of the Museum Education Center. The museum is meant for children from 4 to 14 years old with various physical abilities. It is alo addressed to pedagogues, parents and specialists who are occupied with children art problems. The museum is a complex of comfortable rooms; their space should be psychologically safe for children.

The Children Art Museum should:

• be an environment where children achievements are respected and recognized by adults and at the same time are subject of scientific researches;
• prepare children auditorium fot meeting with artistic museum exposition;
• introduce to fine art and culture in whole both in training and entertainment form;
• promote artistic perception forming;
• encourage with the use of artistic work development of person's creative basis.

In the beginning of the 90s the work with children was social activity criterion of modern museum - children art museum has become norm for museum life. Nowadays there is plenty of them not only abroad but also in Rjazan, Toljatti, Moscow (the museum in Kolomenskoye), Petrozavodsk. Their creation is planned in the Tretjakov gallery and in the A. S. Pushkin State Fine Art Museum.

The State Russian Museum that has acquired the unique museum educational experience has all the reasons to create the Children art museum.

The Museum's functions are determined in the following ways:

• developing function - museum as a center of creative communication, development and leisure;
• educational function - museum as multiprofile and interdisciplinary center where one can get acquainted with all art forms and genres as well as art museum activity, where are born new forms and studying themes. It is also connected with education system and it has an influence on communication process, researches and activity planning;
• socio-adaptation function - museum as consulting, methodic and project center that gives possibility of various communication regimes.

All the museum objects (exhibits) should give children an impulse for developing imagination, intellect, social, creative and motor experiences. There should be provided conditions both for individual and group studies as well as for cooperative work with pedagogues, parents and specialists.

Distinguishing feature of "children museum" is its belonging to "adult" museum, i.e. the children museum will introduce to it. That is why there will be used games that develop visual and tactile perception of a child as well as these forms of museum presentation that allow to commit all the variety of genres, kinds and forms of fine art.

It is necessary to take into account space possibilities around the Children art museum. These could be landscape playgrounds for interacting with nature and nature materials.

Main working forms:

• permanent interactive didactic exposition with changing exhibits that reveals fine art and art museum language specifics (authentic copies and models collection, tactile fund);
• children art fund and children art temporary exhibitions of various directions with software for different age groups;
• artistic studios orientated on mastering genre and view language specifics of fine art (equipment for printing, graphic art and ceramic workshop) as well as for artistic construction;
• theatrical studio where children will have requisite for theatrical improvisations and other performances;
• multimedia workshop with up-to-date video and computer technologies, where computer is an instrument of creative evolution;
• publishing activity that provides exhibition, scientific and educational work of the center;
• methodic and consulting activity: consultations and seminars for pedagogues, parents and volunteers.

Necessary rooms:

• interactive space for didactic exhibition called "Introduction to art museum",
• exhibition hall,
• rooms for storing children art fund,
• art studio,
• creative development studio,
• theatrical studio,
• educational classes,
• computer classes,
• museum workers' cabinets,
• methodic cabinet,
• recreation room,
• refreshment room,
• storage rooms,
• cloakroom.

The Children art museum personnel (sector)

• head of the children art sector,
• administrator (who will at the same time organize events)
• curator of the children art fund,
• head of artistic studio,
• specialist on psychology,
• specialists on games,
• technical specialist for computer class,
• technical specialist for rysograph,
• assistant - 2

Total: 10

Heads of the creative development studio as well as of multimedia and theatrical studios and other specialists could hold a contract.

In the Children art museum could work volunteers and art institutes' students.

Equipment of the Museum (sector):

Studios:
- etching press - $ 2 000
- potter's wheel - $ 1 200
- muffle furnace - $ 1 000
- sculptural bench - $ 500
- loom - $ 500
- easels - 20 pieces - $ 1 000
- equipment for theatrical studio - $ 5 000
Didactic fund of models, copies etc. - $ 25 000
Exhibition equipment (stands, podiums, show-cases, frames etc.) - $ 25 000
Equipment for children art fund storing (shelves, stands, cases) - $ 5 000
Total - $ 66 200

Technical equipment:
- demonstration multimedia computers - 5 pieces - $ 10 000
- computers for computer class - 6 pieces - $ 10 000
- Power Book 1400 - $ 1 500
- net equipment - $ 5 000
- demonstration screens - 4 pieces - $ 2 000
- video set - 4 pieces - $ 4 000
- copy apparatus - 2 pieces - $ 5 000
- blueprinting apparatus - $ 10 000
- laser pointer - 2 pieces - $ 200
- digital photo camera for working with the children art fund - $ 1 000
- projection system "computer - screen" - $ 1 000
- slyde projector - 2 pieces - $ 2 000
- overhead projector - $ 5 000
- video projector BARKO - $ 12 000
- CD-Writer - $ 1 200
Total - $ 20 000

Furniture for rooms:
- tables - 30 pieces - $ 3 000
- chairs - 100 pieces - $ 3 000
- cupboards - 30 pieces - $ 4 000
- soft furniture set - 2 pieces - $ 10 000
Total: - $ 20 000

Total sum of necessary means - $ 151 600

Creation of the Children art museum will enrich activity of the Center with artistic and creative component and thus the Center's structure should be reorganized. It is a question of creating methodic services in the school education sector frames. There should be added the following rates:

• scientific worker - 2
• assistant - 1

The Children art sector appearance allows creating separate sector with pre-school education direction. There should be added the following rates:

• head of the sector - 1
• scientific worker - 2
• assistant - 1

In accordance with reorganization and further development to 2008 the Russian scientific and practical center on museum education problems it is necessary to allocate 17 rates and $ 151 600 in total for the Russian scientific and practical center on museum education and children art.