Deputy Seyid Atambaev raised the issue of the museum's condition at a recent parliamentary meeting. According to him, major repairs have not been conducted for 20 years.
“Worn-out display cases may pose a health risk to children and school students who come for excursions,” the parliamentarian noted.
He urged the government to pay attention to the unique exhibits that are in danger.
The National Academy of Sciences explained that during the major renovation of the main building of the academy, the museum's premises were also updated. However, the old display cases housing the exhibits were found to be damaged, which led to the museum's closure to visitors.
“Various events are planned for the anniversary. The shelves with animals and birds will be modernized, and new collections will be introduced. We will recreate the figure of a mammoth, as its skeleton was found in Ak-Suu,” representatives of the institution added.
The National Academy also emphasized that the collection of reptiles and mammals native to Kyrgyzstan no longer fits in the current halls.
“In the future, we aim to build a large Museum of Nature in Bishkek, either in one of the parks or in the Botanical Garden. A project for a seven-story yurt-shaped building has even been developed for this purpose,” the National Academy of Sciences concluded.
The zoological museum was founded in 1926 and is the oldest scientific institution in the system of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan. Its collection includes unique specimens of the fauna of the Tien Shan, including rare specimens of snow leopards and endemic birds of the region. Currently, the museum is the largest repository of zoological standards with global scientific significance in Central Asia.
