Zoological Museum of the Institute of Biology and Soil Science, NAS of Kyrgyzstan

The Zoological Museum on Chuy Prospekt in Bishkek grew out of an earlier museum of nature, which was reorganized and renamed in 1946 when it was placed under the Institute of Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan. Its collection of mounted specimens and natural-history displays documents the fauna of Kyrgyzstan and the wider Central Asian region, and the museum functions as much as a teaching resource as a public attraction, drawing heavy use from university students of biology, geography, and ecology. Staff naturalists lead guided sessions and lectures pitched at different audiences, from school groups to specialists with a deeper interest in the subject, making it one of the more hands-on scientific museums in the Kyrgyz capital rather than a purely static display space.