Museums in Russia: an evolution inside display windows (3)

Visitors are free to stage their physical experiments, witness operations of the Mission Control Center and even compete in competitions.

Despite conservatives' saying that some new museums are rather amusement parks than real museums, this is exactly what museum-goers expect now: to be educated while entertained. The strength of the museum today lies in its vitality and inventiveness, not only rich historical heritage.

Memory and creativity highlight the universal nature of museums and their positive influence on society. While pushing for gradual social changes, they are becoming part of the changes.

Tens of thousands of museums around the world are celebrating the International Museum Day which falls on May 18, with a theme of "Museums(memory + creativity) = social change."

"Reconciliating their traditional mission of preservation with cultivation of the creativity necessary for renewal and visitor growth is the evolution that museums are striving for, with the firm conviction that their presence and their actions can change society in a constructive manner," said Julien Anfruns, general director of the World Museum Community.