Національний науково-природничий музей НАН України (Київ, Україна) On the History of the National Museum of Natural History, NAS of Ukraine (to the 50 th Anniversary of Establishment).-Emelyanov, I. G., Chervonenko, O. V.-The National Museum of Natural History, NAS of Ukraine is the largest nature history museum in Ukraine, widely known because of its enormous fund collection (over 2 million storage units) and unique expositions. The formation of scientific nature history collections is closely linked with the country's history and it depended on the social system, organizational structure of scientific institutions and museums and also on the researchers' personalities. The present work contains a brief historical review of the collections and expositions of the four departments-museums, ways of their enrichment and contribution of well-known researchers into the Museum's development. Elucidated here are the significance of the NMNH NAS of Ukraine in preservation of scientific and cultural valuables, and its role in distribution and development of scientific knowledge in the natural sciences. The Museum's significant contribution as a biodiversity research center is emphasized as well.

Національний науково-природничий музей НАН України (Київ, Україна) On the History of the National Museum of Natural History, NAS of Ukraine (to the 50 th Anniversary of Establishment). -Emelyanov, I. G., Chervonenko, O. V. -The National Museum of Natural History, NAS of Ukraine is the largest nature history museum in Ukraine, widely known because of its enormous fund collection (over 2 million storage units) and unique expositions. The formation of scientific nature history collections is closely linked with the country's history and it depended on the social system, organizational structure of scientific institutions and museums and also on the researchers' personalities. The present work contains a brief historical review of the collections and expositions of the four departments-museums, ways of their enrichment and contribution of well-known researchers into the Museum's development. Elucidated here are the significance of the NMNH NAS of Ukraine in preservation of scientific and cultural valuables, and its role in distribution and development of scientific knowledge in the natural sciences. The Museum's significant contribution as a biodiversity research center is emphasized as well.

The article presents a brief historical outline of the formation and development of natural history museology in Europe in the 15th–19th centuries. The development of scientific knowledge at that time affects the idea of the world order and the place of man in it, and the combination of knowledge with practical experience leads to the birth of true science. It is shown that one of the most important components of the development of natural sciences, in particular biological sciences, was the collection of naturalia (i.e. objects of natural origin), the rapid surge of interest in which contributed to the Great Geographical Discoveries. In chronological order, the further historical development of museum work from private collections in Italy to the formation of a prototype of a genuine museum, which performs the main museum functions such as amassment, storage and demonstration of collections, is considered. The role of prominent naturalists and philosophers such as F. Bacon, C. Linnaeus, and J.-W. Goethe in the development of museum work is considered and little known facts about their work in this area are presented. The first works of art that show the interiors of “Kunstkameras”, which became widespread in Europe in the 17th–18th centuries, are briefly considered. According to the authors, it is on the portrait of the Belarusian educator F. Skorina, which was published in Prague in 1517–1519, that the interior of the first Renaissance “kunstkammer” collections is depicted. Separately, the development of museology in Ukraine since the time of Yuriy Kotermak (Drohobych) (1450–1494) is considered and the differentiation of the concept of “museum” in the monuments of Ukrainian literature of the period of the 16th–18th centuries is studied. The authors considered the methodological foundations of natural history museology and analysed the existing classifications of various branches of science. The specificity of natural history museology in the system of museological science is shown, the issue of singling out natural history museology as an independent discipline is discussed. It is proved that the periodization of museology and museum work in certain territories in historical time can be considered correct; the author's development of the periodization of natural history museology in Europe is also given.

The paper deals with the history of development of views on the nature during the ancient era as well as the beginnings of museum studies in the context of creation natural history collections in Europe during classical antiquity. Based on the results of analysis of archeological evidences and historical documents it was revealed that institutions called “mouseion” (lat. thesaurus) common in both Ancient Greece and Rome cannot be equated with museums in the modern sense of the term. The establishment of museums as sociocultural institutions and the creation of natural history exhibitions in European countries were held during the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment and were related with major discoveries in the field of biology.

Національний науково-природничий музей НАН України (Київ) The Current State and Perspectives of Natural History Museums as Research and Educational Centers in Ukraine.-Chervonenko, O. V.-The totals of the IV International Conference "Nature History Museums and their Role in Education and Science" are given. The importance of natural history museums in the preservation of a significant portion of world cultural heritage is highlighted. The paper also deals with the importance of natural history collections as the only reliable information sources about relationships in the nature in time and space, and with the value of those collections and natural history museums in education and enlightening work. Given the information about the conference's participants and highlighted the necessity of establishing an association of specialists in nature history museology for the development of this field of science in Ukraine and bringing it closer to European standards.