The team of the Association of Private Museums of Russia visited the Automotive History Museum, which is located in Moscow in the Koptevo business center, 71 Koptevskaya, between the Volvo and Skoda showrooms.
The founder of the museum, Vladimir Popov, is the president of the Favorit Motors group of companies. His company is among the leaders not only in terms of the volume of cars sold, but also in terms of the number of implemented innovations and extraordinary solutions. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that in addition to the exposition of restored pedal cars, a cinema and a car city, where animators in the form of traffic police officers teach children from 3 to 7 years old to drive vehicles, complying with traffic rules, the museum is equipped with many interactive stands with built-in displays and audio guides. Multimedia technology is a great way to grab the attention of your visitors. They allow us to hold a quiz, play a game, and most importantly, thanks to them, both adults and children can independently, without having to involve a guide, explore the collection and learn a lot of interesting information about the Soviet past and the domestic automobile industry.
“Here is a pedal plane – the author’s work of the 30s of the last century. Such cars were not replicated; they were made by parents for their children with their own hands. Our key exhibit, which is never taken out for participation in exhibitions, is the “ZIM” car, the first example of a Soviet pedal car and the first mass-produced model, a real gem in the museum’s collection. “Ural” is a miniature copy of “Pobeda” car, which was a dream of all Soviet boys and girls; such cars were produced in small quantities, so only children of the party elite could ride them. Another very rare exhibit is the “Raketa” pedal car. It was made of aluminum, and once it was out of service, it was handed over for scrap. “Muravei”, a SUV-like car, is the last model produced by AZLK factory until 1994. This one here is “Moskvich of the third series”, a copy of the “Moskvich 412” – the most common and affordable car, which has become a symbol of pedal cars of the Soviet era. Each podium with an exhibit has a QR code on it. With its help, it would take a few seconds for a phone user to get a complete picture of the exhibited model,” says the director of the museum Anastasia Rakitina.
Events, phenomena and achievements of the Soviet era are clearly visible through the history of pedal cars. Therefore, although the museum is aimed at children, it is by no means for children only. Both children and adults can find something interesting here. For adults, this is a nostalgic journey into the Soviet past, and for children, this is an opportunity to immerse themselves in their parents’ childhood and learn more about the history of their country.
