The Permanent Exhibition
Any museum, in general, has its activity structured around a main exhibition with a definite subject. Braila region, situated into a geographic zone into which the relief is represented horizontally only, the dominant element being Baraganului Plain, is linked to the presence in here of the river Danube, the greatest freshwater in our country.
Although, apparently, the region of Braila could have been described as monotonous because of its relief, in reality there is a great diversity of life forms in this land. The thematic of the main exhibition of this Section shows this very fact. The main natural ecosystems found in Braila region are represented in displays organised for the visitor.
Thus, dioramas depict the elements of flora and fauna of the following systems:
- plain ecosystem (Baraganului Plain)
- fishpond ecosystem (the Small Island of Braila)
- forest ecosystem (Viisoara Forest)
- rocks ecosystem (Blasova Hillock)
- salt marsh ecosystem (the Salted Lake)
- holm ecosystem (The Holm)
Apart from these dioramas there are several showcases displaying migrating birds (summer, winter and passage birds) as well as birds of prey (some of them day predatory birds, some night predatory ones).
The regularity of the scientific information presented all over the exhibition is broken by the tri-dimensional view of the exposed objects. The colours, the uniqueness of some exemplaries and their display in the middle of the specific natural vegetation, make the collections to be discovered with pleasure not only by the children who are surprised at their novelty, but also by the amateur or the recognized researchers and ultimately by any person who enjoys getting in touch with nature. The landscape presented by way of dioramas is scientifically enriched through the presentation of some rare species, out of which some are extinct and some are on the edge of extinction. Thus, the visiting public could find information on bustard (Otis tarda), a bird extinct for several decades from our country’s fauna, the white tailed (Haliacetus albicilla) represented by some exemplaries only in the Danube Delta, the wild cat (Felix silvestris), mammal on the verge of extinction and so on.
Temporary exhibitions
Another way through which the Natural Sciences Section is rendering its heritage valuable is the one of temporary exhibitions. Many cultural events were organized in the exhibition room from its inauguration (May 1997) such as:
‘Travel into the World of Freshwater and Marine Fishes’, ‘The World of the Dinosaurs’, ‘Exhibits from Romania’s Cynegetics Fauna’, ‘The Esthetic Mineralogy of Banat’, ‘Hunting Trophies’, ‘Butterflies, Flying Petals’, ‘The Plants Near Us – the Moss and the Lichens’, etc. The success of each of these temporary exhibitions was made possible through the teamwork, competence and enthusiasm of the staff always willing to organize heritage presentations for the public.
