The museum is located at Albertov, under the grounds of Charles University in Prague Faculty of Science, which is a part of the Institute of Geology and Palaeontology. Currently it is only open for students, although the public can gain access one day a week from January 2009.
The place now occupied by the museum originally held a unique collection formed by Professor Kettner, Professor Augusta and their students. However, from the turn of the 50s and 60s the collection gradually deteriorated, as there was no one to take care of it. Fortunately the eminent Czech geologist and Professor of Palaeontology, Ivo Chlupáč, undertook the categorization and labelling of the collection. The work was almost a Sisyphean toil,
said the head of the Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Petr Kraft. The displays looked more like a curiosity box. What we faced was the task of creating some semblance of order to the several tens of thousand exhibits in the collection. “Professor Chlupáč died in 2002 and unfortunately didn’t live to see the completion of the task. Now at least the Museum carries his name in memory of his work.
What does the museum have to offer?
Although the exhibition is primarily intended to serve the college, it is also available to the public and to high school students.
“We have some rarities in here, for example a replica of a Carnataurus skeleton, the largest one in existence, but the visitors will also find other specimens that can’t be found anywhere else in the world,
said Peter Kraft. By opening Chlupáč’s Museum we have become the only institution that can offer a self-contained view on the history of Earth, the collection spans time through the ages, from billions of years past up to the present day.
The museum also has a special hall that will not only host various lectures, but serve as an examination room for the students as well. The three-dimensional exhibits will be accompanied by pictures illustrating the prehistoric age. Fans of Zdeněk Burian will be glad as some of the pictures were created by Petr Modlitba, a painter greatly inspired by the former grand artist and who enriched the exhibition with a series of pictorial representations. The museum also owns one painting by the Chinese painter, Li-Jun, who is world-famous for his depictions of mid-Cambrium fauna.
Serious competition for the National Museum
During the opening of the museum the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Pavel Kovář explained that the museum is not just a static collection, but is a living educational material. I see this new exhibition to be a token of certain vision, a creation of the new college campus of Albertov, we would like to develop it into a place where other disciplines besides biomedicine can be cultivated such as those more ecology and field biology-orientated, “said Pavel Kovář.
According to the head of Czech Geological Society, Petr Budil, “the Chlupáč’s Museum is quite a challenge for the National Museum and is holding the palaeontological collection after the National Museum’s reconstruction. Chlupáč’s Museum is one of the finest museums anywhere in the world and can withstand comparison to much better established and bigger museums such as the one at Harvard University or in London. It’s somewhat similar to the super-modern exhibition in China, but those only focus on the unique mid-Cambrium fauna,
said Petr Budil. However Chlupáč’s Museum, displays the development of life since its very origin.
When will it be accessible to the public?
Until the end of 2008, the museum will serve the students and faculty-related public only, but from January 2009, it should be open to the general public one day a week. The opening times and further information will be published on the Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Faculty of Science, Charles University internet pages.
