site.btaNational Ethnographic Museum Hosts Exhibition of Bulgaria’s Cultural, Scientific Heritage in Astronomy

Cultural and scientific heritage in the field of astronomy and cosmonautics are the highlights of the exhibition The Starry Sky - Mythology and Science at the National Ethnographic Museum with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the museum team reported.

The exposition presents the worldview of the Bulgarian people about the planets, the Sun, the Moon, the stars, and other celestial objects, and on the other hand - the scientific discoveries that reveal and explain the laws of the Universe. 

"Moreover, the exhibition traces Bulgaria's drive towards space, telling the story of our space technologies in an engaging way. In this way, two radically opposite fields of human knowledge - tradition and folk memory - meet in the exhibition, with research horizons, science and technology," the team said.

The show is the fruit of nearly two years of work and was created by a large interdisciplinary team including specialists in various fields - ethnologists, astronomers, engineers, and designers.

The exhibition is divided into three thematically interrelated parts: a historical narrative, a scientific and a mythological view of celestial objects, and a projection room.

The first part traces the history and development of astronomical knowledge in Bulgaria.

The second part of the exposition reveals the old, traditional beliefs and ideas of the Bulgarians about celestial objects and phenomena, as well as modern scientific discoveries explaining their nature, reasons for existence, life and development.

The third part of the exposition is an improvised planetarium, showing a film specially created for the exhibition, which attempts to present in development man's aspiration to explore outer space.