A rare exhibit of the State Museum of the State Cultural Centre of Turkmenistan is the Kunyaurgench meteorite that is on display in a hermetically sealed case in the Department of Nature and Local History. The case, which was ordered specially in Turkey, prevents oxidation and decay of the exhibit. The meteorite – the unburned parts of the fireball were transferred inside this chamber, without being taken out, to the new building of the Ethnography and Local Lore Museum where it is on display permanently. Now schoolchildren and students come to the Museum and examine curiously the cracked alien block in the “shirt” – a burnt crust with grooves and dents that were formed when the cosmic body entered the dense parts of the atmosphere.
The meteorite fell on the territory of Turkmenistan 7 km south of the city of Kunyaurgench at 5:30 pm local time in June 1998. Initially, it was kept at the geology museum of the Türkmengeologiýa State Corporation, later it was decided to exhibit it at the new National Museum of Turkmenistan (now the State Museum) so that a wider circle of scientists, citizens of the country and guests of the capital could see it. When the museum opened, the unique exhibit, registered under the number 486 as “an alien body for our planet”, adorned the collection of the Hall of Nature. The interest in the meteorite has not faded away over many years; such celestial “wanderers” are the building material of the Universe and can be used to study the evolution of our solar system. Our guides can answer many questions from visitors.
