Mining
From the Paleolithic era to the present.
The exhibition of the history of mining is located on the second and third basement levels of the main building of the National Technical Museum. On the third basement level, there is an exhibition hall with an area of 350 m², which is connected by 490 meters of corridors of the museum model mine. The exhibition hall serves as the entrance to and exit from the mine. On the second basement level, there is a smaller hall with a playroom built around the topic of mining and a space for studying, playing, and rest suitable even for the youngest children. The Mining exhibition is located next to the History of Metallurgy exhibition, as both fields are closely related.
The exhibition presents a chronological linear cross-section of the history of mineral extraction from the Paleolithic era to the present. Visitors can understand the history of mining technology from the prepared archival materials, mining maps, and construction drawings, which are supplemented by high-quality photographs and objects from the NTM’s collection and from other institutions. Contemporary mining technology is presented through products donated by Czech manufacturers and photos from the country’s mines. In one comprehensive exhibition, it is thus possible to see Paleolithic digging tools made from antlers from the flint mines in Tušimice, a large model of the idealized mining landscape of the 16th-19th centuries from the Ore Mountains (Krušné Hory) and the most modern high-tech mining technology in the form of a MB 280 E modern coal shearer along with a C3K 190/642 used for mining low ceiling coal seams from 0.8 to 1.6 m thick with a conveyor and a MVPO 4200 mechanized sliding brace, manufactured by the Czech company T-Machinery a.s. in 2013.
Mining techniques, extraction methods and other specifics of mining are explained using multimedia presentations on LCD monitors. The complex schemes of mining methods and complicated mining techniques are also explained through 3D animated films. The exhibition is integrally connected to a model of an ore and coal mine, which primarily presents technology from the 1950s, but also exhibits some objects from the beginning of the 20th century. The model mines can only be entered in groups with a guide for a special fee, the exhibition hall is freely accessible as part of the price of the basic entrance fee. The mining exhibition with an ore and coal mine is followed by the metallurgy exhibition on the second basement level.
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