Tashkent is home to a plethora of different museums, though most of them are dedicated to more cultural exhibitions. There are a handful of unique ones that are dedicated to the likes of automotive industry and astronomy. This is not to say that the cultural ones are boring, on the contrary, for people like me they are like a well that keeps on giving. However, they certainly lack the visual charm of the gems you will find on this list, well gems may be overdoing it a bit…
Tashkent Polytechnic Museum – https://maps.app.goo.gl/ED2bqcwVuU495uKr7
Uzbekistan manufactures a ton of different car models, due to a lot of agreements with countries like Japan and USA, who are known for their automotive industries. In fact, almost all the cars in the country are locally produced Chevrolets, which is pretty interesting though it does make looking for your Yandex Taxi a bit harder than usual.
This automotive industry eventually gave birth to the rather impressive Tashkent Polytechnic Museum. It offers a lot of cars, starting from the earlier models to some that are produced right now in Uzbekistan for your viewing pleasure, and all are in pristine condition. With an extremely small fee to enter, one should not miss this opportunity. Only buy entrance to the first floor by the way, the second one is mostly for kids and houses a lot of physics-related exhibitions.
Tashkent City Planetarium – https://maps.app.goo.gl/P3BWFdGvrWbDkNqC6
There is a new planetarium in Tashkent that is supposed to be of a higher quality than the old one, but I was not in the mood to sit through a walk amidst the stars, since it would be in Russian… With that being said, in the same establishment, you can visit a small but refreshing wax museum which has around 30 figures from around the world, as well as a few local famous singers and actors. I would not call it a must visit, but if you some time to spare, you cannot go wrong with a visit to here.
Tashkent Planetarium – https://maps.app.goo.gl/idCGc1eGdhDqEw5K8
The old planetarium of the city is actually found not so far away from the new one. Despite being older, this one has a small museum dedicated to astronomy and space exploration. I did not really venture into it, since I was very hungry at the moment, but I did hear good things about the museum, which is apparently free, but not so good things about the show itself, which is at the very least much cheaper than the one found in the new planetarium.
Museum of Telecommunication of Uzbekistan – https://maps.app.goo.gl/DnHjJ8q4Z7d346JbA
I was shocked when I visited this unassuming little museum, which I practically chanced upon. Despite being free, this small museum had some of the best care for its exhibition in the region, and its dedicated small staff was hard at work making it even better when I was there.
As its name suggests, this small museum is dedicated to the history and the present state of telecommunication in Uzbekistan. There are many displays with technologies dedicated to communication, and even photos of structures like TV towers from around the world. It is certainly well worth a visit!
Museum of Nature of Uzbekistan – https://maps.app.goo.gl/WoqjMLEjdeGZPVeQ7
I was not really impressed with this one but here it goes. Since it was under renovation, I was only really allowed to see maybe eight small rooms full of stuffed animals that seemed a bit fake to me. I do not have an issue with that, in fact, it beats killing animals for showcasing them. However, it could have been done better. A small highlight would be this tiny corner of the museum, where you can see supposedly real human and some animal foetuses in these small holders. It is a bit eery to say the least, but it does make you wonder in the best way imaginable.
Railway Museum – https://maps.app.goo.gl/2UCyqKyzuWhuYWSE8
I have to say that my favourite technical museum in Tashkent was this one dedicated to the railways and machinists of the country. It features too many locomotives to count and the whole place looks like a playground that I wish I had when I was a kid.
What really separates this one from many other railway museums I visited so far is the fact that here, you can pretend to be a machinist by going aboard almost all the locomotives on display. Some are steam-powered, some others are electric like this one. All are beautiful though.
There were a lot of renovations going on there when I visited it, which may mean that it will look even better in the near future. There are some wagons like this one which can easily be turned into small museums or cafes, so I am hoping to hear something good from them in due time.
Tashkent may not be a destination known for its museums, as in, I would not go there for museums alone. However, it would be unfair to call it a desert of sorts in that regard as well. There sure are a few things here and there to spend some quality time in, so make sure to put these into your itinerary when you plan to visit Tashkent!