The Polytechnic Museum has released a special issue of the Let's Figure It Out magazine

The new special issue of the Polytechnic Museum's children's magazine "Let's Figure it Out" is dedicated to outstanding Russian and Soviet scientists, engineers, as well as the world's first "breakthrough" inventions, from Alexander Lodygin's incandescent lamp to the synchrotron.

The magazine "Let's figure it out" is a joint project of the Polytechnic Museum and the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Free Artists" under the scientific curatorship of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute". The Central Exhibition Hall "Manege" (St. Petersburg) participated in the work on the issue. The theme was the exposition of the large—scale exhibition "Polytechnic Museum: Creating the Present", which was held in St. Petersburg in late 2024 - early 2025.

The latest issue is dedicated to outstanding Russian and Soviet scientists and engineers who became the authors of the most significant inventions that influenced scientific and technological progress. These are the first in the world: a radio receiver, an incandescent lamp with a carbon filament, a plant for continuous cracking of oil, a turbine drill, a nuclear power plant and other revolutionary developments.

The engineering theme has determined the unusual form of the publication: the two parts are united by the cover. The first part contains descriptions and drawings of inventions, the second contains descriptions and photographs. The reader can scroll through each part separately or connect the two parts and see the full information on each section.

The magazine tells about the inventions of Alexander Lodygin, Alexander Popov, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Vladimir Shukhov, Matvey Kapelyushnikov, Igor Sikorsky, Igor Kurchatov, Anatoly Alexandrov, Rostislav Alekseev, Sergei Korolev, Gavriil Ilizarov, Evgeny Velikhov and other prominent people. The authors tried to tell the main thing about each one, not only to surprise and entertain the reader, but also to teach something new.

Stylish and funny illustrations for this issue were created by artist and designer Peter Lutov, a nominee of the International Fair of Intellectual Literature non/fictioNo. 27 in the comics category.

"Let's figure it out" emphasizes the interdisciplinarity of invention both technically and conceptually. Within the framework of the project, through immersion in various scientific knowledge, Peter Lutov conveys the idea that the creation of new technologies is not just a scientific process, but also a sphere of art and creativity.

The artist calls participation in this project a 12-week adventure and adds: "For more than half of my life, I've been working in a digital world that tries to portray the real one. In the digital world, the fourth dimension, time, is constantly being forgotten. Collaboration with the Polytechnic Museum is the real world in all its dimensions. I was lucky to take part in such an interesting project that brought together many people and different times so that we could touch history, learn a lot of new and interesting things, be inspired by achievements and recharge with creative energy."

The new edition of Let's Figure It Out is an example of a successful synthesis of science, technology and art, allowing you to clearly see how important the interaction of different disciplines is for new achievements in various fields.