Life in a Russian provincial city at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century has long been left in the past. Lifestyles have changed, habits have been forgotten, and customs have lost their significance. Today, it is difficult to recreate a complete picture of the lives of urban residents from the remaining fragments of the past. This task is being addressed by the museum of urban life, where time seems to have stopped, preserving family traditions and customs.

The museum is located in one of the wings of the former estate of priest I. A. Anaxagorov of the Simbirsk Trinity Cathedral and represents a typical home of a middle-class citizen. The exhibition features a collection of Russian porcelain, lighting fixtures, and furniture.

Visitors often refer to this museum as the 'Family Museum,' as the study of family celebrations, rituals, and wedding traditions has become familiar to the residents of our city.

In 2013, the museum implemented the project 'Several Ways to Feel Time,' which became the first experience of using modern acoustic and lighting equipment with software control in a memorial exhibition. The project's goal is to activate the feelings and emotions of visitors. According to the concept of tactile perception, the more senses are engaged, the fuller the understanding of the object.

Visitors will be guided through the rooms of the old house by directed, constantly changing light, voices of former owners, sounds of a piano, creaking floorboards, crackling logs in the stove, and clinking dishes. Importantly, the project allows for an introduction to the exhibition while maintaining the authenticity of the dim lighting characteristic of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Another technical novelty of the museum is an antique telephone. Anyone who picks up the receiver can learn the 'latest' social news from Simbirsk. The museum's new exhibition hall recreates the atmosphere of a collector's study from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.