Young tour guides of the National Centre RUSSIA successfully complete annual assessment

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Another academic year has come to an end at the Young Tour Guides School of Russia. The final assessment, held on 10 May, brought together three "generations" of students at once: newcomers who began training in October 2025, participants of the first intake launched alongside the opening of the National Centre RUSSIA, and those who first started their journey into the profession during the International RUSSIA EXPO.

The assessment consisted of three parts. The first focused on classical tour guiding: what constitutes an excursion, how to answer tricky questions from visitors, and similar topics. The second featured video questions from mentors recorded in the halls of the "Journey Across Russia" and "Geography Lessons" expositions. The third was an open questionnaire in which the students reflected on what the training had given them and what they remembered most vividly.

"Today's assessment marked the culmination of a major year-long effort. The children recalled everything we taught them: how to conduct a tour, maintain eye contact with guests, and apply their knowledge. The questions were designed to reveal different aspects of the profession. And I must say, our students did brilliantly. They are very talented and coped excellently with the tasks. Over the course of the year, they also managed to overcome their shyness and lack of confidence. It goes without saying that true mastery still lies ahead and will come with practice. But if they continue their studies at our School, they will very soon become genuine professionals," summed up mentor of the "Young Tour Guides School of Russia" project and lead tour guide at the National Centre RUSSIA, Yevgeny Artemenkov.

Eighteen-year-old student of the School Arina-Sofiya Nedorezova admitted that some tasks made her a bit nervous, though overall she coped well: "Many of the questions came up repeatedly during classes, so we gradually memorised them. I think it is very useful to know all of this, because when you speak with someone and include interesting facts, they understand that you are educated and capable of passing knowledge on to others." 

Some of the questions were indeed challenging — for example, how many years a sturgeon featured in the "Geography Lessons" exposition can live, or how Amur tigers differ from one another. Fourteen-year-old Ivan Yesakov noted that the mentors' questions proved more difficult than the general theory: "It is one thing when someone explains something to you during a lesson, and completely another when you have to remember the content of a specific excursion. So a tour guide needs a good memory and resilience under pressure. During a tour, just like during an assessment, you need to be able to quickly retrieve the necessary information from your mind."

At the end of the meeting, participants of the "Young Journalists School" project visited the young guides to film material for a video surprise they are preparing for the tour guides' final class of the academic year. It will take place on 17 May and will serve as the ceremonial conclusion to a rich and productive year of study.

The Young Tour Guides School of Russia began operating at the National Centre RUSSIA two years ago. The original project was launched during the International RUSSIA EXPO and has since grown into a large and close-knit community uniting more than a hundred children and mentors from across the country. During classes, the young participants learn to speak confidently, develop their own style, work correctly with information, and create routes people genuinely want to explore. Upon completing the programme, the students conduct real excursions around the expositions of the National Centre RUSSIA.