It is emphasized that skansen or open-air museum is a complex socio-cultural complex that preserves, broadcasts and popularizes the results of creative activity of the people, ethnographic, cultural and historical heritage of individual regions, while fulfilling not only the educational mission and the function of inculturation, but also the functions of cultural-leisure activities. Skansens are also a powerful tourist and recreational resource and a center for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage through the implementation of non-traditional forms of leisure activities with visitors. Based on the analysis of various variants of the typology of open-air museums in Ukraine, the following types of open-air museums have been identified: 1) by the form of ownership (public, private); 2) by type and species characteristics (ethnographic, archaeological, historical, and mixed); 3) by the principle of originality of museumization of monuments (skansen, skansen-type institutions, and eco-museums).
It is proved that the processes that the processes of formation and development of open-air museums as cultural-leisure facilities in Ukraine are determined by cultural and historical factors. The first period of formation and development of skansens in the Ukrainian lands began in the late nineteenth century and lasted until 1939. This was the period of ethnographic and industrial-agricultural exhibitions that contributed to increased interest in Ukrainian folk culture, which resulted in the intensification of the local history and museum movement. The next stage began in 1944 with the liberation of Ukrainian territories from the Nazis and lasted until the late 1980s of the XX century. It was characterized by the fast development of the local history movement, increased interest of both scholars and the public in the problems of preserving the monuments of the material and spiritual culture of the Ukrainian people, the opening of 8 major and largest skansens not only in Ukraine, but also the largest skansen in Europe, the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine (1969). The basis of the skansen’s activities during this period was research and restoration work. The third stage – 1991 – the beginning of the XXI century - is accompanied by the emergence of conditions for expanding the network of skansens in Ukraine, the growth of the network of open-air museums thanks to the private initiative of collectors, the emergence of private skansens and skansen-type institutions, and the transformation of the cultural and educational function of open-air museums into cultural-leisure activities. It is found that in the 2000s a new type of open-air museum institution appeared in Ukraine - a private skansen. Also during this period, a museum institution of the skansen type appeared, the main difference of which is the exact reproduction of authentic examples of folk architecture and life, that is, the exhibits in museums are not authentic, but only copy the original monuments.
It is pointed out that today the Ukrainian skansen, regardless of the type of ownership or subordination, is not just an exhibition supplemented by a thematic or sightseeing tour, but also an entertainment and cultural-leisure center, a place for meetings, recreation, theatrical performances, and a center for popularizing the national cultural heritage. Almost all open-air museums founded in the mid-20th century are actively realizing their cultural and leisure potential. State-owned skansen are less active in attracting non-traditional forms of visitor engagement, due to insufficient funding and outdated concepts of visitor engagement.
