The museum collection features a photographic portrait of Ivan Alekseevich Smirnov, the first director of the Arzamas Real School. Arkady Golikov, later known as the writer Arkady Petrovich Gaidar, studied in this school.

One of the distinguishing features of the Arzamas Real School was its teaching staff, headed by director Ivan Alekseevich. The 1872 charter mandated high qualifications for the director, inspector, and teaching staff of the school. The Pedagogical Council, composed of the teachers, discussed academic and educational matters.

Ivan Alekseevich Smirnov was an experienced teacher and administrator. Students of the Arzamas Real School affectionately called the director “Grandpa.” He personally selected the teachers and taught geometry himself. He knew all the students by name and addressed them all formally and with respect. Despite the presence of class overseers and corridor attendants, he personally inspected the classrooms and facilities daily, monitoring the temperature, heating, lighting, and ventilation. Ivan Alekseevich attended lessons in various classes every day and asked the students questions. According to the teachers, Ivan Smirnov was an outstanding mathematician, who taught this subject in the senior classes.

The Arzamas Real School was opened in 1904 on the basis of the “Charter on Real Schools” dated May 15, 1872. According to the charter, the school had a seven-year course of study. Children under the age of 13 were admitted to the first grade. Education was provided for a fee of 25 rubles per year, with exceptions for children whose parents worked in educational institutions under the Ministry of Public Education. The school taught various disciplines, including religious studies, Russian language, arithmetic, history, geography, French, English, and Latin languages, chemistry, physics, and drawing. The curricula were approved by the Ministry of Public Education.

The Arzamas Real School was abolished by the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee “On the Unified Labor School” dated September 30, 1918. On its basis, Soviet School No. 3 of the second level was established.

The archival documents of the Arzamas Real School have been kept in the Arzamas State Archive since 1935. A student record book was found among the documents. In the list for 1914, Arkady Golikov was listed under number 22.