The National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History is the oldest public museum in the Republic of Moldova. Founded as an Agricultural Museum, during its existence it gradually expanded its field of activity, creating collections that reflect natural history, contemporary nature, the evolution of human society and the traditional culture of the territory of Bessarabia, and later - of the Republic of Moldova. Currently, it owns a heritage of over 200 thousand pieces. Numerous exhibitions were created within the Museum, which highlighted the animal and plant world, the natural wealth of the land, and reflected the occupations of the population. Pieces from the museum's collections have been presented at various exhibitions held in many countries in Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
        The permanent exhibition has the title „Nature. Man. Culture”, with an area of 2000 square meters, reveals the evolution of the Man-Nature correlation at different stages of society's development: the evolution of the organic world, the dynamics of the use of natural resources, the creative synthesis of Man-Nature, the ecological situation in the Republic of Moldova and ways to improve it. The museum has a Temporary Exhibition Hall, in which various exhibitions from its own heritage and from other museums are displayed. Handicraft exhibitions of folk craftsmen, which are organized every year, have become traditional. On the territory of the museum there is a Botanical Garden, which gathers the most widespread species of herbaceous plants, trees and shrubs from the territory of the Republic of Moldova. A Vivarium was organized within the Botanical Garden with permanent exhibitions of rare, exotic and decorative birds, reptiles and fish. As the first public museum in the country, the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History, over decades, contributed to the creation of the museum network and the national school of museology. Currently, he is active in the direction of organizing the open-air museum of popular architecture - the Village Museum.
        As branches of the museum are the Museum Complexes „Balioz Mansion” in the village of Ivancea, Orhei, „Villa with Park Mândâc” in the district of Drochia, and „Țipova-Saharna” in the district of Rezina. Within the museum, folklore events, contests and national and international festivals are regularly held, highlighting popular creations, collected from all areas of the republic. The architectural-historical complex of the museum was built in the second half of the 19th century - beginning of the 20th century and is located between M. Kogălniceanu - A. Șciusev, M. Cebotari - Sfatul Țării streets. The main building was built especially for the museum, in the years 1903-1905, according to the project of the architect Vladimir Tâganco. The museum buildings are architectural monuments of national importance. In 2005, the Museum obtained the status of an institution in the field of science and innovation. The institution's researchers have developed numerous scientific papers, a good part of which were published in the Scientific Bulletin - periodical publication of the museum, which has been published since 1926, having, since 2005, the status of the Journal of Ethnography, Natural Sciences and Museology. The museum has a valuable scientific library, which holds over 41500 volumes, including an important rare book collection.