In 1956, a decision was made to establish a local history museum in Sarov. Initially, the museum was located in a building that now houses the forestry department. Although this building was unsuitable for museum work in terms of layout and size, a small exhibition titled "The Wildlife of Our Region" was created.

Later, a new exhibition called "The History of Life on Earth" was introduced, which was particularly popular with children. Therefore, the museum staff hesitated to change it for a long time.

Many residents remember the small figures of primitive people and ancient animals displayed behind thick glass filled with water. Over time, a group of enthusiastic local historians formed at the museum, who began traveling to the surrounding areas, as well as to Arzamas and Gorky, to find exhibits reflecting the city's history. During one of these trips, a unique handwritten map of the Sarov Forest Dacha from 1867 was acquired. In 1967, the museum was provided with the premises of the former cinema "Moscow," and work began on the historical sections of the exhibition. The first exhibition of works by Gorky artists took place in the foyer of the former cinema, which had been transformed into an exhibition hall. The main focus of the museum's work is the preservation and use of the city's historical and cultural heritage, cultural and historical monuments, as well as the development of cultural and artistic traditions of the local population and the popularization of folk crafts and trades. Over ten years, the museum's main collection increased by 5,000 items, and more than ten collections were formed, including archaeological, ethnographic, numismatic, natural science, painting, graphics, and decorative applied arts.

By 1994, the museum had five exhibitions: "Village Life," "War Veterans, City Residents," "Participants of the Civil War, City Residents," "Wildlife of the Region," and "The Origin of Life on Earth." In 1997, thanks to the research work of the museum staff, new exhibitions were created: "The History of the Sarov Monastery," "Peasant Life of the Late 19th and Early 20th Century," "Urban Life at the Turn of the Century," and "The City During the War." In 1998-1999, exhibitions titled "How the City Began," "Their Names in the Street Names," "Honorary Citizens of the City," and "Conversion of City-Forming Enterprises" were added, utilizing over 200 documents and photographs from personal archives of scholars and declassified archives of the Nuclear Center. In 2000, exhibitions "Wildlife of the Nizhny Novgorod Region" and "Diversity of the Animal World of the Planet," popular among schoolchildren, were arranged, and in 2001, the archaeological exhibition "Medieval Sarov Settlement" was established. In 2003, three more exhibitions appeared: "The Stay of Nicholas II in Sarov in 1903," "The Prophetic Word of Elder Seraphim," and "The City in 1953." In 2004, a photo-documentary exhibition titled "The City of Our Destiny" was prepared for the city's anniversary. A particular interest is aroused by the collection of sculptural anthropological reconstructions by Academician M. M. Gerasimov, donated to the museum. This includes five unique exhibits representing reconstructions of the appearance of primitive people based on their skulls. The ethnographic collection is actively replenished with items of museum significance. The museum showcases samples of Mordovian and Nizhny Novgorod folk clothing, demonstrating its aesthetic qualities, richness of embroidery, and weaving. The funds of documentary materials on the city's history and the collection of paintings by local and Nizhny Novgorod artists are also constantly being expanded. Currently, the museum conducts tours on 40 topics of the main exhibition. Every year, an exhibition titled "Artists of Sarov" opens in the exhibition hall on Yunist Street, where residents can see paintings done in oil and pastel, watercolor works, decorative applied art items, batik, ceramics, embroidery, lace, and sculptures made of wood and plaster.