The museum's initial collection included 1195 exhibits and was divided into two departments: historical and natural. In the first few months of operation, the museum attracted 4800 visitors.

The first exhibits were acquired in 1918 thanks to L. A. Kulik, who headed the meteorite department of the geological and mineralogical museum of the Academy of Sciences. These exhibits were purchased from the Ural Society of Naturalists and included a collection of minerals, rocks, as well as herbariums of plants from the Ilmen Mountains. A significant part of the exhibits consisted of cultural values left after the departure of the Kolchak forces from Miass in 1919, such as paintings, artistic casting, valuable furniture, and stuffed animals and birds from I. Bardin's workshop.

In 1928, the museum was forced to move from the Simonov mansion to the house of merchant Zharov on Sverdlov Street due to the transfer of the pedagogical college from Zlatoust. In 1934, the museum changed its address again, moving to a one-story building at 7 Oktyabrskaya Street, in the house of merchant Lesin. Between 1934 and 1935, a wooden extension was added to the building to increase space. A carpentry workshop operated at the museum for the manufacture and repair of equipment. Thanks to the efforts of director I. T. Chernykh, the museum's collections grew to 7 thousand exhibits, and attendance increased to 20 thousand people per year. A scientific library, archive, and chemical laboratory were also established.

During the Great Patriotic War, the museum faced the challenge of preserving and replenishing collections with materials reflecting the heroism of the war years. This was not easy, as the museum staff was reduced, and exhibition space decreased by 60% due to the placement of an evacuated design institute from Kharkov on the museum's territory.

After the war, the museum's work stabilized. Its main activities included scientific research, exhibitions, and educational work. The collection of local historical material and the study of the region's nature were actively pursued. The Ilmen State Reserve provided significant assistance in replenishing the collections. The museum became a center for coordinating various directions of regional study and providing scientific and methodological assistance to school museums and clubs.

Since the 1960s, museum staff began conducting research work in the country's archives. In 1961, unique documents confirming the exact date of the Miass plant's founding were found in collaboration with the Central State Archive of Ancient Acts. Researcher Pyotr Mikhailovich Shalaginov, who worked at the museum for over 20 years, did significant work in collecting archival materials and developing tourist routes for schoolchildren.

On February 4, 1960, a historical and local history section was created at the museum, uniting veterans of the party, wars, and labor. These enthusiasts made a significant contribution to replenishing the museum's collections with materials on the city's history. The main problem for the museum remained the lack of scientific personnel and exhibition space.

In the 1970s, the question of allocating a new building to the museum, the former house of merchant Kuznetsov on Lenin Street, 12, arose again. However, restoration work caused irreparable damage to the building, and the move did not take place.

Despite the problems with the premises, positive changes were observed in the museum's work in the 1970s. The qualifications of scientific staff improved, and the scientific level of research increased. Productive work was carried out in state archives to replenish factual materials on the city's history. The collections were formed according to thematic and exhibition plans for the new exhibition. To attract visitors, agreements were made with the Chelyabinsk and Chebarkul travel and excursion bureaus, as well as with schools and enterprises, which increased attendance to 50 thousand people per year. The main forms of mass work remained excursions and lectures, with about 500 and 70 held annually, respectively.

On July 4, 1995, the museum moved to the mansion of gold industrialist E. M. Simonov, where exhibitions on the history of the region and the life of the inhabitants of the Miass plant were arranged. A scientific and local history library with a rich collection of publications, including pre-revolutionary ones, was opened for visitors.

In 1920, the museum's fund numbered 1195 exhibits, and now it has 21 collections with over 51 thousand exhibits. The museum conducts thematic excursions for schoolchildren and students, as well as city local history readings and lectures on the history of the region.

The museum's collections reflect all aspects of the social and cultural development of Miass and its surroundings. The archaeological collection includes over 20 thousand exhibits collected by archaeological expeditions in the Miass region. The mineralogical collection demonstrates the diversity of the Ilmen Mountains, including rocks and samples of precious minerals. The artistic casting collection features works by masters such as P. K. Klodt and E. A. Lansere, cast at the Kusinsky and Kaslinsky plants. The document collection covers the economic and social development of the city from the founding of the Miass copper smelting plant to the present day.

The rare book department contains spiritual and secular literature, encyclopedic dictionaries, UOLE publications, books from the series 'Library of Great Writers', as well as publications from private printing houses of the Miass plant and modern books. Of particular interest are two 18th-century Gospels and chronicles written by priests of the Peter and Paul Church.

The ethnography collection includes furniture, household items, tools, and clothing from various social strata characteristic of the Miass region. It was replenished through the museum's expeditions to nearby villages and settlements.