The museum's territory covers 139.8 hectares and is divided into several sectors: Kargopol-Oneshsky, Dvinsky, Pinezhsky, and Mezensky. Currently, sectors 'Pomorsky' and 'Vazhsky' are being created. However, some buildings are in poor condition and closed to visitors, awaiting restoration.

The museum was founded in 1964 and has been a member of the Association of European Open-Air Museums since 1983. Since 1996, 'Malye Koryely' has been included in the State Register of Particularly Valuable Cultural Heritage Sites of the Peoples of Russia.

The museum's exhibition features about 100 civil, public, and church buildings, the oldest of which date back to the 16th century (the bell tower from the village of Kuliga Drakovanova) and the 17th century (the Ascension Church from the village of Kusherka and the George Church from the village of Vershina). Among the exhibits, one can see peasant and merchant houses, barns, wells, fences, windmills, and a bathhouse. To move the buildings to the museum's territory, they were disassembled and then reassembled on site.

The museum got its name from the village of Malye Koryely, located nearby. On the hill is the village of Bolshie Koryely. There are often disputes about the correct spelling of the name, 'Koryely' or 'Karely.'

The name of the museum and the village is associated with the Ugro-Finnish tribe of Koryely, who lived in the territory of Belomorya in the 12th and 14th centuries, after whom Slavic settlers named the village. An example is the Nikolsky-Korely Monastery, named after the Koryely (Nikolsky) arm of the Northern Dvina.

The spelling with 'o' is supported by the name of the river Koryelka (now the river Koryely), which flows near the museum. Historically, in the Russian language, the name of the Koryely people was spelled with 'o,' as reflected in chronicles and historical names, such as the fortress 'Korela' and Koryely district.

Over time, due to akanye, the unstressed sound 'o' in the word 'koryely' became 'a,' which influenced the spelling of the village's name, although initially, the Novgorod dialect and northern Great Russian dialects featured okanye.

Currently, the name of the tourist complex 'Malye Karely,' located between the village and the museum with similar names, causes confusion.