The museum is located in the ancestral estate of the Saltykovs, the birthplace of the writer Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin, in the Taldom urban district of the Moscow region. The exhibition titled "Poshekhonskaya Antiquity" is housed in the only preserved architectural monument of the 18th century, the Church of the Transfiguration, where the future writer was baptized. The theme of the exhibition resonates with Saltykov-Shchedrin's last novel "Poshekhonskaya Antiquity," which is based on memories of his "ten-year rural childhood."

Museum staff also organize tours of the family cemetery and the territory of the Saltykov estate, where an ancient park, a cascade of ponds, and the holy spring "Iordanka" have been preserved. The main exhibition of the M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin Museum is dedicated to the writer's childhood years spent in the village of Spas-Ugol. During the tour, visitors will learn about the genealogy of the Saltykov noble family, the history of the Spas-Ugol estate, and hear various stories and legends about the gentry life of the 19th century. Guides will talk about the childhood of the future writer, his upbringing and education, as well as family relationships. Life in the Saltykov estate was closely linked to serfdom, so the museum features a wide range of peasant household items.