The Nature Museum of Buryatia was opened on July 12, 1983, based on the nature department of the M. N. Khangalov Regional Museum. Today, it is one of the leading natural history museums in the country, part of the "Open Museum" association and the Association of Natural History Museums under ICOM Russia. It is the only regional nature museum in Siberia and the Far East, with an exhibition organized according to landscape principles.

The museum holds particular value in its natural specimens, collected from nature and processed for long-term storage and study. On April 4, 2019, a new exhibition titled "Taiga, Lake, Steppe" was opened in the building of the Ts. S. Sampilov Art Museum.

The exhibition employs modern multimedia technologies and interactive exhibits that can and should be touched. The sounds of the forest, the cries of animals and birds, and the aromas of coniferous trees, combined with authentic museum items, create an atmosphere of unity with nature. The Nature Museum aims to showcase the inseparable connection between the nature of Buryatia and Baikal, to awaken love for them, and to inspire the desire to preserve this great natural heritage, just as our ancestors did, who lived in friendship and harmony on the shores of the sacred lake.