The collection was created in 1789 at the Nikolsk-Bakhmetevsky factory and originally represented a sample room. By 1914, it was already mentioned in documents as a museum. Three generations of the Bakhmetev family and Prince Alexander Dmitrievich Obolensky collected samples of their factory's products, as well as items made from Bohemian, French, English, and Polish glass.

After the nationalization of the factory and its renaming to 'Red Giant' in 1923, the museum's collection continued to grow thanks to the efforts of the factory directors. In recent years, the collection has expanded through donations from private individuals and works by glass artists, which have been given to the museum after symposia held in Nikolsk since 2006. The collection of the Nikolskiy Museum of Glass and Crystal is considered one of the unique and largest in Russia and is recognized by art historians as the best in the country.

The permanent exhibition, located on the second floor of the building, is presented in chronological order and includes about 5,000 exhibits, providing a complete overview of the museum's collection. It fully showcases products from the Nikolsk-Bakhmetevsky factory of the 18th-19th centuries and selectively includes later periods. The exhibition also features a small part of the collection of Western European glass, porcelain from European and Russian factories, as well as items donated to the museum by various individuals.

On the first floor of the museum, temporary exhibitions are held, showcasing the works of artists and craftsmen from the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including products from modern factories in Nikolsk and contemporary decorative glass donated by the authors after the completion of international symposia.