The museum was opened on December 10, 1990, thanks to the initiative of a resident of the village of Polovinka, Anatoly Nikolaevich Khomyakov. Its area is 600 square meters. During its existence, the museum has collected exhibits dedicated to Russian ethnography, archaeology, numismatics, the nature of the native land, the Soviet period, and the ethnography of the Mansi people.

A special place in the exhibition is occupied by the open-air ethnographic museum, covering 400 square meters. Here, buildings reflecting the lifestyle, customs, and traditions of the eastern Mansi from the late 18th to the early 20th century are presented. The main part of the exhibition consists of a Mansi homestead, which includes a log Mansi house, a shelter for horse-drawn transport, utility barns divided into male and female halves, and a maternity house known as vishch kel.

An important element of the open-air museum is the cult site of the Kaurtaev family. It was consecrated by the elders of the family with a sacrificial ritual and the offering of gifts to local gods, in which museum visitors can participate. A small part of the family estate includes a summer two-sided shed intended for the family's overnight stay, and under a wooden canopy are stoves: a kamakan for cooking and a clay oven for baking bread.

The museum's exhibits are housed in two buildings, and the names of the items are presented in Russian and the Mansi Kondinsk (eastern) dialect. The hall "Nature of the Native Land" is decorated with natural materials and includes stuffed animals and birds that inhabit the region.

For centuries, there has been close interaction between Mansi and Russian cultures. The archaeology collection was gathered during the study of the territory of the planned natural-landscape historical-cultural park "Uchinya" by scientists from the Ural State University named after A.M. Gorky. The "Uchinya" park covers 380 hectares and includes 54 historical monuments: 20 settlements, 30 sites, and 4 fortified settlements. Unique items from the Middle Stone Age and the Bronze Age were found during the expedition.