The museum was solemnly opened on November 3, 1967. Since 1979, it has functioned as a branch of the Kirov State Historical, Architectural, and Literary Museum. Since 1998, the museum has become a municipal cultural institution.

In 2007, it moved to a new facility with an area of 1,000 square meters. The exhibition hall and historical exhibits are available to visitors and residents of the city and district in four halls: "The Ancient Past of Vyatskie Polyany," "The History of the Development of Vyatskie Polyany in the 19th and 20th Centuries," the Hall of Military Glory, and "Vyatskie Polyany during the Strengthening and Development of the National Economy from 1930 to 2000."

The museum includes a library with a collection of over 1,000 books dedicated to the history, culture, and ecology of the region, as well as archival materials and periodicals. In 2008, the historical monument, the House-Museum of the designer of the PPSh submachine gun Georgy Semyonovich Shpagin, was included in the Vyatskopolyansky Historical Museum. The museum conducts over 500 excursions and 28 exhibitions annually, introducing new forms of work such as museum subscriptions, excursions to city enterprises, and birthday celebrations.