Realising that, as a National Institution, the National Museum of Natural History has an obligation to the entire country in respect of creating environment awareness and promoting conservation education, it was decided during the VII Plan to have regional offices in the form of Regional Museum of Natural History (RMNH) in different parts of the country in a phased manner so as to extend the activities of NMNH at regional and state levels.
Accordingly, the first such Regional office was initiated in the 'Southern Region' in 1995 at Mysore (Karnataka State). The second one was developed for the ' Central Region' in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) in 1997.The third Regional Museum in the 'Eastern Region' of the country was established in Bhubaneswar (Orissa) and operationalised in 2004. The fourth Regional office was established in “Western Region” in Sawai Madhopur in 2008 and it is expected to be operational shortly. A fifth Regional office in “North-Eastern Region” is expected to be established soon in Gangtok (Sikkim).