This was the first Regional Centre of the National Museum of Natural History and it set into motion the concept of regional centres and reaching out to the vast landscape of the country with regional museums and dedicated activities.
The museum is set up in a serene surrounding facing the Karanji Lake and Chamundi hill. Situated very close to Mysore zoo with Karanji Lake, it is a learning laboratory for museum activities related to environmental education.
This museum depicts the floral, faunal and geological wealth of the southern region of India and their ecological interrelationship among plants and animals with emphasis on conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. It also provides out of school facility for schoolchildren on curriculum-based studies in biology and geology with emphasis on environmental aspect and develop programmers for masses to create environmental awareness.
RMNH Mysore was blessed to have received more than two thousand biological specimens of all kinds from the original stock kept under the custody of the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Karnataka and the world famous taxidermist studio, M/s Van Ingen & Van Ingen Mysore. The stock of biological specimens received at Mysore Museum was the base building material for most other regional centres that were built across the country, subsequently.