Located within White River State Park, the museum includes an array of exhibits focused on the science, culture and history of the state. That includes exhibits focused on prehistoric times through the present day. State Librarian R. Deloss Brown is credited with creating the original collection for the museum when he started to amass a collection of minerals and curiosities during the Civil War. The Indiana General Assembly in 1869 passed a law to provide “for the collection and preservation of a Geological and Mineralogical Cabinet of the Natural History of this State.”