The museum is the biggest and the oldest in the region. The first exposition there was opened 16 June, 1929, initiated by the Volynian Association of Regional Studies and Monument Protection; in 1940 the place became the regional museum of history and ethnography. During the WWII, the museum lost significant part of the exposition, but continued working in 1944 as a state museum. The current exposition was opened 17 August, 1985, which was the time when the place got its modern name — the Museum of Regional Ethnography of Volyn.
Nowadays the museum consists of several branches: the one in Kolodyazhne village — the literary and memorial museum of Lesya Ukrayinka; the Art Museum, the Museum of Volynian Icons and the Museum of the History of Lutsk Brotherhood in Lutsk, the memorial museum of Vyacheslav Lypynsky in Zaturka village (Lokachynsky district). One more branch is being formed now — the Museum of Ethnography and Folk Crafts of Volyn in Lutsk.
The museum collection consists of over 140 thousand exhibits representing local nature, history, ethnography and arts. The exposition is divided into the thematic sections of natural history, ancient and modern history of the region and several exhibitions with certain topics. The whole collection takes the place of 32 rooms (23 for permanent and 9 for temporary ehxibitions), which is over 2 thousand m2.
The materials on natural history are placed in eight rooms supplemented with dioramas and soundtrack. From there, you can learn about the local natural and hydrological features, geology, climate, richness of flora and fauna of the region.
The section of ancient history displays items from periods of the oldest times till 1917; the modern history section consists of thematic parts: 'Volyn in 1939-1941' and 'Volyn During the WWII (1941-1945)'. There are two permanent exhibitions: 'Volyn: History, Politics, Economy, Culture (1945-2012)' and 'Shevchenko's Living Room by Mykola Kudelya'.
There's also a huge collection of folk arts and crafts items: weaving, embroidery and traditional Volynial costumes.
The local staff puts significant efforts in doing historical research and updating of the current exposition, which resulted in creating personal collections of materials for such historical and cultural figures as Anatoliy Dubliansky and Polikarp Sikorsky (Metropolitans of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church), the historian and politologist Vyacheslav Lypynsky, the artist anf member of UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) Nil Khasevych, and many more.