The museum was founded on December 23, 1980, by Reina Torres de Araúz in the building of the Former Christian Mission Chapel.

[2] The building that currently houses the Afro-Caribbean Museum of Panama was built between 1909 and 1910, by a group of Protestant religious from present-day Barbados.

The current museum building became part of the cultural heritage of the National Institute of Culture through Law 43 of 2017 that, among other provisions, authorized the National Mortgage Bank to transfer to INAC, free of charge, a plot of 2,408.93 m², which contains to the MAAP building, its garden and outbuildings.

At present, the museum consists of two domestic dioramas with a bedroom and a kitchen that show the Afro-Antillean daily life and clothing.

There is also one that represents a work scene during the excavation of the Panama Canal, which consists of a section of track and a metal dump truck.