The museum occupies 10.5 hectares (26 acres) of former industrial land partly reclaimed from a former railway goods yard, disused lime kilns, canal arm and former coal pits.

The museum opened to the public in 1978, and has since added over 50 shops, houses and other industrial buildings from around the metropolitan boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall and the City of Wolverhampton (collectively known as the Black Country); mainly in a specially built village.

Most buildings were relocated from their original sites to form a base from where demonstrators portray life spanning 300 years of history, with a focus on 1850–1950.

[3] Electric trams and trolleybuses transport visitors from the entrance to the village where thirty domestic and industrial buildings have been relocated close to the canal basin.

On 16 February 2012, the museum's collection was awarded designated status by Arts Council England,[4] a mark of distinction celebrating its unique national and international importance.

[6] By the main entrance in the old Rolfe Street Baths from Smethwick (1888) are displays of local artefacts encompassing some of the many products which were made by Black Country industry, cast iron hollow ware, animal traps, vehicles, chain, anchors, enamels, weighing scales, laundry irons, nails, locks and fire clay products.

[7] In 1712, Thomas Newcomen built the world's first successful steam engine which was used for pumping water from coal mines on Lord Dudley's estates.

Rods hang from the outer end of the beam and operate pumps at the bottom of the mine shaft which raise the water to the surface.

A coal fire heats water in the boiler which is little more than a covered pan and the steam generated passes through a valve into the brass cylinder above it.

The steam in the cylinder is condensed by injecting cold water and the vacuum beneath the piston pulls the inner end of the beam down causing the pump to move.

Evidence of quarries and underground remains, the canal, and preserved lime kilns are parts of a scheduled ancient monument which has features from the medieval, Industrial Revolution and 20th century.

[9] Standing alongside canal arm are the lime kilns, built by the Earl of Dudley to process limestone quarried from Wren's Nest workings.

The brass foundry was built in 1869 in Shaw Street, Walsall and closed after the Second World War but re-opened in 1964 by James Powell and used until his death in 1973.

The rolling mill installed at the Birchley Works in Oldbury in 1923 ceased to operate in 1976 and it was moved to Lord Ward's Canal Arm.

The steam-hammer was installed second hand in the 1920s to forge parts for ships' anchors and the other equipment including furnace and boiler also came from Prestons.

[22] Brook Street back-to-back houses, built in the 1850s, were relocated from Woodsetton and were the homes of colliers, farm workers and ironworkers.

Humphreys sold fireplaces, sanitaryware and building supplies including Walpamur,[32] a flat paint used for internal walls.

The brick tunnel and cart entrance provide access to a late 1930s kitchen with an electric cooker made by Revo[35] of Tipton.

There is a radio workshop behind Gripton's[36] and then the stairs lead to two first floor living rooms and two bedrooms which are all set in the late 1930s and furnished with original 1930s style furniture and wall paper.

The Cradley Heath Workers' Institute was built with surplus funds raised in 1910 during the strike for a minimum wage by women chain makers.

The building contains reconstructed offices, a news room with a digital interpretation of the background to the strike and a large hall which is used for a wide range of activities including theatre performances and concerts.

Visitors can take a 45-minute skipper-guided trip into the tunnel through the historic limestone mines and caverns on a boat operated by the Dudley Canal Trust.

The Resident Fleet is listed below; Wolverhampton was home to some early manufacturers of motor cars, such as Sunbeam, Clyno, AJS and Star.

The museum collection includes a 1903 Sunbeam, a 1912 Star and a 1931 AJS as well as examples of later vehicles such as the Kieft, Frisky and Westfield Topaz.

Unusual vehicles in the fleet include a 1924 Guy-Morris fire engine, a Model T Ford van used by Willenhall firm Brevitt's and a Bean of Tipton flatbed truck.

The museum has been used as a set for many film and television productions, particularly the first season of Rosie & Jim and the BBC dramas WPC 56[42] and Peaky Blinders.