[1][2][3][4] Located in the Institute of Cultural Research in Kankurgachi, Kolkata, the museum is a rare initiative that aims to preserve the memories of Bengal's riverine past.

The abundant water supply from these rivers has made the Bengal region a prominent agricultural and cultural hub in South Asia.

Swarup Bhattacharyya,[13][14] an anthropology researcher and one of the minds behind facilitating the exhibits at the Boat Museum, says “Boat-making as a craft is passed on through the guru-shishya tradition.

It was inaugurated by "Upendranath Biswas, formerly the joint director of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the former minister for backward class welfare in the West Bengal government.

Thus the idea behind the Boat Museum is also to raise awareness regarding the riparian ecosystem of Bengal which does not typically find mention in any textbook or news and has almost disappeared from collective memory.