Originally called the "Junior Museum of Oneida County", it was housed in the basement of the Utica Public Library, and its only exhibit was a replica of an Iroquois longhouse.

In 1974 it moved into the upper floor of the Valley View golf course, also within Roscoe Conkling Park.

In 2017, the museum approved a managed services contract with local non-profit Kids Oneida, which would rename itself ICAN in 2019.

[6][4][3] In March 2020, ICAN announced that the museum would be relocating to a new building on the Memorial Parkway, located at the former location of the Utica City School District administrative offices.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the museum to close its old location sooner than expected.