A formal official notification was issued in the Mysore Government Gazette on 17 April 1866,[1] a copy of which is still preserved in the Karnataka State Archives in Bengaluru.

The gazette notification officially invited citizens to contribute cultural and natural artifacts to the museum for display.

The new museum (the current structure) was planned and built in 1877[7] by Col. Richard Hieram Sankey, the Chief Engineer of Mysore State at that time.

The galleries cover sections that span sculpture, natural history, geology, art, music and numismatics.

The museum also houses rare paintings of Deccan, Mysore and Tanjore kingdoms are found.

The prized collections of the Museum include the earliest Kannada inscription- the Halmidi inscription (450 C.E.

The average annual footfall was 280,000 in the 1870s and over 400,000[2] in the early part of the 20th century[2] as per museum records catalogued by the British.

According to museum officials, the annual number of visitors is over 90,000 consisting of domestic and international tourists.

[10] The 13th Finance Commission of India has sanctioned ₹ 1 billion as a grant to Karnataka for the conservation of monuments and development of museums.