Archaeology, art, clothing and textiles, furniture, glassware ceramics, quilts, toys and games are all permanent exhibits at the museum.

In addition, the 1815 Log House displays building techniques, furniture, tools, and clothing authentic to the 1810s time period.

Hands-on programs for school classes and educational workshops for adults, lectures, and festivals are also regularly featured at the Kentucky Museum.

The IAE collected the ordinary means by which Americans have achieved extraordinary things: the actual tools or instruments that have helped change the course of our nation's history.

The IAE included items that belonged luminaries such as Madeleine Albright, Daniel Boone, Jimmy Carter, Tony Hawk, Roger Ingram, Helen Keller, and Liza Minnelli.