Designed by architect James Whalley, the museum officially opened in 1964, the museum contains exhibits illustrating the history, mineral wealth and wildlife of Zimbabwe, including the second largest mounted elephant in the world.

The museum has nine public display galleries, a lecture hall with a seating capacity of 120 people, a cafeteria, and eight research departments with substantial study collections and ongoing research in the following disciplines: Arachnology and invertebrates, Entomology, Ornithology, Mammology, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Paleontology and Geology and Archaeology.

1901 - Cecil Rhodes visited Bulawayo and received a request from the Rhodesia Scientific Board to build a museum to house their growing collection of minerals.

1910 - the now Parcels Office, situated at corner Fort Street and 8th Avenue was donated to the Museum Committee by the British South African Company.

1960 - land in Centenary park was availed by Bulawayo City Council and the building began 20 March 1964 - the museum was officially opened to the public.

The collections include the rare, but famous Zambia broken hill lean/zinc minerals and kermesite specimens.

[1] The Palaeontological collection has over 2500 specimens that include plant fossils, various dinosaurs as well as early mammals, fish and other invertebrates.

The department of ornithology holds the largest and most important collection in Africa of bird skins, nests, eggs, skeletons.

The collections were obtained locally and in the neighbouring Botswana, Mozambique, Angola, Tanzania and Kenya.