The imposing building, bearing resemblance to the Byzantine style of architecture, was used by the British rulers of India to detain the freedom fighters during the 1930s.

[1] The incident led to strong protest, to register their indignation by prominent national figures like Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose and many others.

The museum has many indoor exhibits which include technical models collected from various institutes and organisations across India.

The park outside the museum contains 14 open-air demonstrations and outdoor exhibits including a hunter plane, and a steam engine.

The museum has an archive room showcasing documents relating to history of the institute and Midnapore district.