[4] The collections were exhibited in a number of locations in Honiara, including the Solomon Islands Teacher Training College,[5] until the Gulbenkian Foundation funded the purpose-built museum.

[4] During the period of ethnic violence from 1999 to 2003, the museum continued to function, but was looted and many important cultural artefacts are lost: shell money valuables were removed for local use; other objects were sold to overseas collectors.

[4] The museum consists of a number of buildings, which each contain their own gallery, examining themes such as inter-island politics and Solomon Islands independence.

[11] Due to a legacy of colonial exploitation of the Solomon Islands, important objects reflecting the country's cultural heritage are held in foreign collections.

[12][19] The British Museum has many objects from the Solomon Islands in its collections, including a feast trough which was stolen in 1891 in a punitive expedition by Captain Edward Davis.

[21][22] In 2018 the trough was displayed at the Royal Academy in its exhibition Oceania and at the time, the Solomon Islanders expressed a desire for its repatriation.