The site is devoted to illustrating the rural way of life in the early 20th century, and visitors can stroll through a recreation of the period's countryside complete with farms, cottages, crops, livestock, and visit a typical Ulster town of the time called "Ballycultra", featuring shops, churches, and both terraced and larger housing and a Tea room.

Regular activities include open hearth cooking, printing, needlework, and traditional Irish crafts demonstrations.

The museum holds the BBC Northern Ireland archive of radio and television programmes, and also possesses over 2,000 hours of sound material broadcast between 1972 and 2002 by the Irish language radio station RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, from its studios in Derrybeg, County Donegal.

An additional 40 acres (16 ha) of land was purchased at Cultra and the first new gallery was opened in May 1976, although most of the collection remained at Witham Street for the time being.

Steam locomotives, passenger carriages and goods wagons are combined with extensive railway memorabilia, interactive displays and visitor facilities.

[8] The new Road Transport Galleries boast a large collection of vehicles ranging from cycles and motorcycles to trams, buses, and cars.

Recent additions to the collection include a full set of Stanley Woods racing memorabilia, and two of his bikes.

[9] The museum boasts a permanent Titanic exhibition, documenting the construction, voyage, and eventual sinking of the ill-fated vessel.