Built in 1872 – 1908 on the initiative of the Natural History, Anthropology and Ethnography Society with the participation of the Moscow Polytechnic University, the museum is one of the world's largest scientific and technical museums. Today, the reconstructed building of the Polytechnic Museum becomes a symbol of progress regarding the latest materials and technologies used.

The work, unique to Russia, has is being carried out per the general plan of the Japanese architect Junya Ishigami. The reconstruction, which began in 2013, involved increasing the usable museum space by half a factor and preserving the building as an object of cultural and historical heritage. The updated museum complex is able to receive 2 million people a year, which is about 6 thousand visitors a day. In the northern courtyard of the building there is be a concert venue with glass ceilings 36 meters high, and in the southern courtyard, there is be a children's museum.