The University of Michigan's Natural History collections were established in the mid-19th century and became significant with the donation of over 60,000 specimens by a world-traveling alumnus, Joseph Beal Steere, in the 1870's. 

The current building was completed in 1928.  Since the 1920s, the Museum has subdivided into four separate research museums:  the Museums of Paleontology, Zoology, and Anthropology, and the University Herbarium.  The Exhibit Museum, devoted exclusively to the development of exhibits and educational programs, was officially created in 1956, although public displays had been offered for some 80 years at that point.

The Exhibit Museum of Natural History was the recipient of the Kathleen Power Collaboration Award, given by Nonprofit Excellence at Work (NEW).   The Museum was recognized for the Winter Family Reading and Science Program, "The World Around Us," that is coordinated with numerous libraries in local counties.