The Museum occupies a one-story wooden building of a former elementary school constructed in 1874. The magnificent panorama of Zhigulevskie Mountains opens from the picturesque shore on which Usolye village stands.

    The Museum is registered in Worldwide Card File of Museums as one of original museums of the world, becouse of its contents and history of creating. Special feuture of the region is determined by selt extraction. In archeological section of the museum one can see a set of exhibits dating back to anciant times and showing trades of peoples attracted to this place by salt production.

    Russian foended the Usolye fortress in XVI century. It is represented in the museum by archeological finds and documents. Visitors can see a unique boiler for evaporating salt - called "tsyren". For many years Usolye was owned by the favorites of Russian emperors. Among then was the Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov. Counts Orlov brothers. There is a section devoted to them and their descedants Orlov-Davydovs, displaying utensils, furniture, mechanisms and other things frjm the counts' palace, as well as photos of the palace itself.

    The center of museum is an interactive classroom containing school accessories of the past. Items from the schoolteacherapartment give an idea of life of rural intelligencia; the collection of paintings by local artists illustrates history of the region. The expositions of the museum is constructed with intention to influence deep consciousness of the visitor and his genetic memory. The main idea of creating such a display is based on giving up traditional museum structures, search for new methods and decision.

    Adjoining the museum there is a plot of land with a stable and a well-preserved Russian banya for schoolchildren (a school sauna)