Museum collection and display was started in the middle to the 1960es by Kurchatov's wife Marina Dmitrievna Kurchatova (1895-1969) and his brother Boris Vasiljevich Kurchatov (1905-1972). The base of Museum fund is constituted by authentic belongings of the Kurchatovs, namely paintings, furniture, paraphernalia; library; personal and family archive of the scientist; personal belongings of the Kurchatovs put at museum's disposal by their relatives; collections and single articles of Kurchatov's friends and team-mates, which reflect the history of Kurchatov Institute.

    Museum fund amounts to about 25 thousand units of issue, including 6 thousand articles of the main fund. Among the most valuable museum collections there are paraphernalia and memorial objects of the Kurchatovs; collection of photographs and personal documents of I.V. Kurchatov; collection of state orders of I.V. Kurchatov and his colleagues; collection of presents, reflecting the history of atomic science; collection of video and films, including documentary, about life and works of I.V. Kurchatov and history of I.V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy