The genesis of the Odisha State Museum goes back to the year l932, when two notable Historians, Prof. N.C. Banerjee and Prof. Ghanshyam Dash of Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, started the collection of archaeological treasures from various places. The small museum was housed within the premises of the college. In l938, by a suitable order, the Government of Odisha transformed this nucleus into the Provincial Museum of Odisha. Initially, the
collection consisted of sculptures, terracotta, numismatics, copper plates and specimens of fine arts.
With the shifting of the state capital from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar in l947–48, the Provincial Museum was also shifted there. Slowly the collection of antiquities and specimens grew manifold and the necessity of having a special building for the purpose was felt. The foundation stone of this building was laid on December 29, l957, by Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then president of the India. Dr H. K. Mahtab, the then chief minister of Odisha and a noted
historian himself, took the initiative for making the institution a full-fledged museum. The construction of the building along with an administrative block, an auditorium (Kalamandap) and a guesthouse was completed in l960 and, in the same year, the museum was shifted to the new building and renamed the Odisha State Museum.
