The Museum of Northern Ostrobothnia was founded in 1896. The museum is located in Ainola Park on Hupisaari in the Mullutul district in the center of Oulu. The building of the museum was designed by the architect Oiva Kallio and was completed in 1931. From 1911 to 1929, the museum housed an old Ainola villa donated by the legacy of Ostroma, which was destroyed in a fire on July 9, 1929. Some collections of the museum were also destroyed by fire.
The museum is a museum of cultural history, the main exhibition of which presents the history of Northern Ostrobothnia and Oulu. The museum has a children's section Kojramäki based on books by Mauri Kunnas. The museum also holds annual changing exhibitions.
The main exhibition was updated in 2002 and includes, among others,
Prehistory of Oulu and Northern Ostrobothnia, folk culture and way of life
Social and cultural history
School, church and money departments
History of shipping, fishing, burning tar and garrison
Author Samul Polaharh study
Sami culture
The history of the interior is represented by collections of interiors and suits, glass, porcelain and silver.
The Museum of Northern Ostrobothnia has been carrying out marine archeological research since 1970s. The main objects of research were the Dutch merchant ship Sophia Maria, sunk north of Hailuoto in 1859, and the so-called Laitakari ore wreck.