Established on 1866, the Government Museum has on display ancient weapons, stone carvings, pottery, painting and relics of the 5000 year old Mohenjo-Daro civilization. The stone sculptures from the Hoysala period, exhibits from the Palaeolithic and Indus Valley periods, paintings from Tanjore School, miniatures from Rajasthan and Gujarat and rare beautifully crafted Indian musical instruments are the highlights here. The large model of Tipu Sultan’s fort of Srirangapatna and the canons used by his armies against the British are of great interest.

Flanking the Government Museum to the west is the Venkatappa Art Gallery named after one of the Karnataka’s most famous artists. Venkatappa belonged to a family of court painters and was skilled in various art forms all of which are displayed here.

The first floor contains work by contemporary artists mainly from Karnataka. Of particular interest are a sketch of K K Hebbar and an oil painting by M F Hussain, both well known Indian artists.

The Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, situated next to the Government Museum, houses a comprehensive range of exhibits depicting motor power, electronics, uses and properties of wood and metal, etc. Named after Sir M Visvesvaraya, Dewan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918, this museum is one of the units of National Council of Science Museums, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

This museum was setup with the help of industrialists, state and central government. On 11th November 1962, Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India inaugurated the Museum.