The National Archaeological Anthropological Museum Foundation was established in March 1998. The National Museum, as it is popularly known, directly evolved from a Netherlands Antilles governmental department for scientific research, called the Archeological Anthropological Institute of the Netherlands Antilles (AAINA). AAINA was established in 1966 to conduct archaeological and anthropological research on the islands of the Netherlands Antilles.

The National Museum greatly benefits from the results of more than 30 years of research on all the Islands of the Netherlands Antilles. Collections under the management of the National Museum include numerous (pre-Columbian) archaeological artifacts as well as ethnographic objects from the late 19th century to the present.