The Natural History Museum of Barcelona is at present distributed in various different premises located in three strategic parts of the city: Ciutadella Park, Montjuïc Mountain and Forum. The Ciutadella Park houses the Martorell Museum (old Geology building ) and the Laboratory of Nature at the Castell dels Tres Dragons (Three Dragons Castle building, the old Zoology building) while Montjuïc Mountain is home to the Botanical Garden and the Botanical Institute, a research centre under the combined auspices of the CSIC (Scientific Research Council) and Barcelona City Council. The mountain is also home of the Historic Botanical Garden, which recently reopened to the public. The Forum houses the Museu Blau (Blue Museum) with new facilities designed mainly for public programmes (exhibitions, workshops, conferences, media library, etc).

The great treasure of the MCNB are its collections, which have not stopped growing ever since the Museum was first established -132 years ago- and which now include over three million items in the fields of mineralogy, petrology, palaeontology, zoology and botany. This valuable collection, that is twice the size of the arts and humanities heritage of Barcelona's municipal museums, has been increasing year by year with specimens obtained thanks to private donations, agreements with the Zoo and Catalonia's natural parks, and also thanks to the Museum's own research. The collections are highly representative of the flora, fauna and geology of Catalonia and its adjacent territories, especially the western Mediterranean, and also include significant material from other regions of our planet.

The Museum is undergoing restructuring, with the aim of taking on the main challenges facing the dissemination of the natural sciences, namely, the commitment to conserving our natural heritage and promoting environmental awareness; the research and knowledge of our bio- and geodiversity; education to enhance people's understanding of the natural sciences and encourage scientific vocation; collaboration with organisations that share the same aims; and, above all, becoming a cultural service that is accessible for the whole community.

The MCNB is an institution with a long history. Its history dates from the late nineteenth century and part of the legacy of collections of the naturalist Francesc Martorell i Peña to the city, which form the basis of what was the first public museum in Barcelona.

In the year 2000 the Zoology and Geology Museums were brought together under the name Natural History Museum of Ciutadella. In 2008 this process of unification was furthered with the inclusion of the Botanical Garden. A stable working relationship was also established with the Botanical Institute in the area of public programmes and administration. The opening of the new Forum premises -Museu Blau- took place in 2011.