The Nakuru Museum, run by the National Museums of Kenya, occupies a leafy compound near the town centre and covers the natural and cultural history of the central Rift Valley. Displays range from the region's prehistoric past — lithic tools, pottery, and finds from sites like Hyrax Hill — to exhibits on the local ecology, the Maasai and Njemps peoples, and the railway history that shaped the city. There is also a small section on the bird life of Lake Nakuru and the other soda lakes of the Rift.
The museum is a worthwhile stop before heading to the bigger sites outside town. The town centre itself is laid out on a British colonial grid, with the main axis running along Kenyatta Avenue toward the railway station. The covered market on Section 58 and the vegetable stalls around Oginga Odinga Street are the busiest parts of the old bazaar and give a good sense of daily life in one of Kenya's most commercially active provincial cities.