The Kirovohrad Regional History Museum (Kirovohradskyi oblasny kraieznavchyi muzei) covers the history and natural environment of Kirovohrad Oblast from prehistoric times through to the present. The collections include archaeological finds from Trypillia culture settlements, Scythian artefacts, and exhibits covering the city's 18th-century founding and its development as a regional centre.
The museum also documents the city's cultural history, including the role of the Kropyvnytskyi theatre company in developing Ukrainian-language theatre. Most labelling is in Ukrainian, but the visual material — maps, photographs, artefacts — is intelligible regardless of language. The museum is housed in a 19th-century building in the city centre and is one of the better places to understand what this part of Ukraine looked like before the Soviet period.