The Museum of Archaeology and History of Art of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens was founded at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the most eminent professors of Greek Archaeology contributed to the establishment of the Museum’s educational collections.

For almost half a century the collections were located in the basement of the Law School building in central Athens.

Due to limited space it was not possible to arrange visits or educational programmes for students.

In 1988 the relocation of the collections in two large halls in the new building of the School of Philosophy opened entirely new perspectives for the Museum. Ever since, there has been an impressive increase in exhibits, leading to a tripling of their number. Currently the museum includes about 9.000 objects, derived from donations and long-term loans, mainly originals but also copies, classified in eleven educational collections. They are dated from prehistoric to modern times, and have been collected mostly from Greece, Cyprus and other regions of the Eastern Mediterranean.

In 2004 an open-air Archaeological Park was inaugurated, displaying finds that came to light following excavations at Syntagma Square, during the construction of the Athens Metropolitan Railway.

In 2010 a fully-equipped conservation laboratory was established within the Museum.

The educational collections of the Museum display remarkable sets of objects which reflect not only the research interests of professors of Archaeology at the University of Athens, but also the history and significance of the oldest academic institution in our country.