The Ethnographic Museum is a top workplace in the national context in the field of ethnographic museology and in relation to its basic activity – acquisition, professional and scientific processing and presentation of folk culture collections. The specific results of this activity include the ethnographic exposition in the main building (1974-1975), specialized expositions of individual components, extensive collection and exhibition activities, especially in the field of publishing, especially the titles of the FONTES edition, own periodicals as well as occasional press.

Permanent ethnographic expositions consist of three separate thematic units with names:

• Man and soil
• Man and material
• Man and clothing