The museum was officially opened by Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway on September 8, 2008. The location was selected as one where there had been a substantial Jewish population. A synagogue stood on the same street from 1921 to 1942, and many of the Jews immigrating to Norway from the Baltics lived in the vicinity.
Nomination for Museum of the Year
In 2014 the museum was nominated for Museumforbundet's Museum of the Year Award—alongside KODE and Telemark Museum.[2]