The National Museum of Ethiopia (NME), situated near Addis Ababa University's graduate school, is a repository for the country's artistic treasures. Among its exhibits are significant archaeological finds like the 'Lucy' skeleton, an Australopithecus afarensis specimen. The museum also features recent additions such as the archaic fossil 'Selam', estimated to be around 3.3 million years old.

The concept of a national museum in Ethiopia emerged in 1936 with an exhibition displaying ceremonial costumes from the Solomonic dynasty and its associates. This evolved into the Institute of Archaeology, established in 1958 by French archaeologists to promote research in northern Ethiopia. The NME was officially founded in 1976 under the Ethiopian Cultural Heritage Administration's guidance.

Today, the museum is divided into four main exhibition sections: archaeological and paleoanthropological finds on the basement floor; ancient and medieval period artefacts along with memorabilia from former rulers like Emperor Haile Selassie on the first floor; traditional to contemporary artworks on the second floor; and an ethnographic display on the third floor, highlighting Ethiopia's cultural diversity.