The fort was built in the 16th century, this fort was attacked by the British in 1819 due to allegations of pirate attacks. The fort was used as a ruler’s residence until 1964, then the fort was used as a police station and later as a prison. In 1984, work began on converting the building into a museum, the project was led by Jayanth Laxman. The museum opened for the first time in 1987. During the first year of opening, Merschel Schenkel donated a collection of shells to the museum. The museum’s fossils were donated by the Ecology Group of Dubai and were collected between 1984 and 1986. Based on historical sources as well as information from the Emirati government, the original fort before the attacks by Europeans was known as “Early Fort”, after the attacks, the reconstructed fort based on the original building where the museum is now located is known as “Late Fort”, some sources give the name of the building as “Al Hisn Fort”.