NMEC is the first museum in the Arab world focusing on the earliest civilization in history- the Egyptian civilization. It is the only one in Egypt that offers the visitors a general overview of all the different historical periods that encompass Egypt.

The permanent collection is divided into two separate regions: the Archaic:( Archaic, Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, Medieval, Islamic, Modern and Contemporary) . The Thematic areas : ( Down of civilization, the Nile, Writing, State and Society, Material culture, Believes and thinking, and the Gallery of royal mummies.