The current department of engineering and chemistry evolved from the original collection group of machinery, which was established simultaneously with the founding of the museum association in 1908 and focused on all engineering products—including those that today form the basis of the collections in the transportation, metallurgy, or railway museum departments.
At the time the museum opened to the public in 1910, the machinery group and the textile group had the most members in the then Technical Museum Association and were among the largest in terms of the number of exhibits. Prominent experts from industry and universities led these collection groups (Prof. Ing. A. Živna, B. Šlechta). Even before World War I, many valuable technical artifacts were acquired for the collections, such as Hiller's steam engine and Marcus's internal combustion engine. Exhibition activities also developed, and the interwar period saw an increase in the number of collection items.
The war years meant a decline in museum activities. The collections had to be relocated to the Karlín Invalidovna, and the unfinished building in Letná was confiscated by the Protectorate administration. Despite these difficulties, public activities resumed in 1942, and some interesting acquisitions were achieved, such as obtaining a steam engine that powered the National Theatre's power plant.
The organizational structure of the museum has changed several times from the early 1950s to the present, which has impacted the engineering fields. In 1954, a new department for light industry was established, which was merged in 1963 with the department of engineering and textile production. Two years later (1965), the exhibition "Time" was opened to the public. In 1974, a separate department for consumer industries was created, with collection funds in printing, textiles, and household technology. In 1977, an exhibition titled "Driving Machines" was opened on land near the main building and was reinstalled in newly renovated spaces four years later. Currently, preparations for a new permanent exhibition on time measurement are underway.
The core of the department of chemistry and biotechnology consists of a rich collection of sugar production items and models, which were bequeathed to the museum in 1908 by a large group of sugar production experts involved in its founding. The sugar production exhibition was one of the first to open in 1910 in the Schwarzenberg Palace. In the following years, the collection thematically expanded to include brewing, distilling, and chemical technology mainly associated with the food industry. However, despite initial plans, it did not find a place in the new building in Letná, and to this day, most of the collection is stored in depots. A selection of quality exhibits from the NTM chemical collection can be seen in Dobrovice near Mladá Boleslav, where a Museum of Sugar Production, Distilling, and Beet Growing was established.
The oldest period of chemistry is represented in the collections by a complete alchemical laboratory, equipped and furnished mostly with replicas of vessels and tools from the late 15th century, created in 1914 at the Kavalier Glassworks in Sázava according to a design by Otakar Zachar. The collection includes glass vessels, known in period terminology as retorts, alembics, pelicans, and cucurbits, as well as various clay vessels, distillation devices, iron tongs, and other tools of the medieval alchemist.