Alta Museum is situated at Hjemmeluft/Jiepmaluokta by the main road E6 just south of the town Alta. It was built in the early 1990s to be close to large areas of recently discovered prehistoric rock carvings. The building is placed on the upper part of gently sloping land leading down to the fjord north of the main road and it overlooks the rock art sites and the fjord Altafjorden.

The two-storey museum building is adapted to the curvature and the fall of the landscape with the main entrance on the upper ground floor. Built in concrete, masonry and wood it consists of a series of linked volumes creating a gentle crescent embracing the entrance area and opening up to the views on the other side.