Fossil Discovery Center

What Fossil Discovery Center does

The Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County is a county-operated museum located in Chowchilla, California, established following the 1993 discovery of Pleistocene fossils at the adjacent Fairmead Landfill. The center houses over 15,000 fossils dating to the Middle-Pleistocene period (approximately 780,000 years ago), including mammoth, Smilodon, sloth, dire wolf, camel, and horse specimens, representing one of the largest such fossil excavations in North America. It operates as a partnership between Madera County and the San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation, with academic support from UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology and Fresno State University.

The center's core products include interactive museum exhibits, hands-on Mock Dig excavation experiences (featuring 22 replica fossil skulls), field trip programs aligned with California Next Generation Science Standards, and a Traveling Trunk Show outreach program that brings fossils to classrooms. Additional exhibits include the recently opened California Native American (Yokuts) exhibit and a Pleistocene Pond. The Mammoth Orange, a historic Highway 99 roadside landmark, is being restored as a concession stand.

Revenue is generated through admission fees ($12 adults, $10 seniors, $8 children, free under 3), tiered annual memberships ($10 student, $25 individual, $50 family, plus sustaining memberships), gift shop sales, facility rentals for private events, charitable donations, and outreach program fees. The center operates on a limited weekend schedule (Friday-Sunday, 10am-4pm) and serves K-12 school groups, families, homeschool groups, Yosemite tourists, and local community members, with distribution supported by its satellite visitors center relationship with the Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau.

Name

Fossil Discovery Center

Legal name

Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County

Website

https://maderamammoths.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County operates a paleontology museum in Chowchilla, California, housing 15,000+ Middle-Pleistocene fossils from the adjacent Fairmead Landfill site. It serves K-12 school groups, families, and tourists through exhibits, field trips, memberships, and educational outreach programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural History Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Archaeological Sites & Heritage Interpretation Centers (THAJADAG)

Keywords

• Paleontology museum exhibits
• Natural history education
• School field trips
• Hands-on fossil excavation
• Science center programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chowchilla

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees: Visitors pay admission fees to access the museum exhibits, with tiered pricing for adults, seniors, children, and free entry for ages 3 and under.
2. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership programs offering unlimited access with tiered pricing for individual, family, student, and sustaining memberships.
3. Gift Shop Sales: On-site gift shop offering fossils, replicas, and educational merchandise.
4. Facility Rental: The center is available for public and private functions after regular business hours, generating rental revenue.
5. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Accepts donations through membership purchases and charitable contributions to support growth and expansion.
6. Traveling Trunk Shows: Educational outreach program bringing prehistoric fossils and presentations to classrooms for schools that cannot visit the center.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Fossil Discovery Center operates a physical museum showcasing over 15,000 Middle-Pleistocene fossils (approximately 780,000 years old) discovered at the Fairmead Landfill in Madera County, California. It offers guided exhibit tours, hands-on Mock Dig excavations, K-12 field trip programs aligned with California Next Generation Science Standards, traveling trunk show outreach, annual memberships, gift shop merchandise, and facility rentals for private events.

Product overview

The Fossil Discovery Center is a museum facility offering a unified visitor experience centered on Middle-Pleistocene fossil exhibits from the Fairmead landfill excavation. The core offerings include interactive museum exhibits featuring 15,000 fossils from 780,000 years ago, hands-on field trip programs aligned with California Next Generation Science Standards, traveling trunk show outreach, and the popular Mock Dig experience. Additional services include museum memberships at various tiers, event rental for private functions, and the Mammoth Orange restoration project serving as a heritage concession stand. The center also features exhibits on local Yokuts Native American culture and artifacts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Exhibits Interactive permanent fossil exhibits documenting prehistoric life in the San Joaquin Valley during the last Ice Age, featuring 15,000 Middle-Pleistocene fossils (780,000 years old) recovered from the Fairmead Landfill site, intended for general visitors, families, and school groups.
• Field Trip Programs Guided educational field trip experiences for K-12 school groups and homeschool families, featuring an introductory video, Pleistocene Pond outside tour, inside museum tour, and Mock Dig excavation activity, with pre-visit and post-visit teacher packets aligned with California Next Generation Science Standards.
• Traveling Trunk Show Off-site educational outreach program that brings replicas, genuine fossils, and an entertaining presentation to classrooms in schools that cannot visit the Fossil Discovery Center, primarily serving San Joaquin Valley school districts.
• Museum Memberships Annual subscription memberships at multiple tiers — Individual ($25), Student ($10), Family ($50), and Sustaining (monthly pledge) — providing unlimited center access for one year and 10% off gift shop items.
• Mock Dig Experience Hands-on excavation add-on experience priced at $4 per person in addition to admission, allowing children to dig up 22 replica fossil skulls including saber-tooth cats, dire wolves, camels, and giant sloths.
• Event Rental Public and private event hosting services at the Fossil Discovery Center after regular business hours, including community functions and private gatherings with available amenities such as tours, gift shop, refreshments, and picnic area.
• California Native American Exhibit Permanent exhibit showcasing local Yokuts Native American history, artifacts, and a recreation of a Yokuts Indian house alongside the Pleistocene Pond with native plants and vegetation.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Dr. Robert DundasminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Faculty member at Fresno State University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, listed as a partner providing paleontological expertise.
• San Joaquin Valley Paleontology FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996The foundation was formed in 1996 after the discovery of Fairmead Fossils. Madera County partnered with the foundation to create the Fossil Discovery Center. The foundation develops tours, educational programs, and shares this scientific treasure with the public.
• University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1993UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology was called in to assess the Fairmead site when the mammoth tusk was discovered, confirming it as a rich middle-Pleistocene fossil location.
• Fresno State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1993Provides paleontological expertise and academic support. The San Joaquin Paleontology Foundation operates the center with county support while Fresno State provides expertise.
• Madera CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMadera County partnered with the San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation to create the Fossil Discovery Center. The county owns and operates the facility.
• Yosemite Sierra Visitors BureaucoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Fossil Discovery Center serves as a satellite visitors center for the Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau, attracting visitors from Yosemite National Park tourists.
• Fresno County Historical SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative effort between the Fossil Discovery Museum and Fresno County Historical Society to save the natural wildlife habitat at the center as part of the living Yokut life exhibit.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat): Major natural history museum in Balboa Park featuring extensive paleontology, geology, and biodiversity collections. While much larger and more established, it competes for the same educational field trip market and tourism dollars in California.
• Field Museum: Chicago-based major natural history museum featuring one of the world's largest paleontology collections, including Sue the T. rex and extensive Ice Age mammal displays. While geographically distant, it represents a benchmark for natural history museum educational programming and exhibit design.
• California Academy of Sciences: San Francisco's premier natural history museum featuring paleontology exhibits, aquarium, planetarium, and extensive educational programming. Represents the gold standard for California natural history museums and the competitive benchmark for educational programming.

Direct peers

• Western Science Center: Museum in Hemet, California featuring Ice Age fossils discovered during local development, including mastodons and giant sloths. Highly comparable as a California regional natural history museum with fossils from a specific local site and a focus on K-12 educational programs.
• Buena Vista Museum of Natural History: Bakersfield, California museum featuring local fossils, Native American artifacts, and natural history exhibits from Kern County. Comparable as a smaller Central Valley-adjacent regional natural history museum with educational programs and fossil collections.
• Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology: Claremont, California museum on the Webb Schools campus featuring one of the largest paleontology collections in the US. Comparable as a paleontology-focused educational museum with a strong K-12 field trip program, though with a different funding model (private school-affiliated).
• George C. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits: The museum building at the La Brea Tar Pits site in Los Angeles, which is part of the same La Brea Tar Pits complex listed above. Included separately to emphasize the direct paleontology museum operations comparable to Fossil Discovery Center.
• La Brea Tar Pits (Page Museum): Los Angeles museum operated by the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, featuring Ice Age fossil excavations and exhibits of mammoths, dire wolves, and Smilodon. The most direct comparable to Fossil Discovery Center as a paleontology-focused museum with active excavation content, though at much larger scale and urban location.

Others

• Yosemite National Park Visitor Centers: National Park Service-operated visitor centers within Yosemite National Park that provide interpretive programming and serve as the primary tourism touchpoint. Fossil Discovery Center operates as a satellite to this ecosystem, making the parks a key channel partner rather than direct competitor.
• Math/Science Nucleus: Bay Area-based science education organization providing curriculum materials, teacher training, and educational resources. Listed as a partner of Fossil Discovery Center for educational content, representing a potential distribution and curriculum development peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Xx.com/MaderaMammoths
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fossil-discovery-center-of-madera-county

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fossil Discovery Center