Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth
The Paleontological Research Institution is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1932 that operates the Museum of the Earth and Cayuga Nature Center in Ithaca, NY. It preserves over 7 million paleontological specimens and delivers Earth science education via digital platforms reaching over 1 million learners annually.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1932
- HeadquartersDenton, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth
- Legal name
- Paleontological Research Institution
- Website
- https://priweb.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1932
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Paleontological Research Institution is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1932 that operates the Museum of the Earth and Cayuga Nature Center in Ithaca, NY. It preserves over 7 million paleontological specimens and delivers Earth science education via digital platforms reaching over 1 million learners annually.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Natural History Museum and Paleontological Education
- NAICS
- Museums (712110), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Wildlife Interpretation & Education Centers (Visitor Centers, Museums) (THAAAFAG), Earth Science & Geoscience Programs (EDAMABAI)
Keywords
Where Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Denton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Museum Admissions: Revenue from ticket sales to the Museum of the Earth and Cayuga Nature Center, with standard admission pricing plus special programming fees.
- Membership Program: Annual membership subscriptions providing free admission, special event access, and benefits for families and individuals.
- Retail Operations: Gift shop sales including fossils, books, clothing, and educational materials through the PRI Online Store.
- Private Donations: Individual donor contributions and fundraising campaigns, which became critical after a major donor failed to fulfill pledges. Recent campaign to raise $4 million to address funding gap.
- Government and Foundation Grants: Funding from National Science Foundation (NSF), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Park Foundation, and anonymous bequests supporting research, education programs, and collections care.
- Professional Development Services: Teacher training workshops and curriculum development services, often funded through NSF broader impacts partnerships with universities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | One time | Museums for All - Reduced Admission |
| Other | One time | Pay-What-You-Wish Weekends |
| Subscription | Annual | Membership Programs |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels8 records
Marketing channels9 records
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Paleontological Research Institution operates two public education venues (the Museum of the Earth and Cayuga Nature Center) and free digital learning platforms (Earth@Home and Digital Atlas of Ancient Life) delivering Earth science, paleontology, and climate change education. The institution also conducts paleontological research on its collection of over 7 million specimens, publishes the Bulletins of American Paleontology journal, runs teacher professional development workshops, and operates summer camps and citizen science programs.
Product overview
The Paleontological Research Institution operates as a multi-venue educational organization comprising two physical public venues (Museum of the Earth and Cayuga Nature Center) and several digital education platforms. The institution's digital offerings include Earth@Home (a free online toolkit for Earth science learning), the Digital Atlas of Ancient Life (fossil identification platform), and the Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change (educational resource). PRI also publishes the Bulletins of American Paleontology (the oldest paleontological journal in the Western Hemisphere), operates the Center for Climate Change Education, and provides access programs including YNAP and Library Access Program. The institution maintains research collections of over 7 million specimens and offers educational programs ranging from school visits to teacher professional development workshops.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Museum of the Earth Public museum with an 8,000-square-foot permanent exhibition exploring 4.5 billion years of Earth history through natural history displays, interactive science features, fossils, and science-inspired art, serving approximately 30,000 visitors annually in Ithaca, NY.
- Cayuga Nature Center Nature education center located on 100 acres overlooking Cayuga Lake with trails, treehouse, and nature programming, cultivating awareness, appreciation, and responsibility for the natural world through outdoor environmental education.
- Earth@Home Digital Platform Free online educational toolkit for learning about Earth and its 4.5-billion-year history, featuring sections on Earth Science, Climate, Biodiversity, and Evolution with regional guides, a digital encyclopedia, 3D specimen collections, and virtual fieldwork experiences, reaching approximately 900,000 visits per year.
- Digital Atlas of Ancient Life Online platform helping students, teachers, and avocational paleontologists identify fossils and learn about ancient life, featuring fossil field guides, an online textbook, and a Virtual Collection of over 500 interactive 3D models of fossil specimens.
- Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change Comprehensive content resource for teaching about climate change, including basics of climate change science, social science concepts, regional information, and climate change solutions, used by K-12 teachers nationwide.
- Bulletins of American Paleontology The oldest paleontological journal in the Western Hemisphere, established in 1895, publishing original research in systematic paleontology and related earth sciences for the scholarly community.
- Virtual Fieldwork Experiences (VFEs) Online virtual field experiences of paleontological sites combining high-resolution photos, 3D imagery, maps, and video, accompanied by teacher lesson plan guides and student worksheets for use in Earth science classrooms.
- Center for Climate Change Education at PRI Dedicated center providing high-quality resources and programs on climate change education for teachers, students, and the general public, including teacher professional development, online resources, exhibits, and public programs.
- Teacher-Friendly Guides to Earth Science A series of seven regional guides covering Earth science of the United States, providing an overview of regional geology in a format useful for teachers and general audiences interested in local earth science.
- PRI Membership Program Annual membership subscriptions with multiple tiers (individual, family, agency) providing free admission to the Museum of the Earth and Cayuga Nature Center, special event access, and discounts on educational programming.
- Young Naturalist Access Program (YNAP) Provides young people under age 17 facing difficult circumstances in Tompkins County with free one-year Youth Memberships plus access to summer camp at Cayuga Nature Center.
- PRI Online Gift Shop Retail store offering fossils, books, clothing, and educational materials for purchase online and at the Museum of the Earth venue.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reaches over 1 million learners worldwide through digital resources annually
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Cornell UniversitycoreFormal affiliation agreement signed November 20, 2004 establishing PRI as a free-standing organization with officially acknowledged connections to Cornell. PRI provides resources for Cornell undergraduate courses, research opportunities, and staff teaching. PRI remains independent while collaborating on research, teaching, and public outreach.
- Corrie S. Moreau (Cornell University)minorNSF-funded collaboration developing the 'Six-Legged Science' museum exhibit about insects using Cornell University Insect Collections as broader impact on NSF DEB 1900357.
- Bryan Danforth (Cornell University)minorNSF grant collaboration creating the 'Bees! Diversity, Evolution, Conservation' museum exhibit as broader impact of research on bee conservation.
- UC BerkeleyminorCollaboration on virtual fieldwork experiences including Kettleman Hills VFE, developing online field exploration tools for Earth@Home.
- Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC)minorPRI is affiliated with ASTC, the global organization supporting science centers and museums.
- BorgWarnerminorCorporate sponsor for Pay-What-You-Wish weekends at Museum of the Earth, providing free admission access on first weekend of each month.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cincinnati Museum Center: A multi-disciplinary natural history and science museum complex with strong education programming. Comparable to PRI's Museum of the Earth + Cayuga Nature Center combination of permanent exhibits and hands-on learning.
- University of California Museum of Paleontology: UC Berkeley's paleontology research and education center. PRI has an active collaboration with UC Berkeley on the Kettleman Hills Virtual Fieldwork Experience, and the two institutions share a model combining specimen collections, research, and online paleontology education resources.
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University: A university-affiliated natural history museum and research institution in Philadelphia with extensive specimen collections and public exhibits. Highly comparable to PRI in combining research, collections, and K-12/adult education under a university partnership.
- Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History: University of Oklahoma-operated natural history museum with significant paleontology collections and K-12 education programs. Comparable scale and operating model to PRI as a state-level natural history institution combining research and public education.
- Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard): Harvard's natural history research and collections institution. Comparable to PRI's research-and-collections mission and academic affiliation model, though with greater endowment scale.
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History: A research university natural history museum with deep specimen collections and public exhibit programming. Comparable to PRI in combining research collections, university affiliation, and Earth/life science education, though at significantly larger scale.
Regional players
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology: A Cornell University-affiliated research and education organization focused on birds and biodiversity, with strong public engagement and citizen science programs. Directly comparable as a peer institution sharing the Cornell affiliation and citizen-science outreach model that PRI pursues.
Emerging players
- National Center for Science Education: A nonprofit focused on climate change and evolution education, and the organization that awarded PRI the 2019 Friend of the Planet Award. Comparable as a peer/partner organization working in the same K-12 climate and evolution education space.
Broad incumbents
- California Academy of Sciences: A major natural history museum and research institution combining aquarium, planetarium, and natural history exhibits under one roof. Comparable in its integrated research-education-public engagement model, though at much larger scale.
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History: A long-established natural history museum with deep paleontological collections and broad public programming. Comparable in mission to PRI but at significantly larger scale and with broader scope across anthropology, botany, and zoology.
Market position
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth social profiles
Digital presencePaleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth
What does Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth do?
Paleontological Research Institution operates two public education venues (the Museum of the Earth and Cayuga Nature Center) and free digital learning platforms (Earth@Home and Digital Atlas of Ancient Life) delivering Earth science, paleontology, and climate change education. The institution also conducts paleontological research on its collection of over 7 million specimens, publishes the Bulletins of American Paleontology journal, runs teacher professional development workshops, and operates summer camps and citizen science programs.
Is Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth a public or private company?
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth founded?
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth was founded in 1932. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth based?
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth is headquartered in Denton, United States, in the North America region.
How does Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Museum Admissions are the primary driver. The others are membership Program, retail Operations, private Donations, government and Foundation Grants and professional Development Services.
Who are Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cincinnati Museum Center, University of California Museum of Paleontology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard) and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Cornell Lab of Ornithology is listed as a regional player. National Center for Science Education is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are California Academy of Sciences and Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Does Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth have an API?
No public API is recorded for Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth.
What industry is Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth in?
Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth's product category is Natural History Museum and Paleontological Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAC, Natural History Museums, with a secondary code of THAAAFAG, Wildlife Interpretation & Education Centers (Visitor Centers, Museums). Its NAICS code is 712110 and its SIC code is 8731.