Idaho Museum of Natural History

What Idaho Museum of Natural History does

The Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH) is a non-profit academic unit of Idaho State University, founded in 1934 and headquartered on the ISU Pocatello campus in Pocatello, Idaho, with 19 employees. It functions as the state's steward of life, earth, and anthropology collections, operating a physical museum open six days a week and serving school groups, families, ISU affiliates, researchers, and tourists. Its core technology is the Idaho Virtualization Laboratory (IVL), which produces 3D digital models of fossils, bones, artifacts, and plant specimens, feeding the open-access Idaho Virtual Museum platform (virtual.imnh.isu.edu). The institution supplements physical visitation with a portfolio of education and outreach products: Camp IMNH (paleontology summer camps priced $100–$400), IMNH Mobile Museum, Mini Museum To-Go Kits, Virtual Field Trips, Trout in the Classroom, and the Digital Atlas of Idaho.

The business model is hybrid: earned revenue from per-visit admissions ($4 youth / $6 senior / $9 adult), annual memberships (free admission plus ASTC Travel Passport Program reciprocity), fee-based summer camps, and gift shop sales; complemented by donations, an endowment, and institutional funding from Idaho State University, with additional philanthropic and federal grants from M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, The Hitz Foundation, The Carron Fund, NSF, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The co-development partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation on the Bison Digitization Project illustrates how the museum leverages its 3D digitization capability into government-funded collaborations. Customer segments are diversified across consumers (families, tourists), institutional (K-12 schools), academic (ISU community, researchers), and funder/philanthropic streams, with no significant customer concentration and no disclosed revenue figures.

Name

Idaho Museum of Natural History

Legal name

Idaho Museum of Natural History

Website

https://imnh.isu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1901

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Idaho Museum of Natural History is a non-profit academic museum of Idaho State University in Pocatello that stewards the state's life, earth, and anthropology collections, operating a physical museum and the Idaho Virtual Museum 3D platform serving families, K-12 schools, researchers, and the ISU community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural History Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

Keywords

• Natural history museum
• Educational programming
• 3D digitization services
• Virtual museum access
• Paleontology education

Headquarters

HQ city

Pocatello

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, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees: Revenue from paid admissions: $9 adults, $6 seniors, $4 youth. Free admission for members, ISU community, children 3 and under. Active military/veterans receive 20% discount.
2. Museum Memberships: Annual membership program providing free unlimited admission, 10% gift shop discount, exclusive event invitations, monthly e-newsletter, and ASTC Travel Passport Program access.
3. Summer Camp Programs: Fee-based educational camps including Fossil Prep Camp ($100), Idaho's Dinosaur Food Dig ($155), Idaho's Tyrannosaur Hunt ($150), and Idaho Junior Paleontologist ($400).
4. Donations and Endowment: Donation programs and endowment contributions to support museum operations and collections stewardship.
5. Gift Shop Sales: Museum gift shop offering merchandise with 10% discount for members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH) operates a physical museum on Idaho State University's Pocatello campus stewarding life, earth, and anthropology collections for the State of Idaho. It supplements the on-site experience with the Idaho Virtual Museum (open-access 3D digitized collections) and Idaho Virtualization Lab (3D scanning of fossils, bones, artifacts, and plants), and delivers fee-based educational programming including summer camps, field trips, mobile museum outreach, and virtual field trips.

Product overview

The Idaho Museum of Natural History operates as a unified physical and digital museum complex. The core physical product is the IMNH museum on Idaho State University's Pocatello campus. Supporting this is the Idaho Virtualization Lab (IVL) which creates 3D digital models powering the Idaho Virtual Museum digital platform. The museum offers education sub-products including Camp IMNH (paleontology-focused summer camps), IMNH Mobile Museum (outreach), Mini Museum To-Go Kits, Virtual Field Trips, and Trout in the Classroom program. Additional digital offerings include the Digital Atlas of Idaho and At-Home Learning Resources. Membership and educational programs serve as supporting services. The Bison Digitization Project represents a collaboration digitization initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Idaho Virtual Museum: Digital platform providing open-access 3D models and images of museum treasures including fossils, bones, cultural artifacts, and plants from the Idaho Museum of Natural History and partner institutions across North America.
• Idaho Virtualization Laboratory (IVL)

Products and services

• Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH) Physical Museum Physical museum on Idaho State University's Pocatello campus featuring life, earth, and anthropology collections, open to the general public, families, school groups, and tourists with tiered admission fees.
• Idaho Virtual Museum Digital platform providing open access to 3D models and images of fossils, bones, cultural artifacts, and plants from the museum's collections and partner institutions across North America, organized into Fossils, Artifacts, Osteology, and Plants sections.
• Idaho Virtualization Lab (IVL) Research laboratory that creates 3D digital models of museum specimens and artifacts, making collections accessible through the Idaho Virtual Museum platform.
• IMNH Mobile Museum Outreach program that brings museum collections and educational experiences to schools and communities throughout Idaho.
• Camp IMNH Fee-based summer camp programs including Fossil Prep Camp (ages 16+, $100), Idaho's Dinosaur Food Dig (ages 14+, $155), Idaho's Tyrannosaur Hunt (ages 14+, $150), and Idaho Junior Paleontologist (ages 7-12, $400).
• Digital Atlas of Idaho Educational resource providing digital geographic and natural history information about Idaho.
• Mini Museum To-Go Kits Educational kits available for checkout that bring museum learning experiences to homes and classrooms.
• Virtual Field Trips Remote educational programs enabling students to explore museum collections and learn about natural history through interactive virtual sessions.
• Trout in the Classroom Hands-on educational program where students raise trout from eggs to fry while learning about aquatic ecosystems and conservation.
• Museum Membership Annual membership program offering free unlimited museum admission, 10% gift shop discount, exclusive event invitations, monthly e-newsletter subscription, and ASTC Travel Passport Program benefits.
• Bison Digitization Project 3D digitization collaboration between the Idaho Virtualization Lab and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to create detailed 3D models of bison specimens.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• U.S. Bureau of ReclamationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner on the Bison Digitization Project, teaming with the Idaho Virtualization Lab to create 3D models of bison specimens. Represents significant co-development partnership for digital heritage preservation.
• ASTC (Association of Science and Technology Centers)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThrough ASTC Travel Passport Program membership, provides museum members access to reciprocal benefits at participating science centers and museums globally.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Major regional natural history and science museum with IMAX, planetarium, and extensive paleontology exhibits. Comparable in visitor-facing educational programming and STEM camps, but significantly larger in scale.
• Field Museum: Major natural history museum with globally significant collections, expedition programs, and digitization initiatives. Comparable in natural history mission but operates at vastly greater scale with extensive funding.
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: The U.S. flagship natural history museum with vast collections, research, and a well-funded open-access digital platform. Sets the ceiling for both physical and digital museum competition.
• University of Michigan Museum of Natural History: Large university-affiliated natural history museum with extensive collections, exhibits, and research programs. Comparable in university integration and mission, but materially larger in scale and resources.

Direct peers

• Museum of the Rockies: University-affiliated (Montana State University) natural history museum with a strong paleontology focus and STEM educational programming. Directly comparable mission, governance structure, and programming mix to IMNH.
• Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology: Paleontology-focused museum on a school campus (The Webb Schools) with strong K-12 outreach and paleontology programming. Closely comparable in mission scope and educational camp offerings.
• Natural History Museum of Utah: University of Utah-affiliated natural history museum serving a regional Intermountain West audience with collections-based exhibits and K-12 educational programs. Comparable size, mission, and university integration.

Regional players

• Discovery Center of Idaho: Boise-based hands-on science center aligned with STEM education and family programming. Comparable in Idaho market positioning and educational mission, though focused on interactive science rather than natural history collections.
• Wyoming Dinosaur Center: Regional paleontology-focused museum and dig site offering hands-on fossil experiences and educational programs. Comparable in paleontology focus and dig-style programming, though commercially operated.
• Monroe County Historical Society / Idaho Black History Museum: Idaho-based cultural/heritage museum with educational programming. Comparable as a small Idaho regional museum serving local audiences with field-trip and community programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IdahoVirtualizationLaboratory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/idaho-museum-of-natural-history

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Idaho Museum of Natural History