Museum of Innovation and Science

What Museum of Innovation and Science does

Museum of Innovation and Science (miSci) is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1934 and headquartered in Schenectady, New York. It operates a 44,270-square-foot science and technology museum that combines permanent and rotating exhibitions, a planetarium, an internationally significant archive, and educational programming for K-12 schools and the broader public. Core facilities include the Suits-Bueche Planetarium (a 30-foot dome with 4K digital projection and a GOTO Chronos Star Machine displaying 8,500 stars), the Jane Golub Gallery and Changing Gallery housing hands-on exhibits (Design Zone, Measure Up!, Eye Candy), and a separate Collections & Archives facility at 15 Nott Terrace Heights housing the inherited General Electric Hall of Electrical History archive — 15,000+ artifacts, 2 million photographs, 10,000 patents, 1,300 films, and 2,000 books. The archive serves roughly 400 researchers and 2,400 queries per year from 30 countries and is the museum's most defensible asset.

Revenue is generated through approximately eight streams: general admissions ($10–$15), annual memberships ($69–$149 tiers), field trips ($15.50/student) and outreach programs ($180–$235 per 25 students), portable Starlab planetarium shows ($350–$650), summer classes ($179–$349), birthday party packages ($325–$550), facility rentals (up to 400 guests), and fee-based archive research services ($60–$175/hr). Grants and donations are a major capital source, highlighted by a $10 million state funding award in April 2025 for facility upgrades. Corporate partners include GE Aerospace (presenting sponsor of the Big Bang fundraiser and a $60,000 archive preservation grant in December 2024), Regeneron, Verizon, JPMorgan Chase, GlobalFoundries, and Fenimore. Customer segments span K-12 schools (the Jane Golub STEM Fund has assisted 6,449 students across six years), families, corporate event clients, neurodiverse visitors (Certified Autism Center since 2023), and academic/media researchers. In the 2023–2024 program year the museum hosted 33,723 visitors and reached more than 19,000 students through educational programs.

Name

Museum of Innovation and Science

Legal name

Museum of Innovation and Science

Website

https://misci.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

miSci is a Schenectady, NY nonprofit science and technology museum (founded 1934) operating a planetarium, STEAM exhibitions, and an internationally significant GE-archive collection; it serves K-12 schools, families, corporate clients, researchers, and neurodiverse visitors across the Capital Region and via traveling exhibitions nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Science and Technology Museum

NAICS

Museums (71211), Museums (712110)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

STEM & Lab Simulation Media (Virtual Labs, AR/VR) (EDAGALAF), Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

Keywords

• STEM education programs
• Science museum exhibits
• Planetarium shows
• Educational field trips
• Traveling exhibitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Schenectady

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Admission Tickets: General admission fees for visitors to the museum, planetarium shows, and special exhibitions. Revenue from walk-in visitors and online ticket sales.
2. Memberships: Annual membership program offering free admission, discounts, and benefits including Individual ($69), Duo ($109), and Family ($149) tiers with optional Space Pass add-ons for unlimited planetarium shows.
3. Facility Rentals and Private Events: Revenue from hosting weddings, corporate events, rehearsal dinners, and bridal showers. Museum facilities can host up to 400 guests for mix-and-mingle events or up to 200 for sit-down celebrations.
4. Birthday Party Packages: Private party packages including party room, hands-on STEAM activity, gallery time, and customized planetarium show. Basic reservation at $325-$350, Premium at $525-$550.
5. Educational Programs: Revenue from field trips ($15.50 per student), outreach programs ($180-$235 per 25 students), summer classes ($179-$349 per week), and portable planetarium shows ($350-$650).
6. Donations and Grants: Charitable contributions from individual donors, corporate sponsors, and institutional grants including recent $10M secured for upgrades, $60K from GE Aerospace for archives preservation, and various foundation grants.
7. Archive Services: Fee-based research services using the museum's archives including standard research ($60/hr), weekly ($120/hr), express ($175/hr), digital image services ($25/image), and usage rights for film/video ($25/second) and commercial images ($100/image).
8. Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships: Corporate membership, exhibition sponsorship, and giving circle programs at various levels (Star Circle $2,500-$4,999, Constellation Circle $5,000-$9,999, Galaxy Circle $10,000-$14,999, Super Nova Circle $15,000+).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

miSci is a nonprofit science and technology museum that delivers interactive STEAM exhibitions, planetarium programming, and educational programs to the public. The museum operates the Suits-Bueche Planetarium with 4K digital projection, hosts permanent and traveling exhibitions, and preserves an internationally significant archive of more than 15,000 artifacts documenting the history of electricity and technology. It generates revenue through admissions, memberships, school field trips, facility rentals, corporate sponsorships, and charitable grants.

Product overview

miSci operates as a science and technology museum offering a unified experience combining permanent and rotating exhibitions, planetarium programming, and educational services. The core offerings center on the Suits-Bueche Planetarium (now upgraded with 4K digital projection), three permanent gallery spaces (Jane Golub Gallery, Changing Gallery, and main galleries) housing exhibits like Design Zone, and a diverse portfolio of traveling exhibitions including Let's Connect, Ground to Gourmet, Insatiable, and Seeing Ourselves. Educational programming encompasses field trips, outreach visits, virtual classes, and summer programs, while facility services include birthday parties, facility rentals, and membership tiers. The museum also maintains an extensive collection of over 15,000 science artifacts and millions of archive materials, available for research and traveling exhibition use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Membership
• Duo Membership
• Family Membership
• Space Pass Add-On
• Suits-Bueche Planetarium Shows
• Rockin' the Dome Evening Shows
• Educational Programs
• Portable Planetarium (Starlab)
• Let's Connect: Exploring Communication Technology Traveling Exhibition
• Ground to Gourmet: Tracing the Origins of the Food We Love Traveling Exhibition
• Insatiable: Cooking Up Innovation Traveling Exhibition
• Seeing Ourselves: From Silhouette to Selfie Traveling Exhibition
• Bloomberg Connects Digital Guide
• Birthday Party Packages
• Facility Rentals
• Summer Break Classes
• Big Bang Annual Fundraiser
• Collections and Archives Research Services
• Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships
• General Admission Tickets

Quantifiable outcome

• 33,723 visitors experienced transformative programs during 2023-2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Armory Studios NYminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 14 March 2025New partnership launched March 2025 at Art Night Schenectady, combining art and science programming.
• Clarkson UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2021Partnership launched September 2021 to collaborate on educational programs and research initiatives, strengthening ties between the museum and higher education in the Capital Region.
• Schenectady County Historical SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to design the Ground to Gourmet exhibition, combining the museum's technology focus with historical society's local history expertise.
• Iroquois MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided kind assistance for the Ground to Gourmet exhibition, contributing to the cultural and historical accuracy of content related to indigenous food traditions.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Boston Museum of Science: One of the largest U.S. science museums, featuring a planetarium, extensive permanent exhibits, and a national traveling-exhibitions program. Comparable in exhibit categories and STEM education focus, but operates at substantially greater scale than miSci.
• Liberty Science Center: Large New Jersey-based science center and IMAX theater with interactive exhibits and a strong school-group business. Overlaps with miSci in the tri-state area educational market and serves as a broader incumbent in the Northeast.
• Carnegie Science Center: Pittsburgh-based science center with planetarium, hands-on exhibits, and traveling exhibitions including a Buhl Planetarium. Comparable in operating model and STEM/STEAM programming, but at a larger scale.
• The Franklin Institute: Philadelphia science museum with permanent exhibits, a planetarium (Fels Planetarium), and STEAM education programs. Comparable in science/technology focus and K-12 outreach, but at significantly larger scale than miSci.

Direct peers

• Rochester Museum & Science Center: Regional science museum in upstate New York offering permanent and traveling exhibits, educational programs, and planetarium-style experiences. Directly comparable in mission, scale, and Upstate NY market to miSci.
• Children's Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST): Troy, NY (Capital Region-adjacent) science and technology museum with hands-on STEM exhibits and educational programs. Competes in the same Albany/Capital Region school-group market as miSci's field trip and outreach business.
• Museum of Science and Technology (MOST): Syracuse-based science and technology museum with hands-on exhibits, educational programs, and a domed theater. Closest direct peer to miSci within New York State in terms of size, exhibit mix, and K-12 group programming.

Regional players

• Strong National Museum of Play: Rochester, NY children's and family-oriented museum with strong educational programming and traveling exhibitions. Comparable in Upstate NY market overlap and family/birthday-party programming, though focused more on play than science history.

Emerging players

• Kopernik Observatory & Science Center: Southern Tier New York observatory and science center with portable planetarium shows, astronomy programs, and school outreach. Directly comparable in portable planetarium services and STEM education; also a former employer of miSci's VP of Exhibit Development.

Others

• ASTC (Association of Science-Technology Centers): Industry association that miSci participates in through the ASTC Passport Program. Provides peer benchmarking, accreditation, and a reciprocal admission network across 300+ member museums — useful comparable for understanding miSci's standing in the science center industry.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/misciny?lang=en
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SchdyInventTech
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/misci-museum-of-innovation-and-science-
• Instagraminstagram.com/misci_ny

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 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 Museum of Innovation and Science