Natural Sciences Museum

What Natural Sciences Museum does

The Natural Sciences Museum is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Charity No. 1214909) operating from a single Edwardian building at 149 Holme Lane, Sheffield, UK, with a gallery capped at 60 visitors. It functions simultaneously as a public-facing museum and as a working scientific services laboratory. Public-facing offerings include general admission, guided tours, a Fossil Club for children, school and homeschool programmes, scout and guide visits, the Palaeo-Internship, training courses, venue hire, a patron scheme, an online gift shop, and a programme of rotating exhibitions.

The museum runs an integrated scientific services operation that includes fossil preparation (mechanical, ultrasonic, and chemical methods with up to £5 million insurance), micro-CT imaging using a Nikon XTH 225 ST system, 3D surface scanning with a Creaform HandySCAN BLACK Elite at 0.025 mm accuracy, and resin-based 3D printing up to 0.025 mm precision, alongside conservation, excavation, and consultancy services. Collections across Earth Sciences and Life Sciences are managed in the Specify 7 database, and research is organised around five themes: Planetary Origins, Evolution of Life, Collections Unlocked, Changing Biodiversity, and Tools for Discovery.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of low-priced admissions (£4 adult / £10 family), pay-as-you-go professional services priced per hour, the £500/year patron scheme, donations and legacies, retail via a wholly-owned subsidiary (Natural Sciences Museum Auxiliary Enterprises Ltd), venue hire, and corporate partnerships. Customers span individual visitors, schools, youth organisations, university researchers, industrial imaging clients, private collectors, and corporate event clients. The museum is led by Director Dr. Brian Andres with a Board of Trustees that includes James Hogg, Abu-al Hassan, and Thomas Doyle.

Name

Natural Sciences Museum

Legal name

Natural Sciences Museum

Website

https://naturalsciencesmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Natural Sciences Museum is a new Sheffield-based UK charity operating a single 60-visitor gallery and an integrated scientific services laboratory, serving the general public, schools, universities, industrial imaging clients, collectors, and corporate event clients through exhibitions, educational programmes, fossil preparation, micro-CT, 3D scanning, and 3D printing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural History Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA), Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), History, Heritage & Museum-Focused Study Tours (THAKAGAN)

Keywords

• Natural history museum
• Science education programs
• Fossil preparation services
• Micro-CT imaging services
• 3D printing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sheffield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. General Admission Tickets: Revenue from visitor entry tickets. Pricing: Free for children 5 and under, £2 for under 16s, £4 for adults, £10 for family tickets. Open for general admission on Saturdays, Sundays, and Sheffield school holidays.
2. Venue Hire: Rental of museum spaces including Learning Room (£80/day), Henry Sorby Meeting Room (£55/day), and Museum Gallery (£100/hour or £450 all day). Patrons receive 30% discount.
3. Venue Hire Services: Additional venue services including catering options and museum expert talks for events.
4. Lab Experience and Training: Hands-on fossil preparation sessions at £32 per session for beginners, private training courses at £30/hour, and radiology/micro-CT training at £450/day.
5. Fossil Preparation Services: Professional fossil preparation services starting at £30/hour for collectors, researchers, and institutions. Includes mechanical, ultrasonic, and chemical methods with complimentary insurance up to £5 million and CT scanning for fragile fossils.
6. Micro-CT Scanning Services: Industrial, academic, and collector micro-CT scanning services at £150/hour standard rate, with reduced rates for charities and academic users. Post-processing/segmentation at £40/hour.
7. 3D Scanning and Printing Services: 3D surface scanning at £80/hour and 3D printing services with various resin types priced per 100g (standard £7.50-£8.00, specialist £45-£96). Post-processing at £40/hour.
8. Conservation and Consultancy Services: Object conservation services, authenticity reports, and expert consultancy for research, education, and conservation projects. Object identification at free or £60 for certificate.
9. Excavation Services: Paleontological and zoo-archaeological excavation services for collectors, researchers, and institutions, including fieldwork through to final reporting.
10. Patron Membership: Annual patron scheme at £500/year (£100 membership + £400 donation subject to Gift Aid), offering free unlimited entry for patron and up to 4 guests, exclusive events, and annual reception.
11. Retail Shop: Online gift shop selling gifts, books, toys, tours, and lab experience vouchers. Run by Natural Sciences Museum Auxiliary Enterprises Ltd subsidiary. Proceeds support museum's charitable work.
12. Donations: Monetary donations via PayPal for preserving collections, advancing research, and educational initiatives. Also accepts specimen donations for scientific collections or learning collection.
13. Legacies: Legacy gifts in wills including pecuniary legacies (specific sum), residuary legacies (percentage of estate), and specific legacies (property, stocks, or shares). Charitable gifts generally free from Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax, and Income Tax.
14. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partnership programs offering brand association, event sponsorship, research partnerships, sustainability initiatives, and employee engagement programs tailored to partner company goals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Natural Sciences Museum operates a single-gallery museum in Sheffield delivering hands-on visitor experiences (guided tours, lab experiences, rotating exhibitions, fossil club) and a portfolio of educational programs (school visits, homeschool, scouts, university partnerships, internships). It also sells fee-based professional scientific services to researchers, collectors, institutions, and corporate clients, including fossil preparation, conservation, excavation, micro-CT imaging, 3D scanning, 3D printing, consultancy, and training.

Product overview

The Natural Sciences Museum is a single-gallery museum in Sheffield, UK operating as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The museum offers a unified portfolio of visitor-facing educational experiences (guided tours, fossil club, school visits, lab experiences), professional scientific services (3D printing, 3D scanning, micro-CT imaging, fossil preparation, conservation, excavation, consultancy), and institutional programs (university partnerships, internships, training courses, venue hire, patron scheme, donations). The museum uses Specify 7 for internal collections management. Core visitor services include the Gallery, Guided Tours, Lab Experience, Fossil Club for Kids, and educational programs. Professional services encompass X-ray/Micro-CT imaging using Nikon XTH 225 ST, 3D printing (resin-based up to 0.025mm accuracy), 3D scanning (Creaform HandySCAN), fossil preparation, conservation, excavation, and consultancy services. The museum also operates venue hire, a patron scheme, library and archives, and an online gift shop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Guided Tours

Quantifiable outcome

• Maximum 60 visitors per visit, single gallery experience
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Dr. Luke Muscutt (Imperial University)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe museum collaborated with Dr. Luke Muscutt, an aerospace engineer and biomechanics expert at Imperial University, on the creation of Flip, a free-swimming robotic plesiosaur. The museum provided 3D printing resources to produce critical components including intricate body plates. This project advanced scientific understanding of pliosaur locomotion and gained international attention including BBC documentary coverage.
• BBC Natural History UnitflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerBBC Natural History Unit featured the museum's robotic plesiosaur project (Flip) in the documentary 'Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster', presented by Sir David Attenborough. This collaboration provided significant media exposure for the museum and highlighted its contribution to scientific research.
• Sheffield Children's UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe museum is a Learning Destination for Sheffield Children's University, an initiative that encourages children to discover learning beyond the classroom. Children can bring their Passport to Learning to earn credits for attending Fossil Club activities, with credits counting toward their CU achievements.
• Derbyshire ScoutsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe museum offers activities suitable for Derbyshire Scouts looking to obtain an Archaeology Badge, providing educational programming aligned with scouting requirements.
• Corporate Partners (unspecified)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe museum offers corporate partnership opportunities for businesses to align with the institution's commitment to science, education, and sustainability. Partners gain brand association, networking opportunities, employee engagement programs, and marketing exposure through museum events and digital media.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences: Cambridge University's geology and palaeontology museum with public access and educational programs. Comparable in earth sciences focus and university research affiliation, though much larger and longer-established.
• Manchester Museum: Major university-affiliated museum with extensive natural history collections including fossils and mineralogy. Comparable as a UK natural history museum, but with vastly greater scale, research capacity, and visitor footfall.
• Oxford University Museum of Natural History: Major university-affiliated natural history museum with extensive palaeontology and mineralogy collections open to the public. Comparable in collection focus but vastly larger scale, research capacity, and institutional backing.
• Yorkshire Museum: Regional museum in York operated by York Museums Trust with broad natural sciences, archaeology, and geology collections. Comparable as a UK natural sciences museum but significantly larger in scale, collection depth, and institutional resources.

Regional players

• Eureka! The National Children's Museum: UK children's museum focused on hands-on science learning with strong educational programming for schools and families. Comparable in the hands-on science education niche, though broader in scope beyond natural sciences.
• Life Science Centre: Newcastle-based science centre with strong school and family visitor programs including natural science elements. Comparable in operating educational programming and serving regional UK audiences.
• We The Curious: Bristol-based science centre and charity with hands-on exhibits, educational programs, and a patron/membership model. Comparable as a small UK science-focused charity museum with strong public engagement.

Direct peers

• Lyme Regis Museum: Independent coastal museum on the Jurassic Coast with a strong fossil and geology focus, offering guided tours, educational programs, and fossil-related exhibitions. Comparable in mission and visitor experience, though larger and more established.
• The Etches Collection: A small, single-gallery independent museum in Kimmeridge, Dorset, focused exclusively on fossils and marine reptiles, offering visitor experiences, fossil preparation services, and educational programs. Highly comparable as a niche fossil-focused UK museum with similar scale, charity structure, and visitor engagement model.

Others

• Jurassic Coast Trust: UK charity managing the UNESCO Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site with strong educational programming and fossil-related public engagement. Comparable as a UK natural heritage/education charity in the same geological and palaeontological thematic space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheNaturalSciencesMuseum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Natural Sciences Museum