The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) in Ithaca, New York, is a nationally-ranked, university-affiliated natural history museum, and an emerging national leader in Earth system change education and paleontological research, the study of the fossil record, and the Earth sciences. These fields provide powerful opportunities to improve public understanding of the natural world and humanity’s place in it.

In 2003, PRI opened the Museum of the Earth, a dramatic space that serves to engage and educate the public. The museum’s 8,000-square-foot permanent exhibition takes visitors on a journey through 4.5 billion years of history, from the Earth’s origin to the present day.

Through hands-on and visual exhibitions and outreach, PRI’s Museum of the Earth encourages critical thinking about life on Earth, what the history of life can tell us about our world today, and how our own species is affecting the natural world.