At the Museum of the Earth, visitors can journey through the history of life on Earth. Located on 1259 Trumansburg Rd, the 8,000-square-foot natural history museum features exhibits from “Hyde Park Mastodon” to “Rock of Ages, Sands of Time,” highlighting Ithaca’s geological history within the broader context of Earth’s past.
But now, the museum is facing severe financial challenges after a $30 million donor pledge collapsed, putting the institution’s stability at risk.
Drawing on Cornell’s partnership with Paleontological Research Institution — the independent nonprofit that owns and operates the museum — students and professors are advocating for the University to provide greater support for the museum through its financial issues.
When the Museum of the Earth was founded in 2003, a group of anonymous donors pledged more than $30 million to support various aspects of the organization. For over 20 years, their annual contributions of over $1 million have played a critical role in supporting the museum’s operations.
However, since late 2023, donors have been unable to fulfill their annual pledges and the 20-year pledge they had previously made, forcing the museum to downsize operations significantly, including drastic staff reductions that slowed progress on science-based projects, reduced public programming and limited its operating hours.
“We’ve prided ourselves on developing really quality programs across our institution, but obviously, we can’t do everything with the downsized staff, so we’ve just been strategic in deciding what can get done and the timelines that they can get done on,” said Amanda Piha, the associate director for philanthropy and communications at PRI.
While the museum does not have immediate plans to close, according to Piha, without significant financial support, the museum will be unable to cover the expenses required to continue operations.
“There are no plans to close, but of course, that is also dependent on being able to continue to raise funds and keep ourselves financially stable, while we also build some really long-term partnerships in the background so that we could build even more stability and make the organization sustainable moving forward,” Piha said.
Piha explained that the financial challenges faced by the Museum of the Earth are not entirely unique, with similar institutions across the nation grappling with difficulties.
A 2024 survey of museum leaders by the American Alliance of Museums found that half of museums faced revenue loss or tough decisions on personnel, programs or expenses, while 25 percent are using reserves or endowments to cover operating costs.
The museum’s 8,000-square-foot permanent exhibition features a mix of natural history displays, interactive science features and art exhibitions, according to the museum website.
With over seven million specimens — marking one of the largest fossil invertebrate collections in the United States — the Museum of the Earth and PRI significantly contribute to local students’ science education since the formal affiliation between the two institutions in 2004.
As a formal partner with PRI, Cornell has provided various resources to the nonprofit, including library privileges, software licenses and financial support for some of its programs. Cornell and PRI have also maintained numerous academic connections, such as partnerships on federal grants, student teaching and mentoring, on- and off-campus exhibits and granting adjunct faculty status to three PRI staff in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department, according to Piha’s email to The Sun.
Prof. Bruce Monger, Earth and atmospheric sciences, shared his appreciation of the museum, calling it a “wealth of information on the history of the evolution of life on planet Earth, from its origin all the way up until present day.”
Monger highlighted the enriching role the Museum of the Earth and the PRI play in his “Introductory Oceanography” class, as PRI scientists deliver guest lectures and the museum provides guided tours for his students.
“[The PRI] provides a lot of teaching resources, both lectures and also the museum itself and that kind of experiential learning component that I think is really valuable,” Monger said.
PRI and the Museum of the Earth have been pivotal in shaping Emily Cavanaugh’s ’25 academic journey. Cavanaugh explained that taking a paleobiology class with Prof. Emeritus Warren Allmon, Earth and atmospheric sciences, who directs the PRI, influenced her to pursue her honors thesis on trilobites.
“Because of PRI, I’ve been able to complete this project. I used their fossil preparation materials to complete my project … [my project] would not have even started without PRI [and] the Museum of the Earth,” Cavanaugh said. “It’s completely changed my academic career for the better, and it’s just incredible the impact that it’s had on my life.”
Now, the Museum of the Earth’s ongoing financial struggles have sparked growing concern for Cavanaugh about the future of this important partnership for Cornellians.
“PRI has been around for over 90 years. The museum itself has been around for over 20 years, and that’s still impacted multiple generations,” Cavanaugh said. “It really means a lot to me that people beyond my generation get the chance to have an experience like I did, which is a completely career-changing experience and really benefited my experience at Cornell, and it would be really upsetting to me if that wasn’t an option for students in the future.”
To rally public support for the Museum of the Earth and the PRI, Cavanaugh, together with Ph.D. student William Hooker, launched a petition which garnered over 3,000 signatures as of the article’s publication.
Monger also submitted a letter to the Cornell administration along with several other faculty members, urging University support for the PRI and museum. While Monger was notified that his letter was received, he and his colleagues have yet to receive a response.
“I got a response from Benjamin Houlton, [dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences], saying he’d received a packet of letters and that he was grateful for the people who wrote the letters to provide him with some insights on the importance of the museum and PRI more generally,” Monger said.
However, it is unclear whether the University will take action to address the financial challenges facing the Museum of the Earth and PRI.
“We’ve been having a lot of conversations with people at Cornell and trying to figure out if there is a way to build a stronger partnership between us,” Piha said. “I don’t believe that there’s been anything decided or sorted out yet, but I know that there have been conversations. And as small of an institution as we are, in comparison size-wise, we’re very big in what we do, and so it’s not as easy to just absorb.”
When asked about the University’s plans regarding its potential role in supporting the Museum of Earth amid PRI’s financial struggles, Cornell Media Relations declined to provide a statement.
In light of these uncertainties, Monger stressed the importance of universities supporting resources like the Museum of the Earth to better educate students.
“We’re at a moment in human history where the things we do today are going to have an impact that lasts 10,000 years,” Monger said. “So [in] this moment in human history we, as a university, have an obligation to both train, but also just generally, broadly inform all students — whether they’re Earth science students or not — about where we’re at as a human society, and this museum has that great ability to take that big, long look.”