The Museum of the Earth in Ithaca is in dire financial straits that could eventually lead to foreclosure, according to officials.
The natural history museum opened in 2003 and features dinosaur displays, interactive exhibits, and more than 7 million fossilized invertebrate specimens, one of the largest collections in the country. It is owned by the Paleontological Research Institution, or PRI, which also runs the Cayuga Nature Center.
PRI was supposed to receive $30 million in ongoing funding from an individual donor. That donor had previously provided around $20 million in funding to the organization. However, in 2023, PRI officials learned that those donations would not be fulfilled. The major loss in funding meant big changes for the nonprofit, which reduced its staffing by around half and cut some of its programs.
PRI Director Warren Allmon said the museum’s fate is in danger as the organization struggles to pay off what it owes on the mortgage.
To do that, the organization needs to raise 2-3 million within the next couple of months.
“If you don't pay your mortgage, you get foreclosed on. So that's a very real possibility. We are hoping that, obviously, that that doesn't happen,” Allmon said.
Allmon emphasized that the museum has not been foreclosed on yet and has no plans to shut its doors. He said PRI is focused on raising money to pay off the museum’s mortgage and is also making additional cuts. The organization will not run its summer camp this year. PRI is also planning to sell the Cayuga Nature Center and has rehomed the remaining animals housed there.
Allmon said they are committed to selling the nature center to someone who will continue to preserve the land and use it for educational or recreational purposes.
He added that the public has been incredibly supportive of PRI in its time of need. Over the past two weeks, more than 300 people have sent in donations totalling around $25,000.
“Literally every dollar that people have given us has helped because that's allowed us to stay open longer while we look for these long-term solutions,” Allmon said.
Amanda Schmitt Piha, the Associate Director of Philanthropy and Communications for PRI, said the organization has received donations from across the globe.
“I've had gifts come in from New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, Great Britain,” she said.
Schmitt Piha believes that is because the Museum of the Earth and other organizations that promote scientific literacy are crucial to the health of their communities, creating engaged and informed citizens.
“People who are going to get out there and make changes in a positive way, both for society and our Earth, are people who understand the science behind it,” she said.
The museum also has a mutually beneficial relationship with Cornell University, accessing its libraries and assisting with the college’s educational pursuits, according to Schmitt Piha.
“If you were to take a paleontology course through Cornell, you're probably going to take it under an adjunct to someone who's on staff here at PRI and you're going to come to the museum.”
Those deep ties have led some Cornell students and staff to call for the university to do more to support the museum. One online petition calling for “Cornell and other outside sources” to save the institution has garnered over 3,000 signatures.
Schmitt Piha said PRI is exploring partnerships with outside organizations as they move forward despite the loss of funding.
