Paleontological Research Institute
Ithaca, NY
Opened Fall 2003

The internationally known natural history collections of the venerable Paleontological Research Institution are at the heart of The Museum of the Earth, a major new attraction of New York’s Finger Lakes region. The museum tells story of the 4.5 billion year history on Earth, focusing particularly on three remarkably different worlds, each of which existed in what is now New York State: Beneath an Ancient Sea (Devonian period), Where Dinosaurs Walked (the Triassic/Jurassic period), and A World Carved by Ice (Quaternary period).

Housed in a striking new building designed by the architectural firm of Weiss/Manfredi, the exhibition stresses the interdependence of the Earth and life on the planet through a unique hybrid of artifact displays, object theaters, hands-on science labs and powerful works of art. Highlights of the exhibition include the imposing skull of a dunkeleosteus, the implacable predator who ruled the shallow seas that once covered the region; the footprints of a coelophysis, the small but fierce dinosaur who roamed the fields and forests of central New York; and the skeleton of the locally-discovered Hyde Park Mastodon, one of the most complete specimens of its kind ever found.

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