The Pratt Museum is located in Homer, Alaska, on the shores of Kachemak Bay, approximately 200 miles south of Anchorage, on the Kenai Peninsula. Kachemak Bay, located on the southeast part of Cook Inlet, is circled by mountains, glaciers, and active volcanoes. The region’s four national parks, five national wildlife refuges, state parks and critical habitat areas support a diversity of wildlife, from seabirds and sea lions to brown bears and the endangered humpback whale. Kachemak Bay is the largest of 29 sites in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) in the nation, and the only one in Alaska.
The Pratt Museum is the only interdisciplinary museum in the 25,600-square-mile area of the Kenai Peninsula. It serves a regional population of more than 40,000 and hosts approximately 15,000 visitors each year. Indoor exhibits focus on art, natural history, native cultures, homesteading, fishing, and marine ecology. Outdoor exhibits include the historic Harrington cabin, botanical and homestead gardens, and a forested trail system.
MISSION & VISION
MISSION The Pratt Museum explores and preserves the culture, science, and art of the Kachemak Bay Region.
VISION The Pratt Museum strives to strengthen the interconnected relationships between people and place by sharing and preserving stories and materials relevant to the communities of Kachemak Bay. Our vision reflects our sense of place within our community; collaborative and inclusive.
HISTORY
The Pratt Museum is built on land donated by Samuel Leon Pratt and Vega Anderson Pratt. Sam’s collection helped inspire the founding of the Homer Society of Natural History in 1955, over a decade before the group created the Museum. The Society voted to honor their contribution by naming the Museum for the Pratts.
Sam Pratt was born in Woodland, Illinois on November 15, 1889. He came to Alaska in 1934. After moving to Homer in 1936, he met and married Vega Anderson. Sam worked as a fox farmer and commercial fisherman, then in 1947 Sam and Vega, both artists, began Vega’s Art and Gift Shop. They sold art supplies and a variety of merchandise, much like a miniature department store.
Sam and Vega were active members of the growing community of Homer and when the Museum opened in 1968, Sam served as the first volunteer curator. The Pratt Museum and the Pratt House on Pioneer Avenue between Bartlett Street and the Sterling Highway, where Sam and Vega lived for years, are on her family’s original homestead. Sam died on November 18, 1974, and Vega on September 19, 2002.
In 1967, the Homer community chose to construct the Museum as Homer’s centennial project, celebrating the purchase of Alaska from Russia. A formal agreement was signed between the City of Homer and the Society to construct a museum facility and to maintain a museum for the citizens in the event the Society should cease to exist. The Pratt Museum opened its doors for the first time on June 1, 1968.
STRATEGIC PLAN
In the spring of 2024, The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. board of directors and staff came together to update the Museum’s five-year strategic plan. The following three goals were set and agreed upon:
Goal 1: The Pratt Museum will be a sustainable institution
Goal 2: The Pratt Museum will fulfill its mission by providing an engaging program of work
Goal 3: The Pratt Museum will have a dynamic communication program
The strategies and goals in this plan will allow our organization to adapt to changing circumstances and innovate a new way forward. Download the Strategic Plan Summary 2025-2030 HERE.
ANNUAL REPORTS
Each year in February, The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. provides and presents an Annual Report to Pratt Museum Members. This is an opportunity for the Board of Directors and Pratt Museum staff to share detailed information about the previous year and look ahead to the upcoming season.
2024 Annual Report
2023 Annual Report
2022 Annual Report
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The Homer Society of Natural History, Inc. dba Pratt Museum is a 501 (c)3 corporation (EIN#92-6002856) and registered with the Alaska State Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development as a charitable organization.
Information on our finances is available here:
AUDITOR REPORTS
2023 HSNH Financial Audit
IRS FORM 990
2023 HSNH IRS 990
2022 HSNH IRS 990