Pandoran Research Foundation

The official logo of the Pandoran Research Foundation

The Pandoran Research Foundation (PRF) is an organization dedicated to the collection, interpretation, and dissemination of information about Pandora. The PRF is also vested in conservation and education efforts targeting Earth's citizens.

The Pandoran Research Foundation is committed to promoting and carrying out the study of the geology, flora, fauna and indigenous cultures of Pandora. It celebrates all aspects of Pandora, and seeks to educate and inspire humans to connect with Pandora through scientific inquiry, research, and direct engagement. The PRF operates from a variety of terrestrial and Pandoran locations and is staffed by scientists who lead a wide-ranging research program focused on the inhabitants, flora, fauna and geophysics of Pandora. The PRF also undertakes significant conservation and education efforts, which serve to inform and inspire the public on Earth; projects include a traveling exhibition and the development of eco-tourism on Pandora.

The PRF shouldn't be confused with the Pandora Conservation Initiative, which has similar research and public outreach goals but focuses mainly on Pandoran habitat restoration and educating human visitors on Pandora itself.

History

PRF member and Avatar Program scientist Norm Spellman appears in Avatar: Discover Pandora

Originally a result of the collaboration between the Resources Development Administration and leading Earth's scientists to discover uses for Pandoran resources on Earth, the PRF eventually became a major authority on knowledge about the planet. Scientists from the Avatar Program are also part of the PRF, having curated the Avatar: Discover Pandora exhibit. The PRF still has a working partnership with the RDA.

The PRF is based on both Earth and Pandora, setting research facilities on Pandora, in various locations. As part of their public outreach, they created the Avatar Network, which allows external experts and civilians interested in Pandora to help contribute to the PRF knowledge base.

Trivia

• For the Taiwan leg of Avatar: Discover Pandora, signing up for an account on Avatar.com provided exhibit visitors with a Pandora Research Log profile with badges to earn by exploring the exhibit and a profile questionnaire asking about participants' future involvement in PRF activities. The site was later updated to reflect their partnerships with Alpha Centauri Expeditions and Cirque du Soleil for Pandora: The World of Avatar and Toruk - The First Flight respectively. The sections for each PRF sponsored experience include links to informative articles about Na'vi culture and the natural world of Pandora.

Gallery

In the first version of the PRF website, access to full Avatar Network functionality, including the Pandora Research Log, was limited to exhibition visitors. Non-visitors could still earn the badges given for signing up and filling out their profile.

Reconstruction of the Avatar Network's profile questionnaire, asking viewers about their desire about their exhibition activity preferences and future PRF involvement

The Avatar Network allowed users to choose between premade icons of Na'vi and Avatars.

Image from the original Avatar Network confirmation e-mail welcoming users in English, Mandarin, and Na'vi for the Taiwan run of Avatar: Discover Pandora