The Randell Research Center (RRC) is a program of the Florida Museum of Natural History focused on the coastal and island cultural and natural heritage of Florida.

Archaeologists, biologists, and other scholars from the Florida Museum of Natural History have conducted research and education programs in southwest Florida, including Pine Island, since 1983. The RRC has existed since 1996 when Patricia and Donald Randell gifted more than 53 acres of the Pineland archaeological site, located on Pine Island, to the University of Florida Foundation.

The Pineland site property is now mostly state-owned and serves as an outdoor museum and educational resource open daily to the public, including the Calusa Heritage Trail and classroom. RRC staff manages the daily operations of the Pineland archaeological site and oversees the operations and public programing at the Calusa Heritage Trail. Visitors are able to traverse Calusa shell mounds and canals, and a diversity of coastal terrestrial and wetland habitats. RRC staff and volunteers offer tours to the public, as well as special tours for schools and many other groups of all ages. The center provides a dedicated classroom space, interpretive signs, a gift shop, and annual events that bring together scholars with community members.

The RRC represents the Florida Museum of Natural History in south Florida. The Florida Museum of Natural History is located on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. It was chartered in 1917 as the state’s official natural history museum and is fully accredited by the American Association of Museums. With more than 40 million specimens and artifacts in its permanent collections, the Florida Museum is the largest collections-based natural history museum in the southeastern United States. These collections are the foundation of the Museum’s scientific research and university teaching programs. The Museum also draws heavily upon its collections in meeting its public education mission through permanent and traveling exhibits as well as outreach programs, including the Randell Research Center, designed to inspire and educate the public about Florida’s natural history and rich cultural heritage.