---
id: palmerpenguins
version: "0.1.6"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# palmerpenguins — A python package for the palmer penguins dataset

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 133.7K/mo

## What it is and what it does

palmerpenguins is a lightweight data-loading package that wraps the Palmer penguins dataset—a collection of 344 Antarctic penguin observations gathered by Dr. Kristen Gorman and the Palmer Station LTER program. It provides a simple Python interface to load this dataset into a pandas DataFrame, replacing the overused Iris dataset as a standard teaching and exploration tool. The dataset includes size measurements, clutch observations, and blood isotope ratios across three penguin species (Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo) observed on islands in the Palmer Archipelago.

The package depends only on pandas and numpy, making it quick to install and integrate into analysis workflows. It is intended for data exploration, visualization practice, and educational purposes rather than production analysis. The underlying data is public domain (CC-0), and the package itself carries a permissive MIT license.

Use it for:

- Teaching data visualization and exploratory data analysis to replace the Iris dataset in courses and tutorials
- Prototyping data pipelines and testing pandas workflows with a real, multi-species ecological dataset
- Creating example notebooks and documentation that need a standard, well-documented sample dataset
- Comparing statistical or machine learning techniques across penguin species as a pedagogical exercise

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Loads the Palmer penguins dataset—344 observations of Adelie, Chinstrap, and Gentoo penguins with size measurements and other attributes—into a pandas DataFrame for data exploration and visualization.

Yes, if you need a standard pedagogical dataset for teaching or prototyping. The package is lightweight, dependency-minimal, and carries no security vulnerabilities. Maintenance is aging but the repository remains active. Install it for data exploration tutorials, visualization practice, or as a Iris replacement—not for production data pipelines.

## Install

pip install palmerpenguins
uv add palmerpenguins
poetry add palmerpenguins

## Installing palmerpenguins

Before you install: Low install friction; depends only on pandas and numpy. Package is aging (194 days since last release) but the repository remains active and unarchived, suggesting maintenance is minimal but not abandoned.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely. The underlying dataset itself is CC-0, placing it in the public domain.

Quickstart:

pip install palmerpenguins
from palmerpenguins import load_penguins
penguins = load_penguins()

Requires Python >=3.9

Verify before relying:

- Whether the dataset is regularly updated or reflects a fixed snapshot from a specific collection period
- Performance characteristics when working with the full 344-row dataset in typical workflows

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 133.7K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

palmer penguins dataset, load penguin data python, iris dataset alternative, sample dataset for visualization, penguin measurements data, data exploration dataset, educational dataset loader, dataset-loader, educational-data, ecology

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