Associate Curator, Director of Core Laboratories
Negaunee Integrative Research Center
Sara's research focuses on snake evolution and systematics. While her interests in herpetology are broad, she focuses primarily on snakes, especially with respect to systematics, speciation, phylogenetics, and phylogeography. Previously, Sara served as an Assistant Professor of Biology at Rutgers University.
The Ruane Lab seeks to simultaneously inform reptile and amphibian systematics while also answering broad, contemporary questions in evolutionary biology.
For amphibian and reptile loans or collection visits, please visit the herpetology department's loan policy page.
For a detailed list of Sara's work, publications and accomplishments, please see her Curriculum Vitae.
Education and Work
- Ph.D., 2013: City University of New York Graduate Center, New York, NY
- Program: Biology (Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior)
- M.S., 2007: University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR
- Program: Biology
- B.S., 2004: University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, MA
- Major: Biology
Learning Resources
2025 Field Explorers Oppoutunities
2025 Summer Camps Opportunities
3D Model: Cryolophosaurus Skull | Dinosaur Toolkit
Use this 3D model to see how scientists reconstruct animals like Cryolophosaurus from the fossil record.
Interactive or App|Grades PK-123D Model: Glacialisaurus Foot | Dinosaur Toolkit
Learn how the first giant dinosaurs like Glacialisaurus moved by exploring this 3D model.
Interactive or App|Grades PK-123D Model: Tyrannosaurus rex | Dinosaur Toolkit
Interact with this 3D model to find out what we can learn about SUE the T. rex's life by looking at its fossils, then test your knowledge
Interactive or App|Grades PK-12AAHM Scavenger Hunt-Arabic
AAHM Scavenger Hunt-English
AAHM Scavenger Hunt-Spanish
AANHPI Scavenger Hunt-English
AANHPI Scavenger Hunt-Spanish
A Celebration of Souls Fact Sheet
A Celebration of Souls Tour Schedule
A Conversation about Land Acknowledgments
Hear from Native speakers and experts as they discuss the custom of land acknowledgments, their importance, and other actions you can take.
Advantages of Levers | Biomechanics Toolkit
Test basic lever types and explore the trade-off between a force advantage and speed advantage in the animal world.
Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8Adventures in the Herbarium: Museums and Medicines
The importance and impact of Field Museum’s African flowering plant specimens are highlighted in two podcasts. These podcasts were written, recorded, and edited by two college interns who worked alongside experts and collections specimens. Museums and Medicines highlights the impact plant specimens have had on human health and why their conservation is so important.
Activity|Grades 3-12Adventures in the Herbarium: Pixels and Petals
The importance and impact of Field Museum’s African flowering plant specimens are highlighted in two podcasts. These podcasts were written, recorded, and edited by two college interns who worked alongside experts and collections specimens. Pixels and Petals highlights the digital imaging process and the impact of herbarium specimens.
Grades PK-12Animal Observations | Science Hub at Home
Learn how scientists observe and track animal behavior and how you can do the same with your pets at home.
Activity|Grades 3-8Animal Survival Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership
Act as consultants to the City of Chicago and assess their relocation plan for urban coyotes.
Lesson Plan|Grades PK-5Antarctic Dinosaurs Exhibition Overview
Antarctic Dinosaurs Fact Sheet
Antarctic Dinosaurs Tour Schedule
Apsáalooke Women and Warriors Exhibition Overview
Apsáalooke Women and Warriors Exhibition Walkthrough
Apsáalooke Women and Warriors Fact Sheet
Apsáalooke Women and Warriors Tour Schedule
Archaeological Footprint | China Toolkit
Analyze how we learn about history through objects and theorize what gaps can exist in object-based stories.
Lesson Plan|Grades 6-12Artifact Observation Guide
Encourage close examination of a single artifact—an object produced by humans—using observations and inferences.
Activity|Grades 3-12Ask an Artifact | China Toolkit
Discover what you can learn from the objects all around us when you look carefully and apply a specific disciplinary lens. Spanish subtitles available.
Video|Grades 3-12At-Home Activities
Explore the natural world with engaging activities that support learning at home, including activities, games, printables, and more.
At Home Collections | Science Hub at Home
Create your own museum collection at home.
Activity|Grades 3-8Basket Making Demonstration with Lorene Sisquoc
Watch Lorene Sisquoc teaching and weaving a basket at the Field Museum opening of Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories.
Video|Grades PK-12Basket Making Discussion & Demo: Lorene Sisquoc and Kelly Church
Listen to and watch Lorene Sisquoc and Kelly Church discuss basket weaving and oral traditions.
Video|Grades PK-12Beginner's Field Guide: Fall in Chicagoland
With this guide, get to know the plants and animals that share your Chicagoland neighborhood during the fall. Birds migrate south, animals prepare for the cold, and leaves put on a colorful show.
Family-Friendly Lesson|Activity|Beginner's Field Guide: Spring in Chicagoland
Use this guide to get to know the plants and animals that you'll see in Chicago in the springtime. Birds migrate north, spring wildflowers emerge, and leaves appear on trees.
Activity|Family-Friendly Lesson|Being Big on Land
Learn why being big isn’t always an advantage and find out how mythic creatures like Godzilla and King Kong could never have carried their own weight.
Video|Grades 3-12Bergmann's Rule | Biomechanics Toolkit
Uncover how an animal’s size affects its ability to regulate temperature.
Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8Biodiversity and Ecosystems
Middle school-aged students will investigate the differences between native and invasive plants and demonstrate their learning by creating a model of a native plant garden.
Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8BIOlympics Game | Biomechanics Toolkit
Jump into BIOlympics events to see how animals achieve amazing feats. Use that knowledge to choose competitors for different events.
Game|Grades 6-8Biomechanics Exhibition Overview
Biomechanics Fact Sheet
Biomechanics Tour Schedule
Bird Calls and Songs | PlayLab at Home
Listen to different songs or calls made by local Illinois birds.
Activity|Grades PK-2Birding 101 | Science Hub at Home
Discover the birds of Chicago with these birding techniques.
Activity|Grades 3-8Birds are shrinking as the climate warms
Forty years of data show that migratory birds have been getting smaller. Long-term studies like this one, published in Ecology Letters, are key to identifying trends caused by environmental changes.
Búsqueda del Tesoro español
Calumet Heritage Area
Learn about the collaborative effort to protect the Calumet region, one of the most diverse places in America.
Chef Jessica Pamonicutt Discusses Cooking and Fry Bread
Listen to and watch Chef Jessica discuss her career as a chef and fry bread.
Video|Grades PK-12Chicago Community Climate Partnership
Join Chicagoans who are taking action on climate change right here in our city.
Chicago Wilderness
Connect with an alliance of conservation leaders working toward a green vision for the Chicago region.
Colors in the Rice Native Gardens Field Guide
The Field Museum invites you to awaken your senses as you venture through the Field Museum’s Rice Native Gardens and experience the beautiful colors of the natural world.
Common Butterflies of the Chicago Region Field Guide
This guide will help identify some of the many species of butterflies found in the Chicagoland area.
Common Wild Bees of Illinois Field Guide
Use this guide to help identify less recognizable bee species common in Illinois.
Creating Monarch Habitat in your Midwestern Garden
This guide shows how adding native plants to your garden, balcony or community can help reverse the decline of the monarch butterfly.
Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery Exhibition Overview
Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery Fact Sheet
Death: Life's Greatest Mystery TE Walkthrough
Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery Tour Schedule
Deforestation is stressing mammals out
Higher levels of stress hormones are found in rodents and marsupials in deforested patches of South America's Atlantic Forest, in a paper published in Scientific Reports. The destruction of an animal’s habitat can drastically change its life, with less food and territory to go around.
Dia de los Muertos 2022
Dinopalooza Flyer
Dinosaur Family Tree | Dinosaur Toolkit
Examine dinosaur physical traits to identify similarities and differences in their features and construct a system of classification.
Lesson Plan|Grades 3-5Discovery Adventures
This free online series takes viewers on an interactive, educator-led adventure around the Field. Tune in live every Tuesday, or catch the recordings any time.
Diversity of Life | Exploring the Field Guide
Observe animal dioramas to compare and contrast organisms and explore the diversity of life.
Activity|Grades PK-2Dome Strength | Biomechanics Toolkit
Discover how much force a seemingly brittle object like an egg can withstand when it’s dome-shaped.
Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8Dozin' with the Dinos 2024 Info Packet
Families and group leaders, prepare for your night at the museum with this guide.
Dozin' with the Dinos 2025 Info Packet
Dozin' with the Dinos on NBC5
English Scavenger Hunt
Everything Has a Purpose | Exploring the Field Guide
Examine why plants and birds have certain features to uncover the relationship between structure and function.
Activity|Grades 3-5Evidence in the Unwritten | China Toolkit
Investigate the role of an archaeologist and discover the types of questions that drive their work. Spanish subtitles available.
Video|Grades 6-12Exhibition Investigation Guide
Investigate a museum exhibition using the claim, evidence, reasoning cycle.
Activity|Grades 3-12Exploring Language | China Toolkit
Explore the history of writing in China by drawing conclusions about the impact of the written word on human civilizations and how language changes over time.
Lesson Plan|Grades 6-12Exploring Objects | China Toolkit
Analyze objects using varied lenses, including anthropology, history, economics, geography, and art history.
Lesson Plan|Grades 3-12Field Explorers Summer Camps FAQ
Get all your questions answered about our Summer Camps
Field Explorers Virtual Camp FAQ
Find information about camp activities, schedules, registration, and more.
Field Family Nights 2023 Info Packet
Prepare for your family night with this guide.
Field Family Nights 2024 Info Packet
Prepare for your family night with this guide.
Field Guides
Browse more than 1,000 plant and animal ID guides for over 40 countries.
First Kings of Europe Fact Sheet
First Kings of Europe Tour Schedule
Fish diversity and forest health
Scientists investigated fish populations in Guyana, which helped to show why aquatic corridors matter in conservation. Their study, published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, makes an important case that protecting one tiny corner of the Guiana Shield can help protect biodiversity across the Amazon.
Forces Design Challenge | Biomechanics Toolkit
Use animal structure and function to design a way that humans can reduce the force felt and/or energy absorbed by an object.
Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8Furiously Fast Falcons | Science Hub at Home
Figure out how fast you can run and how that compares to some of the fastest and slowest animals on the planet.
Activity|Grades 3-8Giants from the Past | Dinosaur Toolkit
Analyze and interpret data about sauropods and build a nonfiction narrative about how this group of dinosaurs evolved over millions of years.
Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8Giraffe Heart Dissection | Biomechanics Toolkit
Go behind the scenes in our mammals wet lab to watch the dissection of a giraffe heart.
Video|Grades 6-8Gold Armband
Group Leader Planning Packet
Get the details for your group as they explore the museum.
GWC Audio Tour Transcripts
Herbarium Sheets | PlayLab at Home
Learn about scientists who study plants and create your own herbarium sheet.
Activity|Grades PK-2Hominid Adaptations | Exploring the Field Guide
Investigate fossil remains of hominids to learn how humans and our relatives evolved over time.
Activity|Grades 6-8Impact of climate on rainforest biodiversity
A study in Biotropica examined data on small mammals in South America. It found something surprising: that climate may affect biodiversity in rainforests even more than deforestation does.
Investigating the Qingming Scroll | China Toolkit
Learn about the contradictions depicted in the Qingming Scroll and compare it with present-day representations of idealized societies.
Lesson Plan|Grades 6-12In Your Backyard | Science Hub at Home
Track down reptiles and amphibians by exploring your own natural spaces.
Activity|Grades 3-8Island Evolution
Discover why islands contain so many unique species.
Video|Grades 6-12Jason Wesaw Speaks About his Art
Listen to and watch Native Truths artist Jason Wesaw, a member of the Potawatomi Nation. His art practice spans many mediums including ceramics, textiles and works on paper.
Video|Grades PK-12Jump Like a Frog | Science Hub at Home
Can you leap like a frog? Investigate how frogs jump then compete in a jumping contest.
Activity|Grades 3-8Karen Ann Hoffman- Native People are Still Here
Listen to Karen talk about the impact the exhibit has on reminding everyone that Native people are still here.
Video|Grades PK-12- Video|Grades PK-12