A. Watson Armour III Seminar Series

Armour Seminar: Scott Weidensaul

Moth Week! The Secret Lives of Moths: Uncovering Hidden Nighttime Stories

The Field Museum

Bee Curious: Up Close & Un-bee-lievable

Community Walks sponsored by Arc’teryx Chicago

Two monarch butterflies are perched atop a flower in downtown Chicago.

Cities are Key to Saving Monarch Butterflies

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Monarch butterflies have been recommended for protected status by the US Fish and Wildlife Service

A monarch butterfly perches on a purple blazing star flower on a sunny day. Black-eyed Susans and other prairie plants are in the background.

Act Today for a Brighter Future

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A monarch butterfly stops in our Rice Native Gardens. Field scientists estimate that US cities could support 15 to 30 percent of the milkweed that’s needed to save the eastern monarch population.

Climate Crisis Report: Grim, with a Glimmer of Hope

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How can we protect enough biodiversity to sustain life on Earth?

Levi Jenkins smiles for the camera outside the Field Museum.

Becoming a Leader, Mentor, and Community Builder

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Ylanda Wilhite at a protest in downtown Chicago. She wears a facemask and a Field Museum shirt while holding up a t-shirt that reads, “If you can breathe, vote!”

Tomorrow’s Leaders Start Here

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Field staffer Ylanda Wilhite at a protest in Chicago in 2020.

Tomorrow's Leaders Start Here

A man sits on the ground in front of the Field Museum's south steps.

Why I Ride My Bike 30 Miles to Work

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A river at sunrise or sunset, with the yellow and blue sky reflecting on the water.

Protecting One of the Amazon’s Last Free-Flowing Rivers

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Protecting One of the Amazon's Last Free-Flowing Rivers

Molly Butler crouches in the grass near three Galapagos giant tortoises.

Following Darwin to the Galápagos

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Molly Butler at the Rancho Primicias Giant Tortoise Reserve on Santa Cruz island in the Galápagos.

Where Your Water Comes From—And Why You Should Care

Planting the Seeds of Conservation

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A lake surrounded by tall pine trees with a snow-capped mountain range in the background. The sky is blue with large fluffy white clouds.

Out of Office, Into Nature

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A bright red frog with blue legs perches on a wide green leaf that has spikes along its edges.

3 Questions with a Scientist: Poison Frogs

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A water bird perches on a rock near a few small plants. A body of water and the Chicago skyline are out of focus in the far distance.

Small—But Real—Changes You Can Make to Save the Planet

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Connect with scientists exploring the rich history of life on Earth and working towards a more sustainable future—in Chicago and beyond.

Dozens of orange and black monarch butterflies perch on tree branches, practically perching on top of one another. Some are blurred as they flap their wings.

Following the Monarch Butterflies to Mexico

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Two young girls look up at a taxidermied gorilla in a glass display case. The gorilla’s head is angled such that it appears to be making eye contact with the children. A digital rail, a screen on a stand, is positioned in front of the case. In the background, large-scale photographs of objects are affixed to the wall.

Bushman the Gorilla

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A Year in Review and a Look to the Future

What It's Like to Live in the Jungle for a Month

Working inside a maloca, or central gathering space for the local community.

Black-and-white nighttime photo of a jaguar walking in the forest. Its eyes are illuminated by the camera flash.

The Jaguar and Its Grandchildren

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A jaguar captured by a camera trap during the April 2018 rapid inventory. We captured a total of 10,373 camera trap photos during the inventory, of which 3,646 show mammals.

How We're Speaking Up For Science

Start Small with Composting

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Phase "Earth. We're On It." displayed on a black background, with an image of the earth from space shown to the right of the text.

Our Mission: A Commitment to Earth’s Future

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Phase Earth. We're On It. displayed on a black background, with an image of the earth from space shown to the right of the text.

Our Mission: A Commitment to Earth's Future

Close-up of a lion with a mane and a leather and metal collar around its neck

Giving Mammals Like Tsavo Lions Room to Roam

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A lion in Tsavo, Kenya, whose movements were tracked for this study

The Case for Saving PARASITES

Collecting in Vietnam: The Search for Millipedes

A necklace made of beads and pointy teeth, resting on a wooden surface

How to Save Giant Tropical Fruit Bats

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Flying fox teeth strung into a necklace and used as currency on the island of Makira.

Rows of bird specimens with yellow necks; half have gray stomachs and half have white bellies

What Hundred-Year-Old Birds Tell Us About the Environment

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Lifelike illustration of a a large brown rat on a tree branch, surrounded by green foliage.

Tree-Dwelling Giant Rat Discovered in Solomon Islands

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Illustration of the new giant rat by Velizar Simeonovski.

Preserving the Migration of Giants: Guyana's Arapaima

2009 algal bloom on the southeast shore of Pelee Island, Ontario. Photo credit: Tom Archer

Climate Change And Lakes That Look Like Pea Soup

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A plane taking off from a runway in front of an orange sky

Climate Change is Messing up Your Jet-Set Life

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Wikimedia Commons

Black and white microscope image of something with hard ridges and soft fringe

Small Millipedes Impact the Earth in a Big Way

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Scanning electron microscope image of a millipede mandible.

Eggshells, DDT, Collections, and Study Design

A butterfly cocoon, and an orange and black butterfly on a purple flower.

Monarch Butterflies 101

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A plant with bright green stems and tiny yellow flowers; a plant with red fuzzy leaves

How to Steer Clear of Two Common Poisonous Plants

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Left: Wild parsnip head. Right: Poison ivy leaves may be red early in the spring.

A small rat sitting on a bright green plant, nibbling a leaf

First Mammal Extinct from Human-Induced Climate Change?

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Bramble Cay melomys

An undersea view of bright red and white coral-like structure

“Spiderman” Worm-Snails Discovered on Florida Shipwreck

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Worm-snail habitat. Photo: Rüdiger Bieler.

Close-up of an orange and black butterfly perched on a group of small, unopened flowers

Milkweeds Can Save Monarchs And Beautify Your Garden

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A monarch butterfly on common milkweed

A bee perched on a light blue-green plant with round buds. The background is an out-of-focus green prairie.

Planting Your Native Garden

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A bee perches on a rattlesnake master, a perennial plant that's native to Illinois.

A bright orange and black butterfly on a purple flower with yellow center

Five Reasons to Add Native Plants to Your Garden

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A monarch butterfly on a New England Aster.

A woman, standing waist deep in water, tags an arapaima, a large freshwater fish. A man helps to hold the fish while several people in the background watch.

Women in Science: Lesley de Souza, Conservation Biologist

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Lesley de Souza, a conservation biologist in the Andes-Amazon Program, tags an arapaima fish with a radio transmitter in Guyana on South America’s North Atlantic coast.

Woman wearing a baseball cap and blue shirt in a rainforest-like setting, holding a large rock

Women in Science: Corine Vriesendorp, Conservation Ecologist

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Pembroke Sustainability Planning Sessions

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Field Museum Educational Investments in Pembroke

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A firefighter spreading controlled fire in a prairie with tall grass

Restoring Plants With Fire in Calumet

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Media

2016 By The Numbers

How Bird Vomit Helps Us Understand History

Dinosaur Discovery & Updates on Cloud Rats

Campaigning for CHANGE! Don't be Shallow - Vote for Mallow

This flower only grows in the wild on a single tiny island... in Illinois.

The 300-Year Quest to Find Every Tree Species in the Amazon

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Amazonian forest in the Putumayo basin of Loreto, Peru, surveyed during a February 2016 rapid inventory by The Field Museum. Photo 

Black and white illustration of a branch with leaves and large football-shaped pods

Chocolate’s Natural Roots: The Cacao Tree

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(1660-1753). The Field Museum Library: Gen. 1707.2

Chocolate's Natural Roots: The Cacao Tree

What is the U.S. doing about extinction?

Hummingbird hovering near a plant with red flowers

Five Native Plants to Grow in Your Home Garden

Field Museum volunteers at a habitat restoration workday in 2015

Hitting the Pavement to Save Endangered Plants

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Field Museum volunteers at a workday in 2015

Saving a River from Poison

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Born from the Ashes

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Peregrine Falcons Removed from IL Endangered List

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Image for Peregrine Falcons Removed from IL Endangered List

How to Protect the Rainforest

Discover Calumet: The Calumet Outdoors Series Connects People to the Many Natural Areas in the Region

Jungle Atop A Desert

Demystifying Mapping:  Low-Cost and Easy Tools for Mapping Natural Areas, Plus Other Fun Tech Tools

Environment & Conservation

Explore this topic through the content here and the halls of the Museum.

Articles and videos

Monarch butterflies have been recommended for protected status by the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Climate Crisis Report: Grim, with a Glimmer of Hope

How can we protect enough biodiversity to sustain life on Earth?

Exhibit Halls

Ylanda Wilhite

Abbott Hall of Conservation: Restoring Earth

Related Projects

Brazil

Calumet Region

City of Chicago

Putumayo-Içá Biocultural Corridor

People

Jeremy Campbell

Diego Santana Silva

Nigel Pitman

Farah Carrasco Rueda

Press Releases

Newly-declared conservation area in Peru is home to pink dolphins, giant armadillos, and woolly monkeys

New Changing Face of Science exhibition features conservation ecologist, uncovers the mysteries of freshwater ecosystems and the need for urgent action

Monarch butterflies need help, and a little bit of milkweed goes a long way

Related Areas

Keller Science Action Center

Mammals

Chicago Wilderness Program

Andes-Amazon

Events

Armour Seminar: Scott Weidensaul

Moth Week! The Secret Lives of Moths: Uncovering Hidden Nighttime Stories

Bee Curious: Up Close & Un-bee-lievable

Community Walks sponsored by Arc’teryx Chicago