Sophie Picq of the Field Museum taking an environmental DNA sample on the Essequibo River during RI-32.

Keller Science Action Center

We translate museum science and collections into action for conservation and quality of life.

Putting science into action for Earth’s future

The Keller Science Action Center expands the Field Museum’s scientific expertise, collections, and data, and leverages these resources for conservation results. Backed by more than three decades of experience from Amazonia to Chicago, we center local stewards, lead research, and help safeguard large, at-risk landscapes. We elevate local solutions for sustained conservation results and deliver bold solutions that protect nature and improve quality of life.

By the Numbers

Our Work

Gathering Spaces event, in Burnham Wildlife Corridor, presented by Roots & Routes, with The Field Museum and Chicago Park District. Includes opening program, at 47th Street and Cornell Drive, and coverage of 5 Gathering Space sites along the Burnham Wildlife Corridor trail, from 47th Street, to just past 31st Street.

Roots and Routes

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

Urban Pollinator Conservation

Youth and Family-Centered Conservation

Local fisherman swings a line over the Essequibo River

Local Ecological Knowledge

Our History

At its Centennial, the Field Museum launched a dedicated program for conservation action grounded in science and enriched by its global collections. The Museum became a leading voice for integrating human well-being, cultural dimensions, and local aspirations into every step of community-driven conservation. The geography of the Museum’s conservation efforts has been dual since its inception: Chicago Wilderness, the Museum’s home-base metropolis of more than 10 million diverse residents, and the Andes-Amazon, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. Three decades later, the Keller Science Action Center continues this legacy by leading conservation action and fostering diverse coalitions to sustain lasting, connected conservation mosaics as part of the Museum’s mission to conserve nature and culture.

Our Geographies

The Action Center’s work focuses on two key regions: the tropical forests of the Andes-Amazon, home to rich diversity of species and cultures, and the Field Museum’s home in Chicago, where city and nature intersect.

Drone shot of a stretch of the Essequibo River near Camp Amuku, with canoes visible at the camp dock

Andes-Amazon

Chicago Wilderness Program

Acknowledgments

The Keller Science Action Center was named in honor of conservation champions Connie and Dennis Keller. Action Center Committee members and Field Museum trustees support our work alongside individual donors, foundations and corporations.

Conservation in Action

The Keller Science Action Center strives to transform threatened landscapes into resilient conservation corridors, supporting community-driven conservation stewardship, with connectivity, nature, and human well-being at the forefront of our priorities. Grounded in people-centered, action-oriented science, we collaborate with local communities and a wide range of partners to support conservation areas that are both equitable and enduring. Through Museum’s science, resources, training, and on-the-ground mentoring, we strengthen local stewardship and co-develop inclusive networks that align culturally relevant knowledge with nature-based solutions. Together, these efforts build lasting, connected conservation mosaics across regions and generations.

An interdisciplinary team of ecologists, environmental social scientists, data and spatial analysts, and engagement specialists use museum-science to generate on-the-ground results for both people and nature.