Illinois Featured Content

Emma Lundin, a graduate student in tourism at the U of I, discusses her research in a rainforest in Sri Lanka, exploring how to create sustainable nature-based tourist experiences by walking 'with' the forest.

Archaeology team uses a portable 3D scanner to recreate the details of a hand petroglyph from a site overlooking the Mississippi River in Monroe County, Illinois.

Illinois Extension forestry and research specialist Christopher Evans describes leading the first field day of a Beginning Forest Landowner Program to give landowners the experience, skills and connections needed to better manage their forests.

You can't go inside them - they're dangerous and you'd be arrested - but the steam tunnels under the campus serve important functions. Plus, the old brick tunnelways produce weird noises that complete their creepy image.

'With all the intimidation and preparation leading up to this night, I had built the bats up to be something dramatic – even fearsome – in my mind, but sitting there in my hand, the bats are smaller and sweeter than I anticipated. They are fuzzy.'

he tower’s 15 bells have provided a soundtrack for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus for more than 100 years. Now they are being removed for the first time since they were installed in 1920.

'To say the images made us pathologists excited is an understatement. It was a eureka moment that was a long time in the making.'

Hundreds of researchers have made use of these two woodlands over the decades, and these and other natural areas owned by the U. of I. are vital to training students in ecological research.

Kirtland’s snakes were once widespread in Illinois, but now are listed as a threatened species. With more than 99% of Illinois’ natural prairies lost to agriculture and urban development, these snakes struggle to maintain their current populations.

'Illinois has historically played a large role in shaping our understanding of child maltreatment, and I believe that we can alter the trajectory of generations of children to come.'

Campus staff member tells of finding inspiration for her art on a trip to the Great Smokey Mountains. 'I have one goal in mind,' she writews. 'I want to see something extraordinary.'

'I grew up on the Kenyan coast... My parents were teachers, but their income was not enough to sustain us and send us to school. So, we also farmed. I got up early every day to work on the farm before school.'

Numbers of Baudet du Poitou donkeys have dwindled to only 300-400 worldwide. A breeding effort is underway at Illinois to expand their numbers and help save the breed from extinction. Photos by Michelle Hassel.

Two years ago, Professor Alexandra Harmon-Threatt built this outdoor labby planting more than 80 prairie species here. Her mission is to attract ground-nesting bees. She is here to see which bees are showing up. But that’s not all she’s after.

The U of I Plant Biology Greenhouse and Conservatory houses more than 200 species and 60 families of tropical and subtropical plants selected for their botanical interest or economic importance.

'Every night, we quietly lurk in the dark at the edge of the lawn to listen for the rustling of dried leaves as the cicadas come out of their burrows. It’s a bit creepy, but also stunning...'

The Rare Book and Manuscript Library has holiday- and winter-themed books and images, from a depiction of a 1683 frost fair on a frozen river to illustrations of Norse folk tales

'About 70 people are waiting for us in the courtyard of the community center when we arrive. They are llama herders, farmers and weavers. Many have walked for miles to be here...'

'Meaningful work is not simply something you go out and find like an egg at an Easter egg hunt. It’s something co-created, over time, by individuals and the organizations they work in.'

Photographer Fred Zwicky puts you on the field as bedlam unfolds and Illinois fans celebrate a major upset victory over heavily favored Wisconsin.

Working to restore a prairie on century-old farmland – especially when starting from seed, as the Delcomyns did – requires plenty of patience and a lot of help. 

Graduate student Mary Lyons studies teachers’ strategies for supporting young children’s play-based learning.

Illinois Natural History Survey assistant ornithologist Anastasia Rahlin conducted field surveys in Volo Bog State Natural Area, and her efforts paid off with the discovery of a king rail, a water bird that blends in well with its surroundings.

Vancouver-based social practice artist Carmen Papalia's 'Blind Field Shuttle' focuses is on unlearning visual primacy and reconsidering our preconceptions and biases. 

The quest: Combating the incursion of invasive species from the Feywild, a magical plane that exists adjacent to our own that is full of weird and wonderful wildlife. At least, that’s the lore a mix of U. of  I. students, alumni and colleagues are presenting.

'I stand at the edge of an archaeological excavation on the U. of I. campus, watching as students dig up the remnants of a structure I helped build 22 years ago as an undergraduate student in an experimental archaeology course.'  

The University of Illinois Saxophone Ensemble tackles music never meant for the saxophone.

We’re here because it’s wet. Archaeologist Tim Pauketat, who has studied Cahokia 25 years, wants to see it flooded. Watching how the water flows here will help unlock some of the secrets of this place, he says.

Anthropology professor Lisa Lucero and her colleagues are working to capture the history from Maya ruins before they are plowed under.

'Our goal is to learn as much as we can about (Blanding's turtles). Knowing...how many Blanding’s turtles remain – in the context of the turtle community as a whole – will help in the development of viable conservation and recovery plans for them.'

I act the part of the cowbird: I spy on robins to find their nests and slip a foreign egg into each one. 

I am one of many students representing the University of Illinois Astronomical Society and the Outdoor Adventure Club. Our Great American Eclipse event has us positioned well within the path of totality...

Our willingness to tromp through swamps and brambles is fueled by the hope of catching a glimpse of “white birds in a nest” (Macbridea alba) in bloom

This imaging process is part of Endless Forms, an NSFdigitization project. Our part is to digitize specimens from across the country in three groups: succulent plants, carnivorous plants and epiphytes.

In February, 2017, a tornado swept through this part of the Shawnee National Forest. There are few canopy trees left standing and invasive understory plants have taken over

When I reach the trap...I see that it’s covered in ticks. Hooray! Quickly though, I realize that I’ve introduced my own CO2 to the scene, along with the added attractant of my body heat. Suddenly, I become the local target of choice for the ticks.

The 'CETACEAN' performances are Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Stock Pavilion, 1402 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Urbana. Admission is free and seating is first come, first served.

'The male stares me down while flicking his tail and wings – a sign that I’m not welcome here. Red-winged blackbirds are among the most brash and vocal birds you’ll ever meet.'

Tamar learned jiyuka, or freestyle arrangement, which encourages contemporary artistic expression using simple design principles to create miniature arrangements highlighting the theme of kokoro, or heart, mind and spirit.

'My role at this site is to attach temperature-sensitive radio tags to reproductive female Indiana bats. We’ll use these tags to track the bats to roost trees during the day and to monitor their body temperatures.'

George Calfas unearthed a jug in 2011 that is now part of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, 'Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina'

Birds throughout the world are in trouble, and habitat loss is one reason for their decline. Understanding their life cycles and habitat requirements during migration is increasingly important – especially as climate change continues to affect the world.

Illinois researchers can learn about the life of a river without seeing the animals that live there.

A U. of I. dance student details the experience of performing at The Joyce Theatre in Manhattan, part of the University Partnership Performance program. Seven universities nationwide, including Dance at Illinois, were invited to perform.

'The site is impressive, with monumental buildings and a temple that rises 30 meters above our heads. ...the west side of the temple platform is a sheer 10-meter drop'

For our family, as for so many families of MIAs, all that came back from the war were a few personal effects and a letter of condolence from Tommy’s commander. The Memorial Days that followed would be painful for those who remembered him.

Plant biology professor emeritus Govindjee, who has made key contributions to the scientific understanding of photosynthesis, is also an archivist and historian of photosynthesis research.

'In stark contrast to the severe environmental destruction that we see all around us, our excavations reveal the ancestral Maya’s profound respect for nature and animals,' writes graduate researcher Yifan Wang.

Scientists are helping determine the age of an antique Chinese porcelain vase in Krannert Art Museum’s collection through an X-ray fluorescence analysis of its paint

The very essence of the Erlanger House resonates with my belief in art’s intersections. It isn’t just a home; it is a living, breathing canvas where multiple art forms coexist and influence one another.