The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador created the Galapagos Science Center (GSC) in 2011 to advance science and conservation in the Galapagos Islands and to extend a richer, more complete understanding of island ecosystems and the threats to their sustainability to the world.

The Galapagos Initiative aims to preserve the Galapagos Islands with an innovative, interdisciplinary, and sustainable strategy. The GSC seeks to be the leading research center in Latin America that promotes the conservation of the Galapagos and its fragile ecosystems. We support the sustainable development of iconic and native species, ecosystem goods and services, and the local population through interdisciplinary science achieved through an integrated approach to research, experiential education, and community outreach.

The GSC serves as a research hub for international researchers to conduct both basic and applied scientific investigations to inform solutions to complex problems in the natural laboratory of Galapagos. We strive to educate students, local people, and citizens of the world about the challenges to stewardship of protected areas, to not only preserve the Galapagos but other similarly challenged settings around the globe through an integrative approach of innovation, discovery, and learning.

The GSC is located in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, in San Cristóbal Island, Galapagos Archipelago.