Museum of Science, Boston

Temporary Exhibit [Return to listing page]
Nichols Gallery

Saturday, June 02, 2007 - Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Since 1964, Jane Goodall has studied and interpreted the behavior and social structure of chimpanzees in Tanzania, revealing an astounding number of similarities between these primates and humans -- and in the process turning our idea of what it means to be human upside down. This exhibit allows visitors to see these similarities by observing, trying, and comparing chimpanzee traits and behaviors with the help of interactive videos, models, artifacts, and more.

Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Tanzania's Gombe Streams National Park in the "Chimp Forest," where nimble visitors can climb into a chimp nest perched among tree branches, or try on prosthetic chimpanzee arms to see what it's like to "knuckle walk." A customized computer program allows visitors to record their own chimp calls, while video displays explain how to interpret chimp facial expressions and body language.

Use the same techniques as chimpanzees to try your hand at termite fishing -- the chimps' most famous use of a tool -- with twigs and a simulated ant hill. Elsewhere, enter a model of Goodall's tent, where video clips, artifacts, photographs, books, and field notes create an intimate, approachable theater for learning about chimp behaviors and how researchers study and interpret those behaviors.

This exhibit also expands the exploration of chimpanzee behavior, habitats, and threats to include all 12 families of primates. Visitors can compare characteristics like strength, weight, and height among primates, including humans, and they can understand how diminishing habitat and poachers have endangered several primate families, including chimpanzees.

Finally, learn about the successful programs that are addressing the environmental and societal problems that threaten these animals. As a recording of Goodall herself states at the end of the exhibit, "Every individual matters, every individual has a role to play, and every individual makes a difference."

Discovering Chimpanzees is a traveling exhibit produced by Science North, Sudbury, Canada.