Monkey business on show in Neuchâtel

An exhibition for all the family at the Natural History Museum in Neuchâtel, 'Le propre du singe', explores our simian affinities. Until November 30, visitors can try out simulated laboratory tests to see how they measure up to our not-so-distant relatives, and discover the diversity of the oft-threatened realm of the apes. They use tools or weapons, are able to understand and solve complex problems, play and laugh, fight and experience feelings: men? Not quite. We are, of course, talking about our cousins the apes who have settled at the Natural History Museum in Neuchâtel until November 30, after a first exhibition in Grenoble.
"Le propre du singe" - best translated as 'monkey business' - is both didactic and fun, and invites visitors to discover our furry kin and question our similarities or differences with them, providing a fascinating insight into our identity as human beings through many videos and activities.
 
The first rooms of the exhibition traces the history of apes and their ancestors who appeared about 55 million to 60 million years ago. We discover the diversity of the primates (a class including monkeys, Lemurs as well as the smaller Loris) all over the world through the pictures of  wildlife photographer Cyril Ruoso. There are up to 297 different species today in South America, Asia and Africa. Some 114 of them threatened with extinction.  
 
The next section, very interestingly presented and staged, alerts the visitor to their plight. Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, Bonobos and gibbons all stare at us from above in the darkness of the room, as if to highlight our responsibility in their progressive disappearance. Some human activities are exposed as particularly harmful to apes: deforestation, urbanization and animal poaching in many countries constitute a fatal danger.
 
The exhibition is an invitation to discover our resemblance with the ape, and some of the similarities are rather surprising. No wonder men and apes share more than 98 percent of their genes. A series of physical and cerebral play activities that mimic real laboratory tests offer the opportunity to measure up with our not-so-distant relatives. The apparently simple problems are not solved so easily. We learn that great apes are capable of self-consciousness, to build complex social relationships, experience empathy and even develop cultures. As biologist Konrad Lorenz puts it: “I have found the missing link between apes and men: it’s us!”
 
More information about the exhibition "Le propre du singe" is available on the museum's website. The Natural History Museum in Neuchâtel is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 10am and 6pm. The exhibition has been extended until November 30.

An exhibition for all the family at the Natural History Museum in Neuchâtel, 'Le propre du singe', explores our simian affinities. Until November 30, visitors can try out simulated laboratory tests to see how they measure up to our not-so-distant relatives, and discover the diversity of the oft-threatened realm of the apes. They use tools or weapons, are able to understand and solve complex problems, play and laugh, fight and experience feelings: men? Not quite. We are, of course, talking about our cousins the apes who have settled at the Natural History Museum in Neuchâtel until November 30, after a first exhibition in Grenoble.
"Le propre du singe" - best translated as 'monkey business' - is both didactic and fun, and invites visitors to discover our furry kin and question our similarities or differences with them, providing a fascinating insight into our identity as human beings through many videos and activities.
 
The first rooms of the exhibition traces the history of apes and their ancestors who appeared about 55 million to 60 million years ago. We discover the diversity of the primates (a class including monkeys, Lemurs as well as the smaller Loris) all over the world through the pictures of  wildlife photographer Cyril Ruoso. There are up to 297 different species today in South America, Asia and Africa. Some 114 of them threatened with extinction.  
 
The next section, very interestingly presented and staged, alerts the visitor to their plight. Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, Bonobos and gibbons all stare at us from above in the darkness of the room, as if to highlight our responsibility in their progressive disappearance. Some human activities are exposed as particularly harmful to apes: deforestation, urbanization and animal poaching in many countries constitute a fatal danger.
 
The exhibition is an invitation to discover our resemblance with the ape, and some of the similarities are rather surprising. No wonder men and apes share more than 98 percent of their genes. A series of physical and cerebral play activities that mimic real laboratory tests offer the opportunity to measure up with our not-so-distant relatives. The apparently simple problems are not solved so easily. We learn that great apes are capable of self-consciousness, to build complex social relationships, experience empathy and even develop cultures. As biologist Konrad Lorenz puts it: “I have found the missing link between apes and men: it’s us!”
 
More information about the exhibition "Le propre du singe" is available on the museum's website. The Natural History Museum in Neuchâtel is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 10am and 6pm. The exhibition has been extended until November 30.