Press release: Exhibition “Me – You – Us: Social Relationships in Humans and other Primates”
No. 45 - 20.03.2024
New special exhibition at Göttingen University’s Forum Wissen opens on 25 April 2024
Humans are social beings. We have diverse social relationships, learn from others and have to define our role within groups. In this respect, we are not so different from our closest relatives, apes. This exhibition explores the question of how social relationships in humans and other primates develop at an early age, how they are later on regulated and what function they serve. It takes a closer look at behavioural research in humans and primates and the methods that are used to study them.
You can visit the exhibition from 25 April to 3 November 2024 in the Forum Wissen – the knowledge museum of the University of Göttingen – located Berliner Straße 28, 37073 Göttingen.
Visitors to the exhibition will gain greater insight into how data on social relationships is collected, how it is processed and how it is communicated with other researchers, research assistants and the general public. How do camera traps, slot machines, stuffed objects, cartoon videos and fake snakes help researchers learn more about social relationships? How can Artificial Intelligence simplify the labour-intensive steps needed to analyse the data? Why are not only conference visits, but also informal exchanges over coffee just as important for the process of acquiring knowledge?
Prior to their arrival, visitors have the opportunity to take part in an ongoing study on mating choices among baboons. In the exhibition itself, they can then compare their answers with those of other participants, as well as try their hand at a variety of interactive stations.
The exhibition "We – You – Us: Social Relationships in Humans and Other Primates" is a joint project of the interdisciplinary Research Training Group "2070 Understanding Social Relationships" at the University of Göttingen, the German Primate Centre – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research and the Forum Wissen.
A Note to Editors:
Journalists are warmly invited to attend an online press conference (in German with the possibility of Q&A in English) on Monday 22 April 2024 at 11am. To register, please email Eva Völker 17 April 2024 on eva.voelker@zvw.uni-goettingen.de.
The following people will be available for discussion:
- Professor Julia Fischer, German Primate Centre and University of Göttingen
- Professor Nivedita Mani, Georg Elias Müller Institute for Psychology, University of Göttingen
- Gabriella Szalay, Forum Wissen, University of Göttingen
On the day of the opening on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, journalists are also warmly invited for a preview tour of the exhibition. The tour will start at 11 a.m. in the Forum Wissen. In addition to the above-mentioned discussion partners, Prof. Dr. Hannes Rakoczy, Georg Elias Müller Institute for Psychology at the University of Göttingen, and Dr. Valerie Liebs, coordinator of the Research Training Group "Understanding Social Relationships", will also be on site.
Contact:
About the exhibition:
Gabriella Szalay
University of Göttingen
Manager of Exhibition Development, Forum Wissen, and Curator of “Me-You-Us”
Berliner Straße 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Tel: +49 (0)551-39-26603
Email: szalay@kustodie.uni-goettingen.de
About the research project:
Dr Valerie Liebs
Coordinator of the Research Training Group "Understanding Social Relationships"
German Primate Centre
Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Tel: +49 (0)551 3851 218
Email: rtg2070@uni-goettingen.de