Göttingen University’s Forum Wissen to Launch New Special Exhibition on April 25, 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.