TOURING EXHIBITIONS

Are animals as clever as we are?

Are animals as clever as we are? This question has got not only scientists intrigued. This exhibition unravels the mystery behind experiments on animals within the research of their intellectual abilities.
Visitors will get an idea of whether mammals, birds and insects are smart. How big is the gap between animals’ and humans in terms of the abilities of their mind/brain. Observation of animals’ behaviour in the wild sometimes doesn’t provide sufficient data, which can be obtained with the help of scientific experiments set with regard to particular circumstances and environment.
The selected experiments remind school program. Animals are tested to learn how to calculate (add up) and recognize geometric shapes, to see whether they have good or poor spatial awareness, whether they are able to construct sentences and build something using their paws, beaks, if they can draw, and finally misbehave like children do during breaks at school. Many of these tasks animals complete as well as or even better than we do.

25 panels 1x1 m

Exhibition program:
A quiz, folding instructions for Origami, a labyrinth, a jigsaw puzzle, a test “An artist or a monkey?”

Multimedia:
a program “The language of vervet monkeys”, slide show “Paintings and drawings of primates making and/or using tools”, a game “IQ of different animals”