Take a break from conference going this year and participate in one of two field trip options: |
The first field trip option involves an excursion to the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge located near Prairie City, Iowa on Highway 163 in Jasper County.
The field trip will take place Sunday afternoon and will cost $35.00 (includes transportation to and from Ames and a brownbag lunch option).
Experience the breathtaking beauty of over 5,000 acres of tallgrass prairie and native Midwest wildlife. The Refuge reconstructs the native plant and animal communities that greeted Iowa's earliest settlers in the mid 1800's. Bring your binoculars!
Use this button only if you have already registered, and you need to add the field trip to your conference registration. Otherwise, please click here and you will be able to choose your field trip on your registration form. Thank you.
Great Ape Trust Field Trip $30.00 - 0 SEAT AVAILABLE (23 March 2010)
Primates watching primates! If digging for fossils is not your thing, why not visit with some of our closest living relatives. This activity will entail a trip to the campus of the Great Ape Trust of Iowa in Des Moines (Iowa’s capitol city!). We will spend an hour and a half touring their state-of-the-art facilities, and observing their resident bonobos and orangutans in their respective enclosures. This excursion presents interested attendees with a wonderful opportunity to become acquainted with one of the more fascinating research organizations in the Midwest. Attendance is limited to 15, so register early.
We will depart on Sunday, March 28th mid to late morning and return mid to late afternoon (specific times coming). The cost of the field trip is $30.00, and includes round-trip transportation between Ames and the Great Ape Trust campus, and an afternoon lunch at a fine Des Moines area restaurant.
From their website: Great Ape Trust of Iowa, formerly known as the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary, is a world-class research center dedicated to studying the behavior and intelligence of great apes, providing sanctuary and an honorable life for great apes, advancing conservation of great apes and providing unique educational experiences about great apes. With 230 acres of lowlands, riverine forest and lakes, Great Ape Trust is the largest great ape research facility in North America. When completed, The Trust will be one of the few worldwide to include all four types of great ape: bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.
FAQ
Where is it located?
Great Ape Trust of Iowa is located approximately five miles southeast of downtown Des Moines, Iowa. The project sits adjacent to the Des Moines River on the site of a former sand and gravel quarry.
Why is Great Ape Trust located in Iowa?
Great Ape Trust founder Ted Townsend is a native Iowan. Townsend envisioned a unique facility in Des Moines, Iowa, dedicated to studying and preserving great apes with local, national, and global influence and educational opportunities at all levels. Great Ape Trust has received a generous land transfer from the City of Des Moines, as well as an enthusiastic reception and interest from the local community.
What type of great apes are housed at Great Ape Trust?
Great Ape Trust’s goal is to provide an honorable life to all four types of great ape: orangutans, bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas. Currently Great Ape Trust provides a home for bonobos and orangutans.
Where did they come from?
Three orangutans, Azy, Knobi and Allie, are part of Dr. Rob Shumaker's Orangutan Language Project. Azy arrived September 28, 2004 from Smithsonian's National Zoological Park in Washington, DC where he participated in Dr. Shumaker's research program. Knobi came to Great Ape Trust February 8, 2005 from Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Allie arrived from the Denver Zoo on October 26, 2005.
The Great Ape Trust is home to a colony of seven bonobos from the Language Research Center at Georgia State University. The bonobos arrived in April and May of 2005 and are part of Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh's research program. They are: Kanzi, Panbanisha, Matata, Nyota, Nathan, Maisha and Elikya.
