Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees
By M.A. Jackson

There have been two great Janes of the jungle—Tarzan's Jane and the primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall. Both have had plenty of screen time thanks to B movies and National Geographic specials, respectively. But Goodall is the only Jane to have an Imax movie all about her.

Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees is a 40-minute look at Goodall's four decades of groundbreaking wild chimpanzee research in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park.

Goodall narrates the film that opens with black and white archival footage of her early years at Gombe—although there wasn’t much to see during her first few months as the chimps ran from her in terror. But Goodall’s persistence paid off as the touching scene of her first physical contact with Fifi, an infant chimp brazen enough to approach the human intruder, attests. In addition, Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees provides a comprehensive overview of her work, introduces young researchers continuing Goodall’s work, and features contemporary footage of Goodall at Gombe with her now-famous chimpanzee subjects—Fifi (now a mother herself), alpha male Frodo, Gremlin, Gaia, twins Golden and Glitter, and Titan.

Although an animal lover since childhood, Goodall stumbled into her life’s work. In 1957, she was hired to assist noted paleontologist/ anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey on a fossil-hunting dig in Africa's Olduvai Gorge. It was Leaky who arranged for Goodall to travel to study the behavior of the chimpanzees at Gombe. In 1960, Goodall started her adventure—she was 26-years-old and had never seen a chimpanzee in the wild.

Filmed in 1999 over a four-month period, Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees features rare footage of chimpanzees interacting in their community, playing with one another (and their baboon neighbors), grooming, hunting, communicating, and using tools to find food.

It was Goodall who discovered that chimps use tools—a revelation that literally revolutionized the understanding of chimp behavior. Goodall also proved that chimps have distinct personalities, hunt for and eat meat, and participate in war-like behavior.

Today, Goodall spends the majority of her time promoting the preservation of chimpanzees and the environment through touring and speaking engagements. But her work continues as the longest running research project of its kind.
Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees provides viewers with a better understanding of Goodall’s passion for primates. The chimps she studied have distinct personalities and traits that mirror human behavior—from tender and sneaky to grouchy and troublesome. After seeing the movie it should come as no surprise—as it did to Goodall—that chimps are human’s closest animal relative (we share nearly 99 percent of the same DNA).

Although chimpanzee populations are on the decline—there are fewer than 150,000 chimpanzees in Africa today while in 1900 there were one to two million—without Goodall’s research and preservation efforts, Wild Chimpanzees could very well have been eradicated by now due to poaching and habitat loss. Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees is so inspiring viewers may find themselves changing their names to Jane and moving to the jungle .

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National Chemistry Week:
Earth’s Atmosphere and Beyond!

October 24-25, 2003
Carnegie Science Center
10a.m.-5p.m.

This year Carnegie Science Center presents its 5th Annual National Chemistry Week on Friday and Saturday, October 24-25. The activities will honor the innovators and pioneers of aviation and atmospheric chemistry, and the date coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brother’s first powered flight.

The theme of Earth’s Atmosphere and Beyond will be featured at over 25 tables with chemistry-related, hands-on science experiments, activities and demonstrations. These events are designed for all ages and are hosted by corporations, societies and universities. All-day shows are featured at Carnegie Science Center Theater during these two special days.

In celebration of National Chemistry Week, Carnegie Science Center is also hosting a Girl Scout Overnighter on Friday October 24. The activities presented will allow participants to earn a National Chemistry Week Girl
Scout Patch.

Sponsors for National Chemistry Week in Pittsburgh include The Pittsburgh Section of the American Chemical Society, The Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh, Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh, and Bayer Corporation. Funds contributed to the event help support underserved Girl Scout overnighter and school group visits.

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