PEOPLE

At least three major documentaries appear annually about chimpanzees and other primates,
and there are weekly stories on every major news outlet including ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, CNBC, etc.

The National Chimpanzee Observatory would be home to a major Louisiana museum dedicated to an understanding of humanity and their closest living relatives, the great apes.  Ideally one of the state museum systems will become a partner in the operation of the NCO Museum.

The museum model:

• Approximately 20 paid positions (administrative staff and employees);
• Based on data collected from similar attractions (zoos, zoological parks, botanical gardens) a major gift shop could generate $2-4 million annually;
• 200-seat theater in which major documentaries would be offered throughout the day, much as in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

The museum would include highly interactive exhibits, including opportunities to participate in behavioral and cognitive tests identical to those used with the chimpanzees and remote-controlled video surveillance tests which allow visitors to find and identify individual animals.