Summary for session on Feb. 26, 2011
Chimposium
(By William)
Attendees: Lynn, Ellen, Julie, Phil, William, Frank, Caroline, JiaLi, Yvonne
Ice-breaker – hosted by CarolineEveryone wrote down three words to describe his/herself, then shared the opinion with his/her partner. It was like answering the question, “What kind of person am I?” Interesting.
Chimposium – presented by Susan Shiau
Caroline briefly introduced Susan, and Susan got started.
Susan worked at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (CHCI), Ellensburg, WA, USA. She used to work 15 hrs/day there, studying chimpanzees in a project. The most amazing thing in this project is that the subjects are 4 chimpanzees who know how to use simple ASL (American Sign Language).
Washoe, one of the very special chimpanzees they studied, can use and understand at least 150 sign language words.
Susan shared a lot of knowledge about chimpanzees and showed the Institute’s philosophy: “Chimpanzees go first” and “Safety Policy.” Frank asked a question about the scope and to what extent the chimpanzees communicate with other. It seemed that most chimpanzees are only interested in food all the time.
Due to the fact that we human beings are genetically very similar to chimpanzees, we found it very interesting and inspiring when Susan introduced the chimpanzees’ social structure and cultural differences. We also watched some short videos which showed chimpanzees on a group hunt, and how they learn to use tools. Susan taught us some sign language and gestures that chimpanzees use, making some of us want to try communicating with chimpanzees the next time we go to a zoo!
Then we learned about the chimpanzees’ distribution and the threats to their existence. Susan recommended watching the following video (which we didn’t have time for in the session):
Illegal Commercial Bushmeat Trade http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56jJsHJFlm8
At the end, Susan held a quiz with postcards from the Chimpanazee and Human Communication Institute as prizes, and read out a children’s story called “If I were you” by Brian Wildsmith for us.
Next session: 2010/3/12 Sat 10:30~12:30 Place: Youth Hub Topics (2) :
a) Write a Letter to the Editor about Overtime and Overweight
b) English in Taiwan
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