SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION
Gorilla conservation: visitor
education
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Rwanda
Visit our interactive gallery at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus in Rwanda, educating and entertaining visitors to support gorilla conservation.
MASS Design Group, an international architecture and design firm, brought formula D_ on board the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s multi-million dollar conservation investment in Rwanda, named The Ellen DeGeneres Campus, which comprises a conservation hub, educational facilities, and a tourism experience. The group specifically required formula D_’s expertise in setting up large-scale visitor exhibitions that are eye-catching, appealing, and interactive.
formula D_’s role was to interpret, engineer, build, and install various projects designed by MASS Design Group for the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery on the campus. The gallery is the campus’s visitor centre and it was built specifically to educate tourists about gorilla research, gorilla conservation, and Dian Fossey’s history and story. formula D_’s work included designing and printing multilingual wall and display graphics and banners, as well as custom-made physical interactive objects, and setting up various audiovisual systems around the gallery, including displaying a video message in which Ellen DeGeneres welcomes visitors to the centre; installing a projection system inside the recreation of Dian Fossey’s research cabin that was a reconstruction of the projection system Dian herself used; and installing interactive elements, such as a gorilla-movement map.
One of our standout achievements was the recreation of Dian Fossey’s research cabin, made possible through the installation of an immersive projection. This innovation allows visitors to step into Fossey’s shoes and relive her pioneering work. The gorilla-movement map offers visitors a glimpse into the behaviour and habitat of these magnificent creatures. At the “gorilla chat” station, visitors delve into the subtleties of gorilla communication by listening to various vocalisations and attempting to mimic them. In doing so, visitors step into the shoes of both gorillas and scientists, celebrating their unique connection and the conservation efforts that unite them.
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus Gorilla Conservation Gallery stands as a remarkable testament to the enduring legacy of mountain gorilla research and conservation. Combining Dian Fossey’s rich tapestry of information and artefacts with cutting-edge technologies, formula D_ and MASS were successful in creating a unique visitor education experience.
