Art for Gorillas

Hi Sheryl, Sherri, Louise, and Sara. What a treat to hear from all of you. We would LOVE it if you join us walking through time! Please feel free to help us as we add events to the timeline – we left out a few – but for now I hope this helps the students have a better understanding of how and where their glorious gorillas come from? We’ll slowly add more evolutionary events for future classes. Seems there are some experts in human origins and evolution amongst you all! Louise, perhaps someday I could visit Koobi Fora Research Camp in the Turkana Basin. I promise not to get in the way of your team! So, gals, I hope you like the student’s drawings below. Thanks for your interest and encouragement.

Starting 4.6 billion years ago with the formation of PLANET EARTH and onwards to the introduction of the PROKARYOTE cell we stop at the ORGANGUTAN evolving in Asia approximately 8 million years ago. In the field outside of the classroom, I am perplexed by what the kids are pointing to. I turn around and look at the volcanoes in the near distance and discover the kids are pointing to tourists hiking up a volcano on their trek to view the mountain gorillas.

Then it was time to move into the classroom to put what we just learned on paper. Students use oil pastels on pastel paper for their illustrations.

Illustration by Shingiro adult student, Jean de Dieu MUNYAZIBONEYE.

TUYIRINGIRE’s illustration. Thirteen years old.

Claudine NYIRABAGENZI’s picture. Fourteen years old.

Students talk about their work.

Jolise TUYISHIME’s drawing. Fourteen years old.

This particular lesson is now on display at l’hotel Muhabura in Musanze Town. Here, Valerie discusses the lesson with a visitor.