Great Ape Store not only provides visitors with a unique shopping experience, but also the opportunity to support an important and worthwhile cause. Revenue from the online store will support Great Ape Trust’s scientific research into the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence.

“Great Ape Store now allows us to better accommodate the growing demand for Great Ape Trust books, merchandise and collectibles,” said Al Setka, communications director at The Trust. “We expect our online gift store to become a very popular destination on our award-winning Web site.”

Here are some of the gift ideas at our online store:

Signed, numbered prints of artist Sue Buck’s pastel chalk drawings of apes Azy (pictured), Knobi, Kanzi and Panbanisha are available at Great Ape Store.

• Limited edition signed and numbered prints of Pennsylvania artist Sue Buck’s chalk pastels of Great Ape Trust resident orangutans Azy and Knobi and bonobos Kanzi and Panbanisha. • T-shirts featuring screen prints of those Buck images will make heads turn and start conversations. The durable white cotton shirts also carry the Great Ape Trust logo. Buy one with your favorite ape, or a style that features all four. • Buck’s images are available on a variety of other items, from stocking stuffers like Great Ape Trust magnets and note cards to microwave-safe mugs. • Roomy totes to protect your laptop computer and offer storage for important files. Made of black canvas, the totes feature a brown suede Great Ape Trust logo. • A plethora of books written by members of our world-class scientific research staff. For children, we offer a coloring book developed in partnership between Great Ape Trust and Columbus Zoo-based Partners in Conservation to help children learn about great apes and encourage an interest in conservation. Illustrated by Heather Laporte, the book features full-page pictures of the four types of great ape. Captions are in English, as well as Swahili, a language common throughout East Africa, where chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas are found in the wild, and Bahasa Indonesian, a common language in Indonesia, where orangutans are found in the wild. • A lasting gift with the purchase of a membership to Great Ape Trust of Iowa. As a member, you’ll contribute to breakthrough science, innovative educational experiences, conservation of great apes in the wild, the quality of life for the apes in our care and the continuation of our scientific research. All members receive a free annual subscription to our monthly electronic newsletter and Great Ape Trust merchandise. • Baseball caps, “Proud to be a Primate” bumper stickers and journals.

Great Ape Trust Background

Great Ape Trust of Iowa is a scientific research facility in southeast Des Moines dedicated to understanding the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence.  When completed, Great Ape Trust will be the largest great ape facility in North America and one of the first worldwide to include all four types of great ape – bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans – for noninvasive interdisciplinary studies of their cognitive and communicative capabilities.