NMS - Monkeys: Our Primate Family

See some of the rarest and most endangered primates on Earth in ‘Monkeys: Our Primate Family’ at the National Museum of Scotland.

This exhibition explores the remarkable lives of our primate relatives and demonstrates how they have adapted to survive in different habitats. The exhibition brings together more than 50 species of monkeys, apes, lemurs and lorises.

Visitors will discover how primates have evolved and adapted to travel and hunt for food. ‘Monkeys: Our Primate Family’ also reveals how primates communicate, and their complex social systems.

It is the first exhibition of its kind to show primate taxidermy specimens behaving as they would in the wild. Specimens on display include the Barbary Macaque, Western Lowland Gorilla, and ring-tailed Lemur.

‘Monkeys: Our Primate Family’ uncovers the threat of extinction, habitat loss and hunting that primates face today. Visitors will hear about the ongoing conservation efforts to protect primates in the wild and learn how to make a difference to their survival.

The exhibition first opened at the National Museum of Scotland in 2016 before embarking on an international tour. It returns to Edinburgh for a final time having been seen by over 500,000 visitors in six countries around the world.