Ellen DeGeneres Campus officially opens

Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has been officially opened for visitors now.  

“Dian Fossey has always been a hero of mine, and so it’s been the honor of a lifetime to support this project. To see my name alongside hers on the walls of this beautiful campus, and to know I’m doing my part to protect endangered gorillas and continue Dian’s legacy, is simply amazing,” says Ellen DeGeneres in the press release.

Visitors to the Ellen Campus can immerse themselves in an interactive, educational exhibit located in the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery.

The state-of-the-art Campus can immerse them in an interactive, educational exhibit located in the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery, and a display artifact from Dian Fossey’s almost two decades of living amongst the gorillas, stunning visual effects through a 360-degree as well as augmented and virtual reality and numerous engaging, edutainment opportunities.

“Ellen Campus is designed to support Rwanda’s ecotourism sector. Managed by the Rwanda government, tourism to see the gorillas plays a critical role in providing revenue for the park as well as supporting local communities through employment and revenue sharing.

Founded by the legendary Dian Fossey, whose life and ultimately death was portrayed in the movie “Gorilla’s in the Mist”.

Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is the world’s largest and longest-running organization dedicated entirely to gorilla conservation whose work combines daily, boots-on-on the ground protection and study of individual gorillas’ forest homes through food and water security.

“From the outset, the mission of this project has focused on creating a space to engage the many stakeholders in conservation partners, community members, students, scientists, tourists, conservation partners, community members to advance our collective goal of saving gorillas and the planet,” says Tara Stoinski, the Fossey Funds president and chief scientific officer.

“Ellen DeGeneres Campus will leave us inspired to make a difference, just as Dian Fossey did,” he added.

“Ellen Campus represents a huge expansion of our teaching and laboratory spaces, enabling us to not increase but transform our programs to study gorillas and their critical forest habitat, and bring educational opportunities to early-career African scientists and members of the local community” said Felix Ndagijimana, the Fossey's Fund's director of Rwanda programs.

Ellen De Generes Campus is supported by numerous donors contributed to the project, including actor and conservationist, Leonardo DiCaprio who names the 360-degree theater for his mother, Irmelin DiCaprio, and a computer lab for his father, George DiCaprio. The Ellen Campus has been named one of Africa’s 10 most anticipated architectural projects in 2020.