PRICE, Utah — Opening channels and broadening the impact scientists have on the world around them was the impact of Dr. Jane Goodall, according to an archaeologist in eastern Utah.
"She was a huge inspiration scientifically, but she was also a really great public advocate and public spokesman for science," said Dr. Tim Riley, curator of the Utah State University Eastern Prehistoric Museum in Price.
Riley shared how Goodall, who died Wednesday at the age of 91, was really good at something that's hard to do and something museums are always trying to make happen — taking very complex information and presenting it in a way that everyone can enjoy and appreciate.
"It can really be a challenge to take really technical data and make it publicly accessible," he explained, "and she was an expert at that, along with so many other things she was so good at."
Riley teaches archaeology classes to college students all across the state, and the makeup of those classes, he believes, has changed over the last few decades, thanks in part to Goodall's influence.
"It was a male-dominated field and now it’s mainly equitable — half and half men and women as far as primatologists at the university or zoo or learning institution settings," Riley said. "So that’s part of her legacy, making primatology and science a career path for women all across the world."
Margaret Chamberlain with the Utah Museum of Natural History told FOX 13 News that Goodall had inspired many of the scientists who work at the museum. She said it was an honor for the museum to host a special exhibit all about her life and legacy.
"It was called 'Becoming Jane' and it really highlighted Dr. Goodall’s journey from being a young child who fell in love with the family dog and would hide out in the chicken coop to observe animals, to being the advocate she became for young people around the world to rescue animals," Chamberlain said.
As a part of the special exhibition, the museum also hosted an essay contest open to middle school students across the state. The winner was given the opportunity to meet Dr. Goodall in person
"We flew this young lady out to meet Dr. Goodall, and she was just a truly lovely person and wanted to be engaging with young people and she was touched by this young lady choosing an issue in our area — she was focusing on wild horses in the west — digging into the issue’s that matter to you and doing your part to make a difference."
Chamberlain said Goodall's legacy is one that should inspire everyone to be more curious about the world.
"She was a citizen scientist," said Chamberlain. "A lot of people don’t know that. She began observing apes before she even went to school to study them."
Dr. Riley added, "In terms of that shared sense of wonder for the world around us, she really had an impact on me. I guess that sort of amazing sense of exploration and wonder, I think, she helped people see.
"We can all only hope to be a fraction of that, but we can certainly try."
