Turkana Basin Institute Field School

  • Ever wanted to visit Africa? Have an interest in prehistory or earth sciences? The Turkana Basin Institute Field School offers a semester-long study abroad opportunity in Kenya.
  • Explore one of the most remote and interesting parts of Africa.
  • Make new friends and great academic contacts.
  • Did you know: The Turkana Basin is one of the primary sources of fossil evidence for human evolution.
  • Be part of a 40-year legacy of unparalleled discovery.
  • Follow in the footsteps of some of our earliest ancestors in one of the most fossil-rich areas on earth...
  • ...and make some discoveries of your own.
  • Get hands-on experience in geology, paleontology, archaeology and more...
  • ...while learning directly from some of the world's top scientists.
  • Complete a full semester (15 credits) in a little over two months...
  • ...while based out of our state-of-the-art research facility on the beautiful Turkwel river...
  • ...and all the time enjoying this secluded and stunningly beautiful part of Kenya.
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    Description:

    Ever wanted to visit Africa? Have an interest in science? Would you like to learn, hands-on, about field research in the Turkana Basin, one of the most remote and interesting areas in Kenya?

    For over 40 years, the Leakey family — instructors for parts of this program –have pioneered human prehistory research in this immense and hauntingly beautiful region of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, considered by many to be the "cradle of humanity."

    The Turkana Basin Institute is pleased to offer a full-semester Field Education Program at Lake Turkana, in northern Kenya, through Stony Brook University’s Study Abroad program. Read More...

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  • PBS to air Turkana Basin documentary

    PBS to air Turkana Basin documentary

    May 9th, 2012

    Bones of Turkana follows the story of famed paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey and his wife Meave, daughter Louise and their colleagues, as they work in the arid northern regions of Kenya’s T...read more

    Paul Simon performs at TBI fundraising dinner

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    May 3rd, 2012

    Beloved musician Paul Simon performed at a fundraising event on the evening of Wednesday, May 2, in support of Richard Leakey's vision for the Turkana Basin Institute. Details and photos of...read more

    Grand Finale

    Grand Finale

    April 4th, 2012

    Our amazing Africa experience has come to an end - time rushed by at an astonishing speed! We did have a fantastic last day though: a closing ceremony with Drs...read more

    Goat Roast

    Goat Roast

    March 30th, 2012

    With all their new knowledge about our ancestors and the tools they used, students got to make their own stone tools! Knapping -manipulating stone to create a tool - is...read more

    Sand Dunes

    Sand Dunes

    March 28th, 2012

    Yesterday students went to a site rich in pottery shards, ostrich egg shells, stone tools and beads. Even though is was hot, the numerous artifacts that were easily spotted on the sandy s...read more

    Stone Tools

    Stone Tools

    March 24th, 2012

    Students continued to learn more about stone tools – what they look like, their purpose, and how they were made.  In the early stages, starting maybe about 3 million years ag...read more


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