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A Discovery to Remember
“It was the color, the texture, the shape that stood out in the landscape and when I examined it for a closer look someone in the distance started shouting: Hominid! Hominid!” ~ Anjali Biju, Graphic Design MFA student at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and EcoDepot intern. [...]
My experience at the Turkana Basin Institute
My name is Chloe Woodley and my experience and time at the Turkana Basin Institute has been nothing short of amazing and inspiring! As a young professional it is challenging navigating work and career possibilities, as you are still collecting experience whilst others have already specialized and are fully confident in their areas. That [...]
Uncovering the Layers of Geology with the Harvard Summer Program
Amongst the huge sedimentary rocks that stand tall in Turkana Basin’s landscape, the Harvard Summer Program students spent their time at Lothagam, a site with a lot to offer for archaeological and paleontological studies, as well as geological studies, which is what the students were here for. The sedimentary rocks span across the landscape, [...]
Diving into Lake Turkana’s Systems with the Harvard Summer Program
The Harvard Summer Program of 2025 was in full swing as students were learning about the different components of the East African Rift System. A very important part of this system is Lake Turkana itself. A day was spent next to the lake and even in the river, amongst Doum Palm trees that decorate [...]
Made to Choose Between Dignity and Education
In a classroom at Kerio primary school, Sharon Odero a school teacher marks attendance. Again, some names are missing. Those of girls. “Most of them stay home for a week every month,” she says. “The syllabus goes on, and they’re left behind.” The reason is simple. No access to menstrual products. [...]
New York to Northern Kenya: Katie Swartvagher’s Field School Experience
When Katie Swartvagher graduated early this in May 2025, with a BA in Anthropology from Stony Brook University, she carried more than a degree. She carried the imprint of a landscape thousands of miles away, Turkana, Kenya and a field school experience that transformed her understanding of science, community, and herself. [...]
Science and Sustainability: Inside TBI’s Illeret Campus
On the remote eastern edge of Lake Turkana, at the corner of Marsabit County and a stone throw from the Ethiopian boarder lies the Turkana Basin Illeret campus. Quiet yet full of discovery, experimentation, and purpose. The land itself is raw and beautiful with plants that have been growing for thousand [...]
A Day in the Life of a TBI Intern
Inside the TBI Internship Program and What its Like to Be an Intern Kenya faces a stark reality: nearly 67% of youth aged 15–34 are unemployed. While no single program can solve that crisis alone, the Turkana Basin Institute (TBI) believes in doing its part by turning [...]
4 days and 3 Nights in Buluk
Welcome to the Buluk Blog of the TBI Origins Field School: Spring 2025. I’m your author, Katie, a senior at Stony Brook University majoring in Anthropology. In this blog, I am going to take you through our field trip to Buluk, a fossil locality approximately 4 hours east of the TBI [...]
Turkana Basin Institute 2024 Annual Report
Dear Friends and Supporters, Many greetings and it is my great pleasure to share our 2024 Annual Report with you. 2024 has continued our trajectory of growth and discovery at the Turkana Basin Institute (TBI). Our research continues to thrive with scientists from around the world and East Africa undertaking research and expeditions, alongside new and returning field [...]
The Turkana Residency: Disrupting the Nature Narrative
An Intersection of poetry, science, and ancestral memory Poetry equals art, or perhaps, it’s the other way around. But what of science? What could poetry and science possibly share? Plenty, it turns out. Ancient rocks from the heart of the Turkana Basin, or better yet, the actual term, Geology, telling stories [...]
Exploring Kenya’s Living Landscape: Immersed in Nature
The Spring 2025 Origins Field School launched earlier this year with students from Stony Brook, University College London, the University of Helsinki and Kenya heading into the field with Professor Dino J. Martins to explore the world around them and uncover the connections between People and Nature. How and why do [...]
Stargazing in Turkana: Inspiring Africa’s Future in Astronomy
In the Turkana Basin, where fossils tell stories of evolution, a different kind of exploration is taking place. Scientists at the Turkana Basin Institute (TBI) have spent decades uncovering secrets of human evolution from sediments, a new group of explorers is looking in the opposite direction, toward the stars. This year, [...]
Exploring Science, Culture and Sustainability in Turkana
Something exciting is happening at the Turkana Basin Institute (TBI), 16 students from Stonybrook University under the Simons STEM Scholars Program are experiencing hands on research and learning scientific discoveries beyond class walls. Supported by faculty members from Stony Brook University and TBI, Dr Dino Martins- Turkana Basin Institute Director, Medina [...]
Harvard Summer Program in Kenya: Week Six
The sixth and final week of the Harvard Summer Program in Kenya began with a day of R&R back at the Eliye Springs Resort on the shores of Lake Turkana, about 10 kilometers from the TBI camp. Monday, July 8th began with a lecture by Emmanuel about primate evolution and anatomy, [...]
Fossil Footprints Offer Direct Evidence for Two Different Human Species
Research Raises Questions About the Role of Competition in Human Evolution Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya - November 28th Members of the Koobi Fora Research Project in collaboration with National Museums of Kenya and Turkana Basin Institute are co-authors of a publication with Kevin Hatala, Ph.D., associate professor of Biology [...]
Harvard Summer Program in Kenya: Week Five
Week five of the Harvard Summer Program in Kenya began on Sunday, June 30th: our first full day back at TBI after the Lothagam visit. On Sundays, breakfast is served at 8:00am instead of 6:30am. Students had the morning to relax and/or work on readings, and some of us purchased merchandise that had [...]
Dr. Dino J. Martins becomes Director of TBI, beginning September 1st, 2024
Photo of Dr. Martins on Lake Turkana’s Central Island courtesy of Liam Frederick Stony Brook University announced that noted Kenyan entomologist and evolutionary biologist Dr. Dino J. Martins will begin serving as the director of the world-renowned Turkana Basin Institute. Dr. Martins has served as the CEO of TBI (Kenya) Ltd. since [...]
Harvard Summer Program in Kenya: Week Four
The fourth week of the Harvard Summer Program in Kenya began with a day of rest and relaxation at Eliye Springs Resort on the western shores of Lake Turkana. Students swam, roasted coffee, and pet kittens, and a few of us bought handmade baskets after finding a group of people selling them nearby. For [...]