New Turkana Basin, Kenya field schools

The Turkana Basin Institute (TBI) and Stony Brook University are pleased to announce two new field school programs in Kenya, in addition to our semester-long Origins Field School. All programs offer the opportunity to explore the paleontological and archaeological wealth of the Turkana Basin, renowned for having preserved much of the evidence we have for human evolution.

ACADEMIC SAFARI

2017 Dates: June 26 to July 11

The Academic Safari is a two-week program tailored to educators and other academic professionals who want to experience, first-hand, the paleontology and archaeology of the renowned Turkana Basin, guided by Richard, Meave, and Louise Leakey. Through a combination of talks, site visits, and one-on-one conversations with leading scientists, participants in this program will enjoy a historical overview of the last fifty years of groundbreaking discoveries in the region, and develop a comprehensive understanding of research currently underway there. We are very excited about the potential of this new program to expand, exponentially, the knowledge of the tremendous scientific importance of the Turkana Basin amongst our colleagues all over the world.

ORIGINS FIELD SCHOOL SUMMER PROGRAM

Dates for Summer 2017: June 3rd to July 14th

Credits earned: 9 upper-division

TBI’s Origins Summer Field School addresses the place that humans occupy in the natural world and how we came to occupy that position. This program focuses on hands-on experience in field survey and excavation methods, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, taphonomy and more, and includes field trips to important paleontological and archaeological sites, diverse ecological settings, and remarkable geological features throughout the Turkana Basin. Participants will work directly with leading scientists and do fieldwork at active hominin fossil localities and archaeological excavations, such as at Lomekwi 3 (the oldest stone tool site in the world).

ORIGINS FIELD SCHOOL SEMESTER PROGRAM

Dates for Fall 2017: September 5th to November 20th

Credits earned: 15 upper-division

Our popular Origins Semester Abroad Field School continues to attract students eager to explore the paleontology, archaeology, and ancient environment of the Lake Turkana Basin, in East Africa’s Rift Valley, made famous by the Leakey family and their colleagues for five decades of groundbreaking research into the origins of humankind.

Our program addresses the place that humans occupy in the natural world and how they came to occupy that place. It offers fifteen upper-division credits in geology, ecology, vertebrate paleontology and paleoecology, human evolution, and archaeology.

Classes are taught by renowned experts in their fields. Past instructors have included William Anyonge, Rene Bobé, Raymonde Bonnefille, Doug Boyer, Alison Brooks, Craig Feibel, Mikael Fortelius, Fred Grine, Sonia Harmand, Lisa Hildebrand, Bonnie Jacobs, Louis Jacobs, Cara Johnson, Bill Kimbel, Richard and Meave Leakey, Chris Lepre, Fredrick Manthi, Dino Martins, Hélène Roche, Matt Skinner, and Bernard Wood.

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Much more information about all of our field education programs can be found on our website: KenyaStudyAbroad.org. Alternatively, you may call 631-632-5800 or emailturkanabasin@stonybrook.edu.