The Turkana Basin is a source of unprecedented fossil and archaeological evidence for all major stages of human development.

This is the place where our story is written. Within its 7,000 square miles of exposed surface area, rich fossil layers encapsulate major evolutionary events from the time of dinosaurs to the present. Following Richard Leakey’s discovery of fossil exposures on the east side of the lake in the late 1960s, teams from all over the world have unearthed some of the most stunning finds in the field of human origins, including the nearly complete 1.6 million year old Homo erectus skeleton, known as Turkana Boy. The hominid fossil collection, comprising several hundred specimens, has put Kenya firmly on the map as a key contributor to human origins studies.

Richard Leakey’s decades-long vision of multidisciplinary research facilities to support scientific research in one of the most remote and scientifically valuable places on the planet has been realized. Now we need to raise the funding to enable year-round scientific exploration of the Turkana Basin. TBI seeks to raise funds to support ongoing research in the Turkana Basin and to maintain the fossil collections that are held at the Institute.

All contributions to the Stony Brook University Foundation/TBI, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation are tax deductible, as allowed by law.