During our last few days at Mpala, the students were immersed in the unique wild life and vegetation of Laikipia. Professor Dino Martins, director of Mpala, brought the students into the field to teach them about different forms of between species interactions. One example of this type of interaction is mutualism; where each species receives [...]
Origins Field School students observe a pack of African wild dogs at Mpala Research Centre.
After a few days of getting settled into their routine at Mpala research center, the students were ready to begin their first module: Ecology. For an introduction into dry land plants, Kenyan Botanist, Kimani, took the students around the research compound to look at the local plant life. Kimani showing the students different types [...]
Students of the Turkana Basin Institute Origins Field School observe a Hippo pod at Mpala Research Centre in central Kenya. Part of the Ecology course of the program, students' experiences at Mpala provide a context for visualizing the ancient landscape of Lake Turakana several million years ago.
Welcome to the Turkana Basin Institute field school blog Spring 2017! As the Resident Academic Director for the field school, I will be accompanying the students, TA's and instructors throughout all of the field school modules. It is my goal to ensure that the students have an incredible learning experience that they will carry with [...]
This past semester has been one to remember. The students learned about the Ecology of the Turkana Basin, being able to identify all the common plant species in the region and understanding how animals foraging on these plants have affected the environment. They learned about the Geology of the Turkana Basin, where each and every [...]
After returning to TBI from an exciting camping trip, we spent the afternoon relaxing and knapping! We used the raw material we had collected in the field: though everyone put their initials on the material collected, some students decided to share what they had collected (our students were so thoughtful, but whatever happened to survival [...]
We left TBI Turkwel Monday morning for our camping trip, from which we would be returning on Wednesday afternoon. We would be camping for two nights near the village of Nariokotome; the famous hominin site of Nariokotome boy, KNM-WT 15000, is only a few minutes away! On our drive to Nariokotome, we would be making [...]