This summer, Dr. Emma Finestone’s research took her to a familiar place: the Museum’s Curator and Robert J. and Linnet E. Fritz Endowed Chair of Human Origins has been conducting archaeological fieldwork in western Kenya since 2012, where she investigates adaptive shifts in the human lineage that relate to the early manufacture and use of stone tools.
Dr. Finestone’s recent research has yielded insights about how early humans used, made, and transported stone tools and about some of the oldest stone tools ever found. But this year’s field season brought new opportunities that forged connections between young learners in both Cleveland and Kenya—and the results were more surprising and meaningful than anyone could have expected.
While Dr. Finestone’s team always looks for ways to engage the community during field projects, the idea of connecting specifically with Kenyan students had come up during recent meetings with the local government. “We meet with the chiefs every year and ask them for permission to work in their areas,” Dr. Finestone explained. “We’ve had good relationships for years now, and last year Chief Michael Otieno Owino and Chief Adoh Eric Omondi both expressed interest in creating opportunities for kids to get involved and learn about our work.”
In tandem with their research plans, Dr. Finestone’s team began forming a plan to not only involve Kenyan students on an unprecedented level, but to also connect them with learners in Cleveland.
Dr. Emma Finestone works at archeological and paleontological localities on the Homa Peninsula in western Kenya as a member of the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project.
The initiative began in the spring of 2025. Dr. Finestone's partner, Ali Heller—a teacher at the Woodland Hills campus of Cleveland’s Breakthrough Public Schools—was already planning to travel to Kenya that summer, and it seemed like the perfect chance to involve Cleveland students through a penpal exchange.
"One of my goals as a teacher is to give students the opportunity to learn about the world and different cultures from an early age,” Heller explained. “Our students have taken field trips to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where they learned about people, fossils, and archaeology from around the world. When I found out I'd be traveling to Kenya this summer, I saw the opportunity to build on these themes and foster global connections."
Starting that spring, Heller had the school’s 75 second-grade students work on research projects about Kenya—learning about the country and its geography, history, and culture, as well as paleoanthropology. Then, the students wrote letters to the Kenyan students—introducing themselves, sharing about their school, writing about their favorite school subjects and activities, and drawing self-portraits to share.
When the students’ work was complete, Heller and Dr. Finestone loaded up all the letters in a carry-on and prepared to transport them across the globe.
Students at Breakthrough Woodland Hills complete research projects about Kenya (left) and write penpal letters to students (right).
When the team arrived in Kenya, they were met with excitement—and a huge amount of interest. “The first thing we did was meet with the chiefs, which is always what we do at the beginning of the field season,” said Dr. Finestone. “We thought we were just going for a typical meeting—and Chief Owino and Chief Omondi had already lined up five schools to visit that day.”
The first two days of the team’s field season thus started with visits to those five schools, where they gave presentations about their research and invited students who were interested in learning more to sign up for archaeology clubs. Altogether, the team’s presentations at the schools reached around 700 elementary and middle school-aged Kenyan students, 200 of which signed up to participate in the clubs. “The interest was phenomenal—much greater than we expected,” said Dr. Finestone.
The five schools then formed their archaeology clubs, with students naming themselves “the GAP club” for their focus on geology, archaeology, and paleontology. Then, while Dr. Finestone’s field team got started on their research, Heller traveled to schools almost every day to meet with the students—making over 15 visits in total. During her visits, she brought collaborators from the National Museums of Kenya and some of the excavators who speak the local language, Dholuo, to visit the archaeology club. Classroom sessions included lessons on how fossils are formed and how to identify fossils and animal bones, as well as laboratory exercises. Heller also brought the students on field trips to the excavation sites, where they surveyed and looked for fossils and shadowed the excavators—learning to flag, sieve, and document things the same way researchers do in the field.
Rose Nyaboke introduces herself to students from Onyando Primary School and tells them about her work at the National Museums of Kenya. Behind her from left to right are Joseph Odhiambo, Chief Michael Otieno Owino, George Osii, Dr. Finestone, and Ali Heller.
Ali Heller instructs students at Abundu Comprehensive School (left) and Nyatir Comprehensive School (right) as they work on a lab about identifying animal bones.
It may seem somewhat random to connect students in these two distant places. But as Dr. Finestone described it, the connections between them seemed natural in her field of study. “As the Curator of Human Origins, I often think about how human origins are something that unites us globally,” said Dr. Finestone. “Everyone on the planet is connected by the field of anthropology, because we're all people—and we're all interested in questions about who we are and where we came from.”
In addition, Dr. Finestone noted, both Cleveland and this area of Kenya share a unique global recognition for their contributions to the study of human origins. Kenya’s field sites have yielded amazing discoveries that regularly claim international attention, with examples including the earliest stone tools ever found and other incredible fossil finds. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s legacy of discovery in the field—such as the 1974 discovery of Lucy by former Museum curator Dr. Donald Johanson, among many others—has solidified its place in the global spotlight for the study of human origins.
Still, that international recognition doesn’t always translate to local awareness. As Dr. Finestone noted, in both Cleveland and Kenya, “A surprising number of people are not aware that they live in a place that's a global leader in this field.” And many of the Cleveland and Kenyan students didn't know that their home was a place for human origins research. “When we showed students news coverage of our work, they were shocked to learn that people all over the world read about the research happening in their own town,” said Dr. Finestone. “This was a cool way of bringing together two independent groups of students from across the world through science.”
Members of the Onyando Primary School GAP Club visit the Kanjera North excavation site, where lead excavator Joseph Odhiambo (orange shirt) demonstrates excavation and sieving techniques. Joseph is not only a key member of the Kanjera North excavation team—he’s also a parent whose children have all attended Onyando Primary School, including his youngest son, who is currently part of the club.
Some of the Kenyan students did have connections through family members who had worked at the field sites—including a student whose father had worked as the lead excavator at one of the sites for 10 years—but had never been directly involved in the project. “They know many of the people who have been working with us, and sometimes they're even their family members, but until now, the students were always a step removed from the process of the excavation and the survey,” said Dr. Finestone.
“Our local collaborators were so enthusiastic and excited to share what they have been working on,” she added. “There's been research at this site for over 100 years, so it's not something new—but it's the first time that it was formally integrated into primary and secondary school education.”
According to Rose Nyaboke, a Collection Manager at the National Museums of Kenya who was involved in the project, many of the students had awareness of the excavation activities because they would pass by them on their way to and from school. But the details of what was happening there weren’t necessarily known.
“Introducing the learners at the young age to wonders of geology, paleontology, and archaeology is so important as it not only fosters curiosity about Earth history, but also encourages stewardship of Kenyan natural heritage,” said Nyaboke. “The learners gained deeper appreciation of ancient life, geological processes, and cultural artifacts. Such programs are so key in laying the foundation for future scientific exploration.”
Students at Kasibos Primary School receive their penpal letters and craft responses to students at Breakthrough Woodland Hills.
During the last meetings of the archaeology clubs, Heller distributed the letters from Cleveland students—and to bring the connection full-circle, the Kenyan students then wrote their own letters in response.
“Many of the letters discussed artifacts and fossils, even though the prompts were open,” said Dr. Finestone. “It was cool to see that this is what they chose to share with each other, and that seemingly distant students in Cleveland and Kenya were able to connect.”
Beyond these connections, Dr. Finestone hopes that this experience will also inspire more Kenyan students to consider careers in archaeology—a career which their location creates unique opportunities to study and experience firsthand. “Normally, you couldn't pair a classroom session about fossils with a visit to an excavation—that's logistically quite hard to do,” said Dr. Finestone. “But these students live in a unique place where there is active research, so we were able to have lessons about the excavations and then they were able to actually practice those skills themselves.”
Yet, despite the substantial research coming out of this region, most of the students don’t realize it’s a career path that's open to them. “A lot of kids are thinking doctor, engineer, businessperson, those sorts of classic careers—which are great, but they don't realize that archaeology is also an opportunity for them, and scholars from this region are really underrepresented in the field of human origins,” she said.
To help guide the students who might consider this career, they coordinated a visit from Patricia Nyaga, an intern with the research project who studied archaeology at a nearby university, and who is now in a graduate program in Europe. Patricia talked with the students about her career path and discussed what they could study to pursue their own career in archaeology and related fields.
Patricia Nyaga, a graduate student and intern on the project, talks to students from Kasibos Primary School about her career path in archaeology.
As it turned out, the team was able to hear the impact of their initiative quickly. The end of the program happened to coincide with an assignment given to the eighth-grade students asking what they wanted to be when they grew up—and many expressed interest in archaeology-related careers. “The teachers told us that many kids said that they wanted to go into fields related to archaeology, which the teachers hadn't ever heard their students say before,” said Dr. Finestone.
Since Dr. Finestone’s team regularly takes on new groups of interns in collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya, the hope is that, within the next ten years, they’ll be able to see the tangible results of this effort—perhaps welcoming interns who once participated in the archaeology clubs.
This hope is reflected among members of the community, with many expressing a desire for the program to continue in future years. Chief Michael Otieno Owino of the Kokoth Kataa location said, "The young boys and girls in the public primary schools around the sites emulated excavation and learnt about fossils. The outreach was very interactive. As a chief, I feel proud that young people here are now interested in becoming future archaeologists, paleontologists, and geologists."
As the program concluded, its impact resounded not only with the students, but also with the field team.
“It ended up meaning more to everyone than I was expecting—to the kids, to our collaborators, and to us,” said Dr. Finestone. “I've never seen everyone so energized the entire field season. There was an extra level of motivation for all of us because we were engaging the next generation of scientists and uniting the different places we come from through our work.”
That meaning extends to the community, as well. “In many communities, especially rural and underserved ones, students grow unaware of the deep history buried beneath their feet,” Nyaboke reflected. “This is the call for all of us today: there are unimaginable stories the rock beneath us can tell; stories that span billions of years and connect us with those who came before us. With collaborative programs like this, we can ensure the next generation will experience history; not just learn it in class.”
Ultimately, the project was a rewarding effort made possible by many people from different parts of the world—between the Kenyan local chiefs, teachers, scientists, and excavators and their Cleveland collaborators. And of course, there was one final component—the return of the Kenyan students’ penpal letters to Cleveland.
"When I returned to Cleveland after the summer, the students received their penpal letters back,” recounted Heller. “They were so excited and could still recall details about Kenyan culture and language, even though the lesson had taken place the previous school year. It was powerful to see them realize that in a place so far away, there are many commonalities and shared experiences,” she added. “I hope this experience continues to inspire their curiosity about the world."
Ali Heller shares photos and stories from her trip with students at Breakthrough Woodland Hills campus (left). Students receive letters back from their penpals (right).
There are already plans to continue the program next year—as well as to include even more classrooms and students. “We are hoping this is just the beginning,” Dr. Finestone said. “This type of outreach is essential for the future sustainability of human origins research. Science is more than just data points; it’s also about connecting people through scientific discoveries and building knowledge together as a community.”
