A trove of culture, evolution at Desert Museum
What you need to know:
- The museum is perched on a hill in Loiyangalani Town, some 300 kilometres from Marsabit Town on the southeastern part of Lake Turkana, also known as Jade Sea.
- Tourists from across the globe visit the museum to learn the unique cultural lifestyle of the people of northern Kenya. The facility is regarded as the biggest heritage cultural site.
Marsabit County is home to many tourist destinations, among them the Desert Museum, the only one of its kind in East and Central Africa.
The museum is perched on a hill in Loiyangalani Town, some 300 kilometres from Marsabit Town on the southeastern part of Lake Turkana, also known as Jade Sea.
The facility was opened on June 14, 2008 and is under the management of the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and the local county government.
It is part of the Lake Turkana National Park that was gazetted as a world heritage site in 1972 by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), which considers its cultural and natural heritage as having outstanding universal value.
Tourists from across the globe visit the museum to learn the unique cultural lifestyle of the people of northern Kenya. The facility is regarded as the biggest heritage cultural site.
There are pictures of rich, natural traditions of eight communities living around Lake Turkana, which is frequented by tourists mostly in July and August.
CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE OF UNIQUE MUSEUM
The county government set aside Sh20 million in the 2014/15 Financial Year and built four self-contained cottages at the museum where visitors pay Sh2,000 per night.
The county government hopes NMK will hand over the facility to it.
There are also about 100 pictures taken in the 1960s depicting the natural and physical features found in the county.
Here, you will also find pictures of Ahmed the elephant, as well as of sceneries.
“Visitors gain cultural knowledge in this unique museum, where you also learn about the evolution and fossils,’’ Mr Alex Lenapir, a curator, said.
Mr Moghal Rehman, the photographer in the department of culture and social services in the county government, also a curator, said he has preserved his photos in the art facility.
The then MK director-general, Mr Ahmed Yassin, told the Marsabit County Review magazine in 2014: “Our focus is to transform the museum from a recreational facility to a centre of excellence where scientists can come and conduct research for the greater benefit of the community.”
The museum is usually a darling of many during the annual Lake Turkana Cultural Festival that is held in Loiyangalani.
