Navigating with the Stars in Kenya
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National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Free
Presented in conjunction with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, this special presentation will explore how people on the coast of Kenya have looked to the skies to navigate. Sailor and boat builder Ali Skanda will describe how people on the Swahili coast think about the stars, Sun, and Moon and how he uses traditional navigation techniques to voyage along the coast in the Indian Ocean. Views of the day and night skies will be displayed on the dome of the Albert Einstein Planetarium. Free tickets available at the Planetarium box office.
The graceful dhow remains a key vehicle for livelihood and exchange between Kenya's coastal communities and neighbors around the Indian Ocean.
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