The 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival was not the Smithsonian Institution’s first work in Kenya. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt’s African expedition collected thousands of plant and animal specimens, along with important cultural artifacts. Kenya: Mambo Poa curator Preston Scott tells us more.

To read more of the story and see more photos from the expedition, see “Theodore Roosevelt in Kenya” on our blog.

Videography and editing: Charles Weber
Archival photos and footage courtesy of the Library of Congress