NGSE Conservation in Action

Belize: Oceans & Underwater Exploration:Blanketed with thick jungle and edged by the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, Belize is a small country with extraordinary biodiversity and great natural beauty. Its rich marine life makes it a perfect laboratory for learning about our planet’s amazing ocean habitats and for exploring ways to preserve them for future generations - See more at: http://ngstudentexpeditions.com/conservation-in-action

NGSE students make a difference!

Brazil's Amazon & Pantanal Biodiversity Conservation: Our students described the thrill of piranha fishing in the Amazon, snorkeling in the rivers of the Pantanal floodplains, and venturing into the Atlantic Forest to collect data on golden lion tamarins

NG Student Expeditions

Calling all high school students! We're thrilled to announce the kick-off of this year's Student Photo Contest. The challenge: to convey through an original photo and story a defining moment that demonstrates what discovery, exploration, or adventure means to you. The winner will participate in a photography workshop of his or her choice next summer—choose between photogenic destinations likeLondon, Paris, San Francisco, or Prague!

The Journey of Your Past

Genographic Project research : Watch the science behind your results and see how, through regional patterns of variation, the Genographic Project is able to track the migratory paths of your ancient ancestors.

Case Study: Big Cats in the Maasai Steppe - National Geographic Education

Case Study: Big Cats in the Maasai Steppe - National Geographic Education
As part of National Geographic Society’s Big Cats Initiative, National Geographic Education is working with our explorers and grantees to help teachers like you educate your students about the importance of big cats and conservation efforts to protect these large predators. From lions in Kenya to snow leopards in the Himalaya, the big cats of the world need help. Lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, and other top felines are quickly disappearing, all falling victims to habitat loss and degradation, and conflicts with humans. 

New Study Predicts Year Your City's Climate Will Change

Using a new metric they call "climate departure," researchers have analyzed when climate change will result in "environments like we have never seen before."New York City and Washington, D.C., will have radically altered climates by 2047.

Manokwari, Indonesia, is one of the places facing a "climate departure" within a few decades.

World's Happiest Countries In 2013, According To The UN

Researchers examined six factors that contribute to individual happiness: (1) GDP per capita, (2) healthy life expectancy, (3) perceived corruption in government and business sectors, (4) citizens’ perceived freedom to live the lives they wanted, (5) generosity (i.e. whether they had recently given to charity) and (6) “social support,” namely whether they had a friend or relative to count on in case of emergency. By these measures, Denmark is the world’s happiest country, followed by Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden. Canada, Finland, Austria, Iceland and Australia round out the top 10. U.S. of A. is at No. 17

Great Nature Project

The National Geographic Society, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, is urging everyone to get off the couch and go outside to explore — and celebrate — nature, whether in their own backyard, a local park or anywhere that nature thrives. From Sept. 21-29, 2013, National Geographic invites the whole world to take part in the Great Nature Project, an unprecedented attempt to capture and appreciate Earth’s biodiversity.
People across globe are invited to participate in weeklong celebration of nature's diversity and to break a Guinness World Record

Hawaiian monk seals

The Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) is the only truly tropical seal in the world and it is critically endangered. There are fewer than 1100 monk seals remaining in the entire Hawaiian Archipelago.Monk seals are mostly nocturnal feeders with a very diverse diet including eels, octopus, lobsters and fish. They come up onto land to rest.

Maya Carvings

An ancient stucco frieze recently unearthed in the buried Maya city of Holmul in the Peten region of Guatemala. Sunlight from a tunnel entrance highlights the carved legs of a ruler sitting atop the head of a Maya mountain spirit.

Best Hike : Tour du Mont Blanc, France, Italy, and Switzerland

Circling Mont Blanc—the rooftop of Western Europe—is one of the most special hiking experiences in the world. You travel through three different countries (France, Italy, Switzerland) and over several mountain passes with some of Europe’s most dramatic glaciers on display. You can soak it in and take your time over seven to ten days or fast pack in three days. No matter how you choose to do it, it is an adventure of a lifetime!

Cat Watch

Cats are king, and they are everywhere. There are 38 species of felids, ranging from the seven-pound tabby in your lap to 500-pound Siberian tigers—with cheetahs, leopards, ocelots, and other striped and spotted cats in between.

Tornadoes and Global Warming

Scientists can't say yet whether global warming will increase tornadoes. Linking any particular weather event to climate change is always tricky, because weather is inherently random. But weather patterns can speak to a warming planet. Scientists can detect that extreme rain events, for instance, are already happening more often than they used to, and that a warmer atmosphere with more water vapor in it is making such events more likely.

3-D Scans Reveal Caterpillars Turning Into Butterflies

Left: Chrysalis of a painted lady butterfly, showing breathing tubes (blue) and guts (red), at day 1 (left), day 13 (centre) and day 16 (right). Credit: Lowe et al. 2013. Interface.

The transformation from caterpillar to butterfly is one of the most exquisite in the natural world. Within the chrysalis, an inching, cylindrical eating machine remakes itself into a beautiful flying creature that drinks through a straw.

Eastern Screech Owl

Masters of disguise. The Eastern Screech Owl is seen here doing what they do best. You better have a sharp eye to spot these little birds of prey. Location: Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, USA

Wrangel Island, Muskoxen

Explore a haven for wildlife, frozen in space in time. Here, two male muskoxen size each other up during mating season.

Why the Ocean Matters - National Geographic Education

Why the Ocean Matters - National Geographic Education
A Healthy Ocean Means a Healthy Planet

Covering 72 percent of the Earth and supplying half its oxygen, the ocean is our planet's life support system

Strange-Looking Sea Creature Photos -- National Geographic

Strange-Looking Sea Creature Photos -- National Geographic

Africa’s Mysterious “Fairy Circles”

Fairy circles—circular patches of bare soil surrounded by a ring of grass—have long mystified scientists.Found mainly in the grasslands of southern Africa, the oddly shaped formations can grow to more than 65 feet (20 meters) wide, but no one knew what caused them. Now, perhaps dashing the hopes of those who thought actual fairies were involved, a new study has found a possible explanation: termites.

American Magpie

Endangered Species:The American magpie or black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia) inhabits a swath of the western United States. It is one of only four North American songbirds whose tail makes up more than half of its total body length.

The gardens of Kykuit, NY

Night Garden:The gardens of Kykuit, at the Rockefeller estate in Sleepy Hollow, New York, were planned for day or night display. A row of lindens leads to the perfection of the Temple of Aphrodite.The sun vanishes. The pearl of a moon rises. Magic happens.

Ometepe Island, Nicaragua.

Nicaragua today is like Costa Rica was 30 years ago: a pristine Central American country that’s easy to reach—and virtually empty.
On Ometepe, kids can hang back to check out petroglyphs or join in on a challenging hike up the perfect cone of dormant, 4,573-foot (1,394-meter) Maderas Volcano.

Kungsleden, Sweden

A hundred miles inside the Arctic Circle, Sweden’s legendary 275-mile Kungsleden (the “The King's Trail”) begins its traverse of the last great wilderness in western Europe. This mind-blowing northernmost section penetrates the vast Arctic landscape of Sweden through birch forests, open tundra, and big glaciers before crossing the shoulder of Sweden’s highest peak, 6,926-foot Mount Kebnekaise. Using the comfortable huts placed about a day apart assures you have refuge in bad weather. Sturdy suspension bridges take the danger out of the big rivers. The vibe here is “far north,” with palpable emptiness and low-angled light that stirs the soul.

Tibet:Mount Kailash

Kailash, considered sacred to five religions. According to Hindus, the perfect pyramid of the 22,028-foot peak is where the god Shiva sits in meditation. The mountain is also a holy place to Buddhists, Jains, the Ayyavazhi branch of Hinduism, and the ancient Bon religion of Tibet.