For the Love of Learning: Finding the Explorer in All of Us

At the Museum of Exploration, we believe exploration is for everyone. You don't need to travel the world to be an explorer — it's a mindset that starts right here, with us.

Exploration is a Mindset, Not a Destination

We often think of "exploration" as going into the field, trekking across glaciers or diving into the deepest parts of the ocean. While our National Geographic Explorers certainly do that, that’s simply their way of exploring. Exploration can actually be something much closer to home. It’s simply the act of observing, documenting and caring about the world around you, whether that be getting to know your local community or discovering nature in your own backyard.

Whether you are a young explorer or young at heart, you already have what you need to be an explorer. Our goal is simply to help you unlock it with the Explorer Mindset — the knowledge, skills and attitudes Explorers use to creatively solve the world's most pressing problems.

Your Journey Through the Museum

So, how are we going to help you foster the Explorer Mindset, exactly? When you visit us this summer, you’ll find that education and adventure are woven together. While the entire museum is dedicated to sharing our Explorers’ world-changing stories, here are a few of our spaces that are sure to spark your curiosity.

National Geographic Learning Launchpad

Powered by the Cengage Group, this is the spot for young learners in elementary and middle school. Here, geography isn’t just something you read about in a textbook — it’s a way of thinking. Learners will move beyond the idea that geography is simply about maps, instead using interactives to learn how Explorers decode the world through the lenses of patterns, layers, scale, place and time.

Inspiring Future Explorers

Step into our immersive geography experience to see the world through an entirely different lens. Using state-of-the-art visuals and technology, learners will "travel" to the Peruvian Andes and the Okavango River Delta.

Rolex Explorers Landing

This is where the heart of exploration lives. Divided into four areas — Spark, Trek, Purpose and Impact — this space follows the real-life journeys of our Explorers. It reminds us that every great discovery starts with a single "spark" of curiosity — the same kind you might feel when you look at a map, gaze at the stars or even while visiting the MOE.

Why Exploration Matters Now

We live in a rapidly changing world, so staying curious and learning about the world around us has never been more important. By understanding how our communities and the natural world are interconnected, we become better equipped to protect the planet.

The Museum of Exploration is our way of inviting you to join the mission. Your expedition starts here.

We can't wait to see what you discover here this summer. After all, the world is a big place, and there’s always something new to learn.

A Note for our Educators

Looking to start planning field trips for the next school year? We've got you covered.

Visit moe.nationalgeographic.org/visit/group-visits to learn more about group visits and book your adventure to the MOE. We can’t wait to host you and your students once we open this summer!

In the meantime, we want to make sure you are still able to foster the Explorer Mindset. We’ve created the following reading discussion toolkit for you to share with your students after reading this blog post.

You can assign reading the post and answering the reading comprehension questions to your students, discuss it as a class or even take your students to your local playground to explore the world around them.

Teacher’s Toolkit: Explorer Discussion & Comprehension

Explorer’s Vocabulary (Perfect to Share with Students as a Modification)

Mindset: A set of attitudes or beliefs that shapes how you see the world.

The Explorer Mindset: The knowledge, skills and attitudes National Geographic Explorers use to creatively solve the world’s most pressing problems

Interconnected: How things (like people and nature) rely on and affect one another.

Check for Understanding (Perfect for Group Work or Individual Assignments)

According to the blog post, how does National Geographic define "exploration" differently than the way most people usually think of it?

What specific technology is used in the Learning Launchpad to help visitors understand geography as a "way of thinking?”

The Rolex Explorers Landing is divided into four stages of an explorer’s journey. What are they, and which one represents the very beginning of a discovery?

Discussion & Reflection (Perfect for Classroom Circles)

The post says, "You don’t need to travel the world to be an explorer." If you were to be an explorer in your own neighborhood, school or backyard today, what is one thing you would "observe, document or care for?”

Think of a time you felt a "spark" of curiosity about the natural world or a different culture. What triggered it, and what did you want to find out?

Create an Explorer’s Log Activity (Perfect for an Outside Activity)

After reading the post, students will create an “Explorer’s Log” for a local exploration to your playground or recess field. Students will spend 20 minutes observing something in their immediate environment — a plant, an animal, the weather — and use the museum’s definition of exploration to write their log entry. They should respond to the following prompts to complete their journal entry.

• Write one detail you notice about what you observed.
  • For example, “I noticed that squirrels like to play in trees.”
• Write one question you have about what you observed.
  • “For example, “What do squirrels eat?”
• Draw or write down any data about what you observed during your expedition.
  • For example, they could draw the squirrel they observed. Or, they could write down that the squirrel played in the tree, ran across the field and more.

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