Category archives for People
Posted by National Geographic explorers working on projects all over the world are meeting at NG headquarters in Washington D.C. this week to share their latest fieldwork. Learn more about their projects, and meet the 2012 Emerging Explorers, and get inspired by visiting the Nat Geo E-Team online!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
A team from National Geographic and The North Face, including National Geographic contributing writer Mark Jenkins, reached the summit of Mount Everest on Friday, May 25. Team leader Conrad Anker reached the summit on Saturday. He did not go with the rest of the group because of exhaustion.
What did it feel like to be on top of the world’s tallest mountain? “It was awesome,” said team member and The North Face athlete Hilaree O’Neill. “There is a 360-degree view of the Himalaya, and you could see over into Tibet, all of Nepal, and the mountains. It was amazing just being able to stand up there, and experiencing that made the whole thing worth it.”
Read more about the expedition on National Geographic News.
How much do you know about Mount Everest? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Photograph by Emily Harrington
Andrew Evans, National Geographic’s Digital Nomad, recently spent some time penguin-watching on South Georgia Island, which is east of Argentina’s Terra del Fuego and north of Antarctica. Andrew watched the activities of a colony of king penguins. Read Andrew’s blog post on Digital Nomad.
Get the facts on emperor penguins on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Andrew Evans, National Geographic Traveler
People’s Choice Adventurers of the Year
The people have spoken, and the 2012 Adventurers of the Year have been chosen! After more than 70,000 votes, Sano Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa have come out on top. During their 2011 Ultimate Descent expedition, the adventurers climbed Mount Everest, paraglided back down, and then kayaked to the Indian Ocean.
Follow Aubrey’s around-the-world adventures in the Passport to Roam blog.
Want to read more about kids having adventures? Check out the Hands-On Explorer blog.
Photograph courtesy Sano Babu Sunuwar
National Geographic Adventure editors have chosen their ten Adventurers of the Year. Readers are now encouraged to vote for their favorites for the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year. One of the adventurers is 19-year-old Carissa Moore (pictured above). She is the youngest ASP (the Association of Surfing Professionals) women’s world champion!
Carissa says that you can learn lessons about life from surfing. “Surfing has taught me how to adapt. Things are ever changing in the ocean, which is much like life. You have to be able to change your plans on a moment’s notice. Nothing is ever going to go your way, so you have to be able to take the losses with the wins and pick yourself up quickly.”
What was your best adventure in 2011? Leave a comment below and tell us!
Read about all of the nominees, then vote for your favorite on National Geographic Adventure.
Follow Aubrey’s around-the-world adventures in the Passport to Roam blog.
Want to read more about kids having adventures? Check out the Hands-On Explorer blog.
Photograph by Simon Williams, Red Bull Photo Pool
The Russian team won the 10th National Geographic World Championship at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California yesterday. Russia has entered the competition every year. The Canadian team came in second place (Canada came in first last year), and Chinese Taipei came in third. The teams were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals.
The World Championship is held every two years.
Read more about the competition on National Geographic’s News Watch blog.
The winners of the 2011 Google Science Fair have been chosen! Shree Bose, Lauren Hodge, and Naomi Shah (all from the USA) got first place for their respective age groups. The grand prize went to to Shree for her project on improving ovarian cancer treatment. National Geographic was a partner in the event.
Learn more about the Google Science Fair on the official site.
Try science experience at home with these ideas from National Geographic Kids.
Last week kids posted names that they wanted Andrew Evans to name the dog he befriended on his travels to Ontario, Canada. We created a poll of the five names that were posted by Monday, July 11: Fluffy, Puffy, Cotton, Chatham, and Snowbird.
The name that received the most votes is Chatham, a name that was posted by
Thanks for voting! To find out where Andrew will go next check out his blog, Digital Nomad.
What breed of dog do you think he will meet there?
Today is Canada day! National Geographic’s digital nomad Andrew Evans is traveling through Ontario. On each one of Andrew’s trips, he “adopts” a local dog. Here’s a picture of Andrew with his dog from this trip. (He doesn’t keep the dog.) Read more about Andrew’s adventures and his dogs.
Read about his adventures and help name his trip dog!
My name is Andrew Evans and I am a writer for National Geographic Traveler magazine. I have a blog, Digital Nomad, where I write and show videos about my travels all over the world.
When I was a kid I loved two things: maps and dogs! At school, I liked to look at maps all day long and after school, I liked to play with dogs. For my social studies class I entered the National Geographic Bee and won third place for the state of Ohio. I never imagined that I’d end up working for National Geographic and getting to visit all the places I had seen on maps.
Traveling so much is lots of fun but it means I can’t have a dog at home. Instead, I get to meet dogs all over the world. Every time I meet a dog that I like, anywhere in the world, I take a picture of it and call that dog “my dog”. Then I send the picture out to all my friends who follow my travels on my website. This way I get to have lots of dogs in lots of different countries.
What do you think Andrew should name his dog from this trip? Leave your favorite name in a comment!
The winner of the Nautilus Patch Contest has been chosen! The winner is Emma Tarpley, 8, from Marion, North Carolina. Her patch design is shown above. Emma’s design will be made into a patch that will be worn on the 2011 Nautilus excursion. In addition to receiving a patch with her design, Emma will receive a package of National Geographic books.
The winning entry was chosen by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Bob Ballard and 2006 Emerging Explorer Katy Croff Bell.
Read Emma’s essay and learn more about the Nautilus Patch Contest on National Geographic Kids.
Learn about Bob Ballard, Katy Croff Bell, and other explorers with the Nat Geo E-Team mural!
Illustration by Emma Tarpley
Two new Explorers-in-Residence were named at National Geographic’s 2011 Explorer’s Symposium: Dr. Enric Sala and James Cameron. Enric Sala is a marine ecologist who studies ocean environments. He was formerly a National Geographic Fellow. James Cameron is a filmmaker who is passionate about exploring.
Read an interview with Enric Sala on National Geographic Kids.
Get to know the National Geographic explorers in the in this interactive mural.
National Geographic Explorers working on projects all over the world are meeting at NG headquarters in Washington D.C. this week to share their latest fieldwork. Learn more about these superheroes, including the 2011 Emerging Explorers, by visiting the Nat Geo E-Team online!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Tine Valencic, a 7th grader from Texas, won the 2011 National Geographic Bee today at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C. Tine received a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society, and a trip to the Galapagos Islands!
Watch Tine answer the final two questions asked by “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek.
Watch last year’s final question on News Bites.
Learn more about the National Geographic Bee.
Think you have what it takes to enter the GeoBee? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Photograph by Rebecca Hale, National Geographic
Youth Services America, or YSA, has announced that this year’s Global Youth Service Day will be April 15-17. This year marks the 23rd annual observance of the day. This annual campaign celebrates youth all over the world who help their communities with service projects. Youth will be working on projects in more than 100 countries and all 50 states. Will your school, scout troop, or other organization participate?
Want to learn how to get involved? Visit the official Global Youth Service Day website.
Learn about cool things other kids are doing on the National Geographic Kids Blogs.
Image courtesy Youth Service America
Twelve creative students were named the winners of the National STEM Video Game Challenge yesterday by the United States Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra in Washington, D.C. The STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) challenge competition was open to students in grades 5 to 8, with a separate category available for adult developers. Kids who entered the contest submitted original video game designs that were based on STEM concepts. The Youth Prize winners were chosen from more than 500 entries.
The youth winners will receive an AMD-based laptop computer and educational software. In addition, a prize of $2,000 will be given to their school (or a non-profit organization of their choice).
Visit the National STEM Video Game Challenge website to learn more about the challenge and see the winners of the youth prize.
Play a prototype of the Developer Prize game, You Make Me Sick!
Thousands of people are missing or dead after a powerful earthquake and tsunami shattered much of Japan last Friday. Now a nuclear disaster threatens the health of survivors.
If your family would like to help, here are some organizations your parents can contact to do something for the people of Japan. Donations can be small. Please visit the websites of the organizations listed to find out more about their relief efforts in Japan.
Japan Relief Donations
Save the Children: Emergency Relief for Japan Quake
The American Red Cross: Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief
Animal Relief Efforts
Animal Refuge Kansai
The charity is appealing for help for the animals made homeless by the earthquake and tsunami. You may make a donation through PayPal.
Japan Cat Network
How you can help.
World Society for the Protection of Animals
WSPA is sending their own team of veterinarians to Japan.
Photograph by Damir Sagolj, Reuters
A new exhibit opened yesterday at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. The exhibit, “America I AM: The African American Imprint,” celebrates 500 years of African American contributions to the United States — from the 1600s, to the inauguration of the first African American President.
Broadcaster and exhibit presenter Tavis Smiley led a special tour of the exhibit for students from Washington, D.C.’s Neval Thomas Elementary School. The exhibit features over 200 historical artifacts, as well as items from contemporary African Americans like Serena Williams.
“I have a better understanding of stuff. My favorite part was to see the doors ["The Door of No Return" from the Cape Coast Castle, the Ghanaian departure point for millions of Africans who were shipped to America as slaves.],” said Faith, 11, a student at Neval Thomas Elementary School.
“America I AM: The African American Imprint,” will be at National Geographic Headquarters through Sunday, May 1, 2011.
Learn about the exhibit on National Geographic Museum’s website.
Browse through pictures of Black Pioneers of Science.
On January 12, 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Haiti. In the year following the devastating quake, there has been slow progress in rebuilding the country. With international help (including help from you!), some of the debris has been cleaned up and some buildings have been rebuilt, but lots of rubble still remains. There have been other problems, like a cholera epidemic that has sickened thousands of people. Cholera spreads in areas with bad sanitary conditions, and the earthquake made Haiti’s sanitation worse.
Why has recovery been so slow? One big reason is that Haiti doesn’t have a stable political environment, which makes cleanup efforts difficult. “So what’s going on is what we used to call stovepipe reconstruction, where certain areas and types of structures are being reconstructed or built anew but there is no overall plan. Because, among other things, it’s really unclear if there is a Haitian government at this point,” says Richard Olson of Florida International University and director of the Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas program.
Read more about the state Haiti is in on the anniversary of the earthquake on National Geographic News.
Read about the earthquake on the News Bites blog.
Read about how you helped Haiti by sending in donations on the News Bites blog.
Get facts about Haiti on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Eduardo Munoz, Reuters
The U.S. and Canadian winners of the International Photo Contest 2010 for Kids have been announced! Click here to check out the gallery on National Geographic Kids and see the winners.
The cool cats in this winning picture don’t seem to be too worried about the dog in the house. Maybe they didn’t read the sign!
Photograph by Laura Bleacher
Andrew Evans is on a trip around the world, and National Geographic is following him! Each weekday (Monday through Friday), a new clue appears on the National Geographic Travel website. There’s a special treat in store for the first person to guess Friday’s clue–a baby Tasmanian devil! Not to keep at home, of course, but Andrew will adopt 9-month old Ozzie in the winner’s name. The winner will get an adoption certificate and a picture of Ozzie. Grab your parents, watch for the clue on Friday morning, and enter as a family.
Watch a video of Andrew with Ozzie the Tasmanian devil on YouTube.
Learn more about Andrew’s trip on National Geographic Travel.
For families that don’t win or don’t want to guess, go to Devils@Cradle to adopt a Tasmanian devil.
Get the facts on Tasmanian devils in the Creature Feature.
Image courtesy Andrew Evans
Emily Blunt stars as Princess Mary in 20th Century Fox’s Gulliver’s Travels. Shipwrecked travel writer Lemuel Gulliver (played by Jack Black) finds himself transported to the hidden island of Liliput, where he towers over Princess Mary and the other tiny citizens.
Have you ever wondered what’s it like to work with Jack Black? Or how they made Gulliver look like a giant and the Liliputians look so small? Where’s the strangest place Emily Blunt has ever traveled while filming a movie?
Well, now’s your chance to find out! Send us your questions about Emily’s experience filming Gulliver’s Travels or questions about her experiences traveling around the world. Just leave a comment with your question on this post BEFORE 5:00 ET today (12/9), and we’ll send 10 questions submitted by NG KIDS fans for Emily to answer!
Image TM & © Fox and its related entities. All rights reserved.
National Geographic Adventure has chosen their ten Adventurers of the Year. Readers are now encouraged to vote for their favorites for the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year. One of the adventurers, 16-year-old Jessica Watson, circumnavigated the globe solo this May. It took 210 days, but she did it–and became the youngest person to make the journey while she was at it! Raised on sailboats, Jessica had been training her whole life to make this difficult voyage, with the support of her parents.
Sometimes the journey was scary, but Jessica says there were plenty of good moments, too. “The Pacific was easy sailing, smooth and fun. In the Southern Ocean, around Cape Horn, the albatrosses were just amazing, surfing down the face of the waves. One of the great things about sailing is no two days are really the same.”
What was your best adventure in 2010? Leave a comment below and tell us!
Read about all of the 2010 nominees, then vote for your favorite on National Geographic Adventure.
Want to read more about kids having adventures? Check out the Hands-On Explorer blog.
Photograph by Sergio Dionisio, Getty Images
Posted by The Galapagos Islands are located 600 miles off the coast of South America in the eastern Pacific Ocean. These islands are of volcanic origin and most were formed due to a hotspot under the earth. Their isolation has brought about their great biodiversity, where species vary from island to island.
It was a great privilege for me to go to the Galapagos and to retrace Darwin’s footsteps. We scheduled the trip to be during the Thanksgiving week. I was off from school that week and my birthday was coincidentally on Nov 26.
After you’ve enjoyed your turkey and all the fixings this Thanksgiving, play a computer game to help the hungry around the world. Play Freerice, an online vocabulary game. For every correct answer, ten grains of rice will be donated to the World Food Programme. Play with your family and friends, and you can donate a whole bowl in no time!
Sixty-six million primary school-age children around the world go to school hungry every day. The World Food Programme provides meals to 22 million children at school. Since its launch in 2007, Freerice has earned enough rice to feed 4.2 million people for a day.
Visit the Freerice website to play.
Want more word games? Try playing Dead Man’s Chest Hangman or Anagram Farm.
Image courtesy of the World Food Programme
Congratulations! After the earthquake caused massive destruction in Haiti, you came through with $13,400 in donations! Your donations to the global health organization PSI helped save lives by providing more than 2,200 Haitian families with clean drinking water for a year. That’s amazing. And it shows that kids really can make a difference by working together!
Read about the earthquake in Haiti.
To learn more about Haiti, visit the country profile on National Geographic Kids.
