|
| 4a |
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
144,763,810
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
46,691,390
)
|
|
National Geographic Magazine is distributed mainly to members of the Society as a benefit of membership. A limited number of magazines are made available to non-members as corporate and library subscriptions. As a promotion for membership, the magazine is also sold on newsstands.In 2014 National Geographic Magazine was circulated worldwide both in English and in 37 local-language editions. One in four readers now reads the Magazine in a language other than English.Each month National Geographic Magazine published five to seven feature stories and multiple shorts articles (1-2 pages), all carefully reported and fact-checked, stunningly photographed, and graphically illustrated. In 2014 National Geographic Magazine published 64 feature articles, more than 250 additional pages of shorter journalistic pieces, and 2 supplemental posters. Subject areas included adventure, archaeology, the environment, exploration, health, history, human culture, natural history, science, technology, wildlife, and world affairs. The senior editors regularly weigh the merits of story proposals and decide which to develop into full-length magazine articles that are relevant and insightful for the general public. These are articles that educate and inform readers about the world, and inspire them to care about the planet and be active stewards of its resources. Our Research Division verifies all facts before publication to produce the most accurate and fairest reporting possible.In the realm of science, in 2014 National Geographic Magazine presented major articles about neurological research uncovering new methods of exploring the brain (February); we looked at black holes, in particular the one at the center of our Milky Way galaxy and how it formed (March); the continuing drive to explore other galaxies was documented in the work being done on the new Atacama Large Millimeter/sub millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile (April); an account was published of the growth of astrobiology here on Earth, which informs the study of organisms beyond our planet (July); we explored the evolution of our diets and the role of cooking in that evolution (September); an exploration of how scientific innovations in growing food will help us feed the world's growing population (October); the methods various parasitic species have evolved in order to control their hosts in order to reproduce (November); a look at meat and it's potential future in our diets (November); and a showcase of the increasingly sophisticated technology of 3D printing, as well as legal and ethical issues that accompany the technology (December).Culture and politics were covered in a variety of articles throughout the year, ranging from a look at the connection between art and science during the Age of Enlightenment (January); a personal essay reflecting on growing up in and traveling around, Minneapolis, Minnesota (February); a gathering by millions of Hindus in Allahabad, India, for the largest assembling of humans on the planet (February); the history of horses in North America and their connection with Native American cultures (March); a peek into the local costumes and culture of women in Brittany, France (April); we published photos of life along the Seine in Paris, France, and the culture on the river today (May); the use of canines by the military and the deep bonds formed between the dogs and their handlers (June); the journey of a medical diagnostic and treatment center that exists inside a train that visits remote Siberian villages (June); a look back at the life of soldiers during WWI in the trenches and the drawings and artwork left behind (August); Aaron Huey gave us a detailed look into the people and culture of Svanetia in the Republic of Georgia (October); and the individuals and communities located near numerous superfund sites across the U.S. (December).The Magazine continued to explore and share the wonders of the natural world and our environment, as well as the issues affecting them. We looked at four different breathtaking national parks in New Zealand (March); an exploration of the worldwide growth of coal as an energy source and the environmental impacts (April); how will we feed nine billion people by 2050 as our world population continues its growth (May); the growing industry of aquaculture to help meet the high demand for fish around the world (June); the mad rush by foreign corporations to claim land in developing countries and the impact on the local communities who have historically worked the land (July); the legacy of the Wilderness Act to help protect public lands in the United States (September); the Magazine documented a trip by our Emerging Explorer Enric Sala to the Southern Line Islands and the coral reefs there (September); and a timely look at the disappearing snowfall in the Western United States, and what it means for that region when the snow fails year after year (October).Articles focusing on natural history covered the Komodo dragons of Komodo National Park in Indonesia and emerging threats to their habitat (January); we looked at the migration of native species during all four seasons of the Yukon in Canada (February); the Magazine explored the bluefin tuna species and the dangers it faces from extinction due to overfishing (March); one of our photographers visited atolls in the middle of the Mozambique Channel in order to explore the differences and similarities between the two and discovered it was the only known nursery for Galapagos sharks (April); the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River is extremely important due not only to the water it provides for the waterways but also for the diverse wildlife found there and is involved in debates surrounding the desire to drill in the area (May); images of puffins in the northern Atlantic were made by Danny Green, capturing the diversity of behavior of this species (June); David Doubilet took readers off the shore of Florida and beneath the waves to capture images of the goliath grouper, a fish that can grow up to 800 pounds in weight (July); portraits of Gomb chimps in Gomb National Park in Tanzania showcased the families living in the park (August); the only primates in Europe, Barbary macaques, were depicted in a November article; and in December South Africa's marine reserves were covered as well as how to better connect parks to the people in the communities next to them (December). Over the course of the year we took our readers on a variety of trips helping to showcase the natural history of the world both at home and all over the world. Adventure has been a part of the National Geographic Society since our very beginning. In 2014 this tradition was continued with stories from all over the globe. On Oman's Musandam Peninsula, some of the best climbers in the world explored the limestone cliffs there and made a number of first ascents (January); an article focusing on what happens when the largest of the cargo ships are retired and are broken up for scrap in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Turkey, and China (May); lidar technology was used to scan some of the largest caves in the world, found in China (July); we reported on a scientific expedition to Franz Josef Land, an uninhabited and pristine location, and one of the most remote in Russia (August); and Paul Salopek continued on his seven-year Out of Eden project, bringing along readers and offering insights on the culture and history of Jerusalem and other significant places in the Middle East (December). These articles took our members to unique, breathtaking, and oftentimes dangerous locations to share in the sense of adventure. On the subject of archaeology, National Geographic Magazine presented work being done to excavate a Roman boat dating to A.D. 47 in the south of France (April); an excavation of a Wari tomb in Peru from the ninth century containing artwork and relics that hadn't been seen before (June); the Orkney Islands stones in Scotland were profiled as well as the likely impacts upon cultural heritage resources as sea levels change (August); Emperor Nero and the destruction of Rome was the subject of an article by Robert Draper (September); and a new look at a huge aquatic predator, Spinosaurus, made possible by combining existing paleontology with new technology (October). 2014 Average Worldwide Circulation: 5,706,903Expenses $144,763,810. including grants of $ 0. Revenue $46,335,429 |
|
| 4b |
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
106,372,694
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
97,674,845
)
|
|
Books & Other Related Products:The Society publishes books to inspire people to care about the planet and to educate readers about geography and related subjects. Among the various books the Society published in 2014 was the 10th edition of National Geographic Atlas of the World to mark the 100th anniversary of National Geographic cartography; an essential guide to understanding today's increasingly interconnected world, and the Atlas of Indian Nations, the most comprehensive atlas of Native American history and culture available depicting the rich and complex story of the tribes of the North American Indian as told through maps, photos, art, and archival cartography. The Society also published Blue Hope: Exploring and Caring for Earth's Magnificent Ocean, an ode to the ocean marrying the insights and inspiration of ocean advocate and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle and other experts and celebrities with the world's most stunning photographs of beaches, coral reefs, and underwater life, all combined to express Earle's passionate message: Life depends on the ocean, and to save it we must love it. Also published in 2014 was National Geographic The Covers, the definitive cover collection from the world's most beloved magazine, this book shows decade by decade how the covers chart our evolving understanding of global culture and the unfolding international political events as they record groundbreaking discoveries and the enduring beauty of our natural world. Further examples of among the 60+ books published in 2014 include: National Geographic Foods for Health: Choose and Use the Very Best Foods for Your Family and Our Planet a culinary tour of the 148 foods that have huge nutritional value with the least environmental impact; National Geographic Extreme Weather Survival Guide which explains how to plan ahead and prepare, respond to emergencies, and survive the worst-case scenarios; Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment, celebrating the work of talented photojournalists in a captivating photography book covering personal reflections and stunning selections of photographic assignment work from the past decade, setting a new standard for excellence; The Ansel Adams Wilderness targeting the millions who love nature and the national parks, is an elegant interpretation of Ansel Adams' celebrated wilderness photographs by Peter Essick, one of the world's most influential nature photographers; and National Geographic Illustrated Guide to Wildlife, bursting with beautiful images and completely authoritative text, a field guide to help families and amateur adventurers enjoy and understand North America's most common birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and amphibians, plus fish and other aquatic creatures.The Society has more than 75 international publishing partners and our books have been translated into more than 30 languages and are sold throughout the world. The Society also sells magazine and map storage slipcases, ebooks, a selection of calendars and diaries, globes, DVDs and digital videos, geography-related toys, and other related products through a mail-order catalog and on-line store. Expenses $106,372,694. including grants of $ 0. Revenue $97,674,845 |
|
| 4c |
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
26,033,139
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
24,785,709
)
|
|
Children's Publishing Program:The Society's children's publishing program continued to enhance its family reference library with three strong titles published in 2014 - Ultimate Globetrotting World Atlas, a reference that takes kids aged 10 and up to a whole new level of excitement with fun facts, fascinating information, easy-to-read maps, lots of games and vibrant pictures of everything - from wacky hotels around the world to natural and man-made wonders; 5,000 Awesome Facts 2, a boredom-busting book exploding with information about sensational topics kids love in a fun design that captures kids' attention and keeps them yearning to learn more; and Ultimate Body-pedia, a kid's (ages 7-10) journey through all the systems of the body (digestive, nervous, reproductive, skeletal, circulatory, respiratory, lymphatic, endocrine, and immune) to discover what makes humans what we are. In 2014, the Society also published the annual installment of National Geographic Kids Almanac 2015 and is also available in distinct Canadian, UK, and International editions. These almanacs are packed with fun-to-browse features, useful reference material, homework help developed by educators, and the kind of quirky facts that kids adore. Other notable children's titles published in 2014 were Extreme Weather by Thomas Kostigan, a fascinating book that explores the "new normal" of extreme weather and answers important questions about the effects of climate change in a fact-based kid-friendly way; National Geographic Kids Student World Atlas Fourth Edition, the updated classic atlas for kids ages 12 and up complete with everything kids want and need to know about our world; National Geographic Kids Cookbook by National Geographic Explorer Barton Seaver taking kids on an adventure exploring the science, sustainability, and creativity behind delicious food with recipes, ideas for activities, and food-focused challenges showing how cooking can be both healthy and fun; and National Geographic Animal Stories by distinguished author Jane Yolen - amazing animal stories that span the centuries come to life in this beautifully written and illustrated book. Our children's publishing program continued to build presence in the schools and public libraries by releasing several new titles in our very popular National Geographic Readers and National Geographic Chapters series, which are comprised of leveled-reading, easy-to-read formatted books, developed in concert with experts in the field of literacy education, which get kids reading by giving them lots of cool information about subjects that matter to them. We publish the National Geographic Kids Everything series, aimed at kids aged 8-12, breathing new life into the reference category with fresh, dynamic, and fun-filled presentations of the nonfiction subjects kids love most. The National Geographic Little Kids Look and Learn series, published for kids ages 3-6, includes board books developed in association with child education experts, sure to thrill preschoolers and parents alike as they encourage interactivity and self-discovery among all children with engaging visuals and fun themes. |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
23,382,220
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
26,000,348
)
|
|
National Geographic Kids magazine is published ten times a year and distributed to individuals, schools, and public libraries. The magazine's mission is to excite kids about learning while educating them about the world around them. Prepared primarily for children ages 6 to 14 years old, National Geographic Kids offers an appealing mix of articles on wildlife, science, technology, pets, adventures, and geography. For its work in 2014, the magazine received a Parents' Choice Recommended award.Examples of NG Kids activities in 2014 include a "Special Awesome Animals Issue;" publication of two animal Collector's Card sets; feature stories on animals such as pandas, meerkats, dolphins, and coyotes, plus the world's largest cave, strange weather, space tourism, the human body, and rain forests; pullout posters with fun animal facts; popular departments such as "Cool Inventions," "Guinness World Records," "Weird But True," "Bet You Didn't Know," "Amazing Animals," "Chew on This" (food), "Destination Space," "Dare to Explore;" new departments such as "History's Greatest Hits" (biographies of important change-makers); and "Fun Stuff," a regular seven-page department filled with educational games, quizzes, and activities. To encourage kids to become interested in scientific innovation and nano-technology, NG Kids worked with IBM to earn a Guinness World Records title for the world's smallest magazine cover. NG Kids asked readers to vote for their favorite magazine cover of 2014. Thousands of kids responded with each of the options scoring hundreds of votes. The March 2014 cover was chosen as the winner. Then scientists from IBM used a special chisel to etch a cover onto a polymer wafer. The final product was so small that 2,000 of them could fit on a grain of salt. It was unveiled at the 2014 USA Science and Engineering Festival. Our annual International Photography Contest for Kids, which encourages kids to explore their world through photography, ran between August 1 and October 15. Around 2,000 entries were submitted to the U.S. portion of the competition. NG Kids also launched the NG Kids Funniest Pet Video Contest, which tasked kids with using video technology to capture their pets doing funny things. The magazine helped support important programs such as the Society's Big Cats Initiative, which works to protect the endangered felines. NG Kids also supported the Engineering Exploration Challenge organized by National Geographic Education. This challenge tasks kids with generating solutions for everyday problems that explorers face in the field. Furthermore, NG Kids provided support for Mission Animal Rescue, a program that spreads awareness about endangered species. The magazine included tips in several issues for how kids can help threatened animals. For extra content, the magazine also included scanning technology, in which kids downloaded a free app to scan photos and receive extra digital content, such as videos and quizzes, on their mobile devices.The print edition of NG Kids is also available as a PDF replica on the Nook and Android devices.Additionally in 2014, we offered NG Kids on the iPad. And there were 16 international editions of NG Kids.2014 Average Worldwide Circulation of NG KIDS: 1,415,155 |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
5,528,773
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
6,365,323
)
|
|
National Geographic Little Kids magazine is published six times a year and distributed to individuals, schools, and public libraries. The magazine's mission is to excite preschoolers about exploring their world. Prepared primarily for children ages 3 to 6 years old, National Geographic Little Kids offers an appealing mix of articles on wildlife, science, pets, nature, and geography, as well as skill-building educational games, mazes, and activities. For its work in 2014, NG Little Kids won a Parents' Choice Gold Award for the eighth year in a row. Examples of NG Little Kids activities in 2014 include publication of six collector's card sets about animals plus feature stories on animals such as Arctic foxes, koalas, chameleons, orcas, and tiger cubs. NG Little Kids also introduces preschoolers to science and nature through stories about dinosaurs, trees, and the sun.NG Little Kids continued its PDF version of the print magazine on the Nook and Android devices.2014 Average Worldwide Circulation of NG Little Kids: 300,000 |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
20,532,567
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
17,326,972
)
|
|
National Geographic Traveler (NG Traveler), both in print and on the tablet, is published eight times a year to further geographic knowledge with articles that explore the geography, history, and culture of selected locations. Every article's purpose is to foster interest in the educational value of travel destinations by encouraging readers to experience geography and the world's cultures first-hand. A pioneer in promoting sustainable tourism, NG Traveler believes that enhancing an authentic sense of place benefits both travelers and the locations they visit. In support of this sustainable-tourism ethic, the magazine published several landmark articles in 2014, its 30th year.The magazine, both in print and on the tablet, is a thought leader in the industry and champions the transformative power of travel with an emphasis on experiential journeys, you-are-there photography, storytelling, authenticity, cultural exploration, and insights and information gleaned from locals. It's for the smart, curious traveler who is inquisitive not acquisitive and who increasingly travels with a light footprint and an urge to discover true sense of place.The magazine develops, supports, and creates content for travel books, one-shots, its Intelligent Travel blog, and the National Geographic Travel website-creating a more integrated, multimedia outreach. Its social media efforts are among the most successful at the Society and it has over 3.5 million Facebook followers, 1.5 million Twitter followers, and 2.5 million Instagram followers. After establishing Andrew Evans as its flagship Digital Nomad, Traveler added Robert Reid and Annie Fitzsimmons to the ranks of its social media global reporters. Additionally, Traveler has a thriving travel photo seminar series and supports NG Live! With one-on-one conversations with celebrated travel writers like Pico Iyer and Cheryl StrayedIn 2014, the magazine and website continued to showcase unique destinations around the world that show sustainable practices and honor distinctive sense of place. This included our "Tours of a Lifetime" feature, "Traveler 50: Smart Cities" feature and our "30 Greatest Travel Photos" special anniversary feature. Other features covered Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, New Orleans, Ireland, China, France and more. This year also marked the first launch of our ITB Berlin co-sponsored World Legacy Awards, a ceremony to highlight hotels, ecolodges, destinations and organizations that are leading positive sustainable transformation within the travel industry. Traveler's blog "Intelligent Travel" continued to deliver deep destination coverage, engaging photography, and lively voices to a rapidly growing online audience.NG Traveler received several awards including:Seven Lowell Thomas Awards Gold in Foreign Travel: Carl Hoffman, "The Big Empty," Silver in Foreign Travel: Scott Wallace, "Over the Horizon"Gold in Cruise Travel: Kenneth Brower, "The Great White Hope"Bronze in Special Package: Liz Beatty, Mei-Ling Hopgood, Renee Restivo, Nina Strochlic and Joe Mozingo, "Going Home"Bronze in Environmental Tourism: David Lansing, "Paradise Lost and Found"Silver in Special Purpose Travel: Pete McBride, "The Granny Diaries"Bronze in Cultural Tourism" Heather Greenwood Davis, "Being Black in China"Silver in Travel Blog: National Geographic Traveler's Intelligent Travel BlogFOLIO award- Winner: Overall Design - May 201424 NATJA Awards and Finalist Nominations- including Best Overall PublicationIn 2014, Traveler increased its international footprint to 16 local language editions in 12 languages.2014 Average Worldwide Circulation: 1,022,744 |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
24,630,300
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
14,207,210
)
|
|
National Geographic Digital is responsible for extending the Society's print, video, education, research and exploration to digital audiences globally. In 2014, we ramped up our daily news postings, growing the volume and reach of news about science and discoveries. More than 90 million Web sessions were recorded for news content. The content is free to the public, and the intention is to provide reliable information about the changing planet and inspire better stewardship of ecosystems and cultural heritage. NG Digital also increased the scope of Your Shot, its collaborative photography community. In 2014, Your Shot hosted 16 Photowalks in 6 cities across the United States and Canada. Each photographer-led Photowalk is free to Your Shot members and often includes portfolio reviews. Your Shot plays a vital role in building the National Geographic community and provides the public with a way to actively participate in visual storytelling. An important component of NG Digital's 2014 content was to continue to partner with nonprofit institutions, extending through the News Watch blogging platform the opportunity for experts active in the fields of conservation, science and exploration to participate in the public debate about important issues affecting a sustainable planet. NG Digital worked with Youth Radio by providing a platform in News Watch for student journalists to publish their video reporting on issues that resonate with the National Geographic mission.Much like National Geographic magazine, National Geographic Weekend radio show highlights the most intriguing scientific discoveries and adventurers and brings them to our national radio audience. It is a two-hour weekly show that is pretaped during the week and produced to run over the weekend. We are on FM/AM stations across the United States as well as on Sirius XM Satellite radio and an iTunes podcast. A growing archive of National Geographic Weekend interviews can be found on Soundcloud. There is also a presence on Facebook, as well as a standalone website located at NGWeekend.com. The host is longtime NG personality Boyd Matson. NG Digital also partners with all of the National Geographic Science and Exploration programs, educating its global audience about the work of scientists, conservationists and explorers funded by the Society. Much of this work was showcased in news stories and videos, but also in specific blogs aimed at building communities around critical issues. These include The Plate, which explores the global relationship between what we eat and why in the context of how to feed our growing planet. The Phenomena blog gathers science writers to explain awe-inspiring details of our world and expand scientific knowledge. A third blog, Proof, is the Society's online photography journal, which features emerging photographers and invites the audience into a conversation with National Geographic about the storytelling process. Cat Watch provides a forum for research and conservation of the world's wild cats, with special focus on highlighting the work of the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative. And Explorers Journal provides National Geographic grantees with a platform to share their experiences, observations and scientific findings to the web audience.NG Digital also continued with its successful Great Energy Challenge project, which aims to inform and engage people who are concerned about energy issues, including sustainability, conservation, renewable energy, and innovation in transportation and energy exploration and production. The goal of the Great Energy Challenge is to inspire people to be more conscious of our energy lifestyle and the impact it has on the planet, and to be more thoughtful about the choices they make about energy consumption. Much of the content produced by NG Digital in 2014 was shared across the Society's growing social media footprint, providing awareness of critical issues around food, water, energy, oceans, climate, biodiversity, and cultures to millions of people for commenting and sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and more. |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
14,257,263
including grants of $
136,383
) (Revenue $
19,639,179
)
|
|
TRAVEL--EXPEDITIONSThe Society's travel program, National Geographic Expeditions, enables members to visit, experience, and learn first-hand about the history, archaeology, geography, and culture of destinations around the world. Members and other participants travel with Society experts such as explorers, writers, and researchers, as well as with engaging local experts, on carefully planned journeys emphasizing enrichment and experiential learning. The expeditions include lectures by experts and suggested pre-tour reading materials, and are designed to encourage further study of the geographic areas visited.The National Geographic Student Expeditions Scholarship Program provides financial support for high school students seeking educational summer experiences who could not otherwise afford them. In 2014, National Geographic awarded full scholarships to 23 students who are legal residents of the US and Canada from a wide variety of backgrounds, creating a richer and more diverse experience for every student involved. Scholarship students participate in National Geographic Student Expeditions- the Society's high school travel program. Students pursue educational projects focused on an array of topics including Photography, Wildlife & Conservation, Community Service, Archaeology & Ancient Cultures, and Creative Writing. These students reported that the experience had a significant positive effect on their lives, instilling increased confidence, global perspective, independence, and compassion for others. These transformation experiences are central to their development as students, leaders, and global citizens. |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
6,348,249
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
3,639,899
)
|
|
National Geographic LiveThe Society provides speakers and other live event programming to audiences around the U.S. and internationally, through the National Geographic Live program of public events and by arranging for speakers to appear at museums, universities, corporations and other organizations through the National Geographic Speakers Bureau.National Geographic Live also offers Student Matinees featuring National Geographic explorers in live presentations around North America. As leaders in their fields, these explorers offer students fresh and exciting knowledge from the front lines of discovery. And as passionate individuals focused on expanding the boundaries of knowledge, NG explorers offer powerful role models for students. Through National Geographic Live, National Geographic Live Student Matinees, and the National Geographic Speakers Bureau, and the Society reached 248,321 individuals through 355 speaker events, student matinee events, performances, and film screenings that took place both at the Society's headquarters in Washington, D.C. and in 98 other locations across North America and internationally. |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
8,016,906
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
7,126,668
)
|
|
NG CREATIVE/IMAGE SALESPhotographs and video shot principally by National Geographic photographers are made available to the general public, through the NG Creative/Image Sales division. |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
1,335,140
including grants of $
90,000
) (Revenue $
1,035,050
)
|
|
The National Geographic Bee/Giant Traveling MapsThe NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE is a competition for public schools, private schools, and homeschools in the United States and its territories, as well as Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS). Students in grades four through eight compete to win $90,000 in scholarships and other prizes. In 2014, nearly 11,000 schools across the country held a National Geographic Bee, engaging and motivating four million students to learn about the world and how it works. Up to 100 school winners per state go on to compete in the state competition, and the winning state champions travel to the Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. to compete in the finals. The Giant Traveling Maps program features oversized (26' x 26') vinyl floor maps of Africa, Asia, North America, South America, the Pacific Ocean, and Europe that can be rented by schools for two or more weeks. Activities included with the map and are designed to take advantage of the scale and to allow students to experience the map in a physical way. |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
1,331,725
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
823,264
)
|
|
National Geographic Games & AppsGAMESNational Geographic's most popular game, Animal Jam, is an online virtual playground for children who love animals and the outdoors. This game provides a fun, exciting, and safe environment for kids to play online, while inspiring them to explore and protect the natural world outside their doors. Animal Jam is free from outside advertising and adheres to a strict privacy policy. Players are represented in the game with customizable animal avatars. The Society strives to ensure that players are constantly engaging in fun and enriching game play, while educating them about their role in conserving the planet. With players spanning the globe, the game introduces them to the fundamentals of socialization, teamwork, creativity, and global awareness.Animal Jam takes place in the world of Jamaa, where players can travel through various ecological environments such as prairie, rainforest and desert. Each environment features different National Geographic videos, interactive facts, and games. APPSThe Society develops apps to further its mission to inspire people to care about the planet and to educate people about geography and related subjects. The National Geographic World Atlas app enables you to browse, search, and zoom the world's best detailed maps of the globe. Unlike other atlas applications, the National Geographic World Atlas utilizes our highest resolution, "press-ready" images, providing you with the same rich detail, accuracy, and artistic beauty found in our award-winning wall maps and bound atlases. The app enables you to learn more about the world using the up-to-date, expertly researched Flags and Facts database, which contains concise geographic and socio-economic data. The National Geographic National Parks app lets you explore U.S. national parks easily as the app features global and interactive map views with filtering by activity and seasonality. The app also features the top must-sees and must-dos for each park with stunning photo galleries, and rare vintage images from the National Geographic Archive. Thousands of points of interest are tagged with GPS coordinates for easy planning and locating. |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
10,550,442
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
7,483,504
)
|
|
National Geographic Maps (NG Maps) is a globally-renowned cartographic publisher and is responsible for illustrating the world through the art and science of mapmaking. The Maps Group supports the mission of the Society by creating the world's best wall maps, outdoor recreation maps, travel maps, atlases, and globes that inspire people to care about and explore the world. Printed maps are distributed not only to consumers but also to national parks, educational institutions, and government agencies. Twenty new titles were developed in 2014 including to name just a few - the Pacific Crest Trail Reference Map, John Muir Trail, Countries of the Mediterranean, The World for Kids, Adventure Jamaica, Adventure Namibia, Shawangunk Mountains, Missoula/Mission Mountains, and Logan - Bear River Range. NG Maps also provided cartographic services to internal customers for maps which were included in books, atlases, magazines, the NG web site, apps, and as premiums for magazine subscriptions. Over the last year, the team provided product design and production for the recently completed 10th edition World Atlas. Map projects during 2014 helped organizations promote tourism, facilitated stewardship of historic and natural resources, and highlighted many locations around the world. Through the NG Maps digital storytelling platform called GeoStories, organizations incorporated dynamic maps, multimedia, and narrative which enabled their viewers' to tour places and topics. Projects that Maps worked on included sustainability (Stat Oil - EnergyRealities.org), world heritage sites (Crown of the Continent), conservation initiatives (EnvisiontheJames.org, Gulf Coast, Chesapeake River) and tourism (San Andres, Bahamas / Marea, Sri Lanka). |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
2,528,932
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
1,593,620
)
|
|
HOME VIDEOThe Society makes available for sale to members and others mission-related DVDs. |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
6,930,630
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
2,858,698
)
|
|
National Geographic Cinema Ventures:Inspired by the science and exploration research and other activities at the Society, the Cinema Ventures group have produced and distributed dozens of nonfiction films for both commercial and institutional venues in 2-D, 3-D and digital formats. Most of these projects have appeared in theaters or science centers throughout the U.S. and the world.2014 new film openings included:Mysteries of the Unseen World--go to places on the planet you've never been before and see things that are beyond your normal vision yet are literally right in front of your eyes.Jerusalem--filmed in spectacular Imax 3D, Jerusalem brings you an unprecedented look at this amazing city--5,000 years of history have not dulled its appeal or importance. Learn more at JerusalemTheMovie.com.Pandas: The Journey Home--filmmakers of Pandas: The Journey Home were granted unprecedented access to the Wolong Panda Center in China. Meet all of the pandas at the center as they get ready for their new lives in various parts of the world, and learn about their fascinating habits and personalities.Electropolis--a fascinating look at our all-important electrical grid and how companies are working to ensure that blackouts don't become everyday events. |
|
|
(Code:
)
(Expenses $
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
)
|
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EXPLORER PROGRAMSEXPLORERS SYMPOSIUMThe Explorers Symposium is an annual event that convenes National Geographic's explorers (Emerging Explorers, Explorers-in-Residence, National Geographic Fellows, and Grantees) from around the globe to participate in a week full of events, including a two-day symposium, that brings the excitement of the field to audiences at the National Geographic Society Headquarters. In 2014, the two days of panel discussions covered topics ranging from conservation to innovation. The 2014 Explorers Symposium and related events took place the week of June 9 - 13. National Geographic introduced its new class of Emerging Explorers at the Symposium; these fourteen individuals were recognized for their significant contributions to world knowledge through exploration at an early stage in their careers. EXPLORERS COUNCILEstablished in 2014, the Explorers Council is an entity comprised of scientists, researchers and explorers who provide advice and counsel to the Society across disciplines and projects. The objective of the Council is to advise National Geographic on potential projects and guide our thinking about the next frontiers of exploration. Wade DavisWade Davis is Professor of Anthropology and the LEEF Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. An ethnographer, writer, photographer and filmmaker, Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Mostly through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent over three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among fifteen indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6000 botanical collections. His work later took him to Haiti to investigate folk preparations implicated in the creation of zombies, an assignment that led to his writing The Serpent and the Rainbow (1986), an international best seller later released by Universal as a motion picture. In recent years his work has taken him to East Africa, Borneo, Nepal, Peru, Polynesia, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Australia, Colombia, Vanuatu, Mongolia and the high Arctic of Nunuvut and Greenland. Davis is the author of 230 scientific and popular articles and 19 books including One River (1996), The Wayfinders (2009), The Sacred Headwaters (2011), Into the Silence (2011) and River Notes (2012). His book, Into the Silence, received the 2012 Samuel Johnson prize, the top award for literary nonfiction in the English language. Jared DiamondJared Diamond is professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" and the widely acclaimed "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies," which won him a Pulitzer Prize as well as Britain's 1998 Rhone-Poulenc Science Book Prize. Diamond is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (Genius Award); research prizes and grants from the American Physiological Society, National Geographic Society and Zoological Society of San Diego; and many teaching awards and endowed public lectureships. In addition, he has been elected a member of all three of the leading national scientific/academic honorary societies - National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical Society. Diamond's field experience includes 27 expeditions to New Guinea and neighboring islands to study the ecology and evolution of birds, and other field projects in North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. As a conservationist, he devised a comprehensive plan, almost all of which was implemented, for Indonesian New Guinea's national park system. He is a founding member of the board of the Society of Conservation Biology and a member of the board of directors of World Wildlife Fund U.S. and Conservation International. Jonathan FoleyJonathan Foley is the Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences. Foley's work focuses on the sustainability of our planet and the natural resources we depend on. He and his students have contributed to our understanding of global food security, worldwide changes in ecosystems, land use and climate, and the sustainability of the world's resources. This work has led him to be a regular advisor to governments, nongovernmental organizations, environmental groups, civic groups, foundations, and business leaders around the world. Foley has won numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (awarded by President Bill Clinton), the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Award; the J.S. McDonnell Foundation's 21st Century Science Award; an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship; and the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America. In 2014, he was named as the winner of the Heinz Award for the Environment. Nalini NadkarniNalini Nadkarni is known for pioneering research on the ecology of the little-known world of tropical and temperate rainforest canopies. Her work has documented the "keystone" functions of canopy-dwelling biota in whole-forest nutrient cycling, arboreal animal habitat, and reproductive capacity of primary forest and pasture-dwelling trees. She has also developed innovative and public engagement programs with public audiences, such as urban youth, faith-based groups, and incarcerated men and women by partnering directly with them to find common values and synergisms. Nadkarni has received prestigious awards from the scientific establishment for communicating research to underserved public audiences in creative and effective ways - The National Science Foundation Public Service Award, the AAAS Award for Public Engagement, and the Archie F. Carr Award for Conservation. Nadkarni is Director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education and a Professor of Biology at the University of Utah, and President of the International Canopy Network. M. SanjayanM. Sanjayan is a leading global conservation scientist, writer and an Emmy-nominated news contributor focused on the role of conservation in improving human well-being, wildlife and the environment. He serves on Conservation International's senior leadership team as Executive Vice President and Senior Scientist. Sanjayan's broad-reaching television experience includes numerous documentaries for the BBC and serving as a frequent contributor to CBS News. His latest TV series, Earth - A New Wild, will air on PBS. His scientific work has been published in journals including Science, Nature and Conservation Biology. Raised in Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone, Sanjayan's unique background and expertise have also attracted mainstream media coverage in Outside, Men's Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Afar and The New York Times. Don WalshDon Walsh, scientist and explorer, has worked in the deep oceans, polar regions and space. From 1959 to 1962 he was the first commander of the Navy's Bathyscaph Trieste and was designated Navy deep submersible pilot #1 in 1959. In 1960 he and co-pilot Jacques Piccard dove Trieste into the deepest place in the World Ocean, a depth of nearly seven miles. Walsh's 40 years of work with deep ocean design, engineering and operations were recognized by his election to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2001. Among other awards he has received are the Explorers Club's Explorers Medal and their Lowell Thomas Award. In 2010 he was awarded National Geographic Society's highest award, the Hubbard Medal. He is an Honorary Life member of the Explorers Club and the Adventurers Club as well as serving as the Honorary President of the Explorers Club.Jose Andres Named "Outstanding Chef" by the James Beard Foundation and recognized by Time on their "100" list of Most Influential people in the world, Jose Andres is an internationally-renowned culinary innovator, passionate advocate for food and hunger issues, author, television personality and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, the team responsible for celebrated dining concepts in Washington, DC, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and Puerto Rico. Jose is known for championing the role of chefs in the national debate on food policy. He is called on regularly to speak on a variety of issues involving hunger, food security, nutrition, education and childhood obesity, including talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the 2014 commencement address for George Washington University, and with The Economist and The Atlantic . Andres has taught at Harvard University and George Washington University, and writes for National Geographic's food blog, The Plate, on issues surrounding food policy. |
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EXPLORER PROGRAMS, ContinuedMelinda ZederMelinda Zeder is a Senior Research Scientist and Curator of Old World Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Her research interests include the domestication of plants and animals and the origins of agriculture. Her work has also focused on the social and environmental implications of early agriculture in the ancient Near East, and the development of specialized subsistence economies in early complex societies. Zeder is a past President of the International Council for Archaeozoology and is a member of their Committee of Honor. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a former member of the National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration. In 1997 Zeder was awarded American Anthropological Association's Gordon Willey Award for outstanding publication in archaeology. She was the 2001 recipient of the Fryxell Award in Interdisciplinary Research awarded by the Society of American Archaeology for lifetime achievement in zooarchaeology. In 2008 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012. EXPLORER-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAMThe National Geographic Society created the Explorers-in-Residence program to develop and enhance its long-standing relationships with some of the world's preeminent scientists and storytellers. These explorers are dedicated to making notable advances in their respective fields and are highly regarded within scientific and exploration circles. National Geographic explorers' groundbreaking discoveries fuel the kind of critical information, conservation initiatives, and compelling stories that are the hallmark of the National Geographic Society. 2014 Explorers-in-Residence: Robert Ballard, Ocean ExplorerRobert Ballard is best known for his historic discovery of the Titanic, the Bismarck, and hydrothermal vents in the Galapagos Rift. He has conducted scores of deep-sea expeditions using the latest in exploration technology. He pioneered distance learning with the JASON Project, an award-winning educational program that has reached millions of students and teachers. He has received prestigious awards from the Explorers Club and the National Geographic Society - the Explorers Medal and the Hubbard Medal, respectively - as well as the Lindbergh Award. In 2003, President George W. Bush presented him with the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. Ballard is scientist emeritus of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, president of the Ocean Exploration Trust and director for the Center for Ocean Exploration at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. Lee Berger, PaleoanthropologistLee Berger is an award-winning researcher, author, speaker, and palaeoanthropologist. He is the recipient of the National Geographic Society's first Prize for Research and Exploration and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, a Member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa and a Fellow of the Explorers Club. His explorations into human origins in Africa over the past two-and-a-half decades have resulted in many new and notable discoveries, including the most complete early hominin fossils found so far, which belong to a new species of early human ancestor, Australopithecus sediba. Among other positions, Berger serves on the advisory board of the Global Young Academy. Berger is the Research Professor in Human Evolution and the Public Understanding of Science at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. James Cameron, Filmmaker/InventorJames Cameron, explorer and filmmaker, made history on March 26, 2012, by completing the first-ever, single-pilot dive to the Challenger Deep, the deepest place on the planet. The DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible, which was designed and engineered by Cameron and his team, achieved 35,787 feet (about 7 miles) during the first manned scientific exploration of the deepest point in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. Cameron has written, produced, and directed a number of award-winning films that have blazed new trails in visual effects and set numerous box office records, including "Avatar" and "Titanic," the two highest-grossing films in history. Two of Cameron's passions-filmmaking and diving-blended in his work on the movies "The Abyss" and "Titanic." The latter required him to make 12 dives to the wreck itself, 2.5 miles down in the North Atlantic. Cameron has led eight marine expeditions, including a forensic study of the Bismarck wreck site and 3-D imaging of deep hydrothermal vent sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the East Pacific Rise, and the Sea of Cortez. He has made more than 80 deep submersible dives, 51 of them in Russian Mir submersibles, to depths of up to 16,000 feet, including 33 to the Titanic. The DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition was the result of a more-than-seven-year engineering effort by Cameron and his team. The expedition was featured in the June 2013 edition of National Geographic magazine and in a 3-D feature film, released in 2014. Sylvia Earle, OceanographerSylvia Earle National Geographic's Rosemary and Roger Enrico Chair for Ocean Exploration, is an oceanographer, founder of Mission Blue, SEAlliance, and Deep Ocean Exploration and Research. She is also chair of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, leader of the NGS Sustainable Seas Expeditions, former chief scientist of NOAA, and a founding Ocean Elder. Earle has been called "Her Deepness" by the New York Times, "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, and Time magazine's first "Hero for the Planet." She has led more than 100 expeditions and logged more than 7,000 hours underwater. She has authored 200 publications and lectured in 80 countries. A graduate of Florida State University with an M.S. and Ph.D. from Duke University and 26 honorary doctorates, she serves on various boards and commissions. Her more than 100 honors include the 2013 National Geographic Hubbard Medal, 2009 TED Prize, Netherlands Order of the Golden Ark, and medals from the Explorers Club, the Royal Geographical Society, the Lindbergh Foundation, and the Dominican Republic. J. Michael Fay, ConservationistMike Fay has spent his life as a naturalist exploring places in the United States, Central America, and Africa. Since 1991, he has worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society. After college, Fay headed to Tunisia and the savannas of the Central African Republic to conduct botanical studies, but was drawn into elephant conservation. In 1984, he joined the Missouri Botanical Garden. His first assignment, a floristic study of a mountain range on Sudan's western border, led to a Ph.D. on the western lowland gorillas. It was at this time that he first entered the forests of central Africa. He worked to create the Dzanga-Sangha and Nouabale-Ndoki parks in the Central African Republic and Congo, which he later managed. In 1999 and 2000, Fay walked the Megatransect, a 2,000-mile trek through central Africa. This led to the Gabonese government creating a system of 13 national parks in Gabon, covering some 11,000 square miles. In 2004, Fay completed the Megaflyover, an eight-month aerial survey of the African continent, creating 116,000 vertical images of human impact and associated ecosystems. Since 2008, Fay has focused his research on mining development in British Columbia. He returned to Gabon in 2010 and 2012 to implement a Gabon development strategy and a fisheries initiative. |
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EXPLORER PROGRAMS, ContinuedDereck and Beverly Joubert, Filmmakers/ConservationistsDereck and Beverly Joubert are award-winning filmmakers who have been filming, researching, and exploring in Africa for more than 30 years. Their mission is to save the wild places of Africa and to protect the creatures that depend on them. They are the founders of the Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic; the initiative has so far funded 56 grants in 22 countries for big cat conservation. The Jouberts have made 25 films for National Geographic including "The Last Lions," which has reached more than 350 million people. They have received many accolades, including seven Emmys, Lifetime Achievement Award, Peabody Award, Panda Awards, a World Ecology Award, and an induction into the American Academy of Achievement. They were given the Presidential Order of Meritorious Service by the president of Botswana. Meave and Louise Leakey, PaleontologistsPaleontologists and mother-daughter team Meave and Louise Leakey have made significant contributions to our understanding of human origins, continuing a family legacy of ancient fossil discoveries in East Africa. They run a field-based interdisciplinary research institute with stations to the east and west of Lake Turkana that facilitates field research, provides training and research opportunities, and brings employment and also development benefits to local communities. Their ongoing National Geographic-sponsored annual expeditions to this area continue to recover important hominid and faunal remains. Louise Leakey has recently led an initiative to digitize some of the important discoveries from the Turkana Basin. These digital models are showcased in the virtual paleontology laboratory, AfricanFossils.org. Enric Sala, Marine EcologistEnric Sala is a marine ecologist leading National Geographic's Pristine Seas Project, an exploration, research, and conservation initiative to find, survey, and help protect the last wild places in the ocean. Sala has been instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands National Monument, the Motu Motiro Hiva Marine Park in Chile, and the Seamounts Marine Managed Area in Costa Rica and the largest no-take marine reserve in the world around the Pitcairn Islands. His more than 100 scientific publications, dozens of popular articles, and five documentary films are widely recognized and used for conservation efforts. Sala is a 2005 Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, a 2006 Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, and a 2008 Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2013 Lowell Thomas Award recipient and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Spencer Wells, GeneticistSpencer Wells is a geneticist, anthropologist, and author who has dedicated much of his career to studying humankind's family tree and furthering our knowledge of human migration. He leads the Genographic Project at National Geographic, which is collecting and analyzing hundreds of thousands of DNA samples from people around the world in order to decipher how our ancestors populated the planet. The project entered its next groundbreaking phase in 2012 with the launch of Geno 2.0. Wells received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and conducted postdoctoral work at Stanford and Oxford. He has appeared in numerous documentary films and is the author of three books, "The Journey of Man," "Deep Ancestry," and "Pandora's Seed." He is the recipient of numerous scientific awards, grants, and fellowships, including the 2007 Kistler Prize for accomplishment in the field of genetics, and is the Frank H.T. Rhodes Visiting Professor at Cornell University. PHOTOGRAPHY FELLOWS PROGRAMNational Geographic selects renowned photojournalists to serve as National Geographic photography fellows. Their work transcends the art of photography, taking them on journeys to the world's most remote locations, telling stories that need to be told, and often placing them in great danger. During their terms, these photographers support a variety of Society efforts, from ocean conservation to promoting exploration of parklands to teaching scientists and explorers visual storytelling skills. Their work follows a long tradition at National Geographic, one of going out into the world to explore and coming back to share the stories and discoveries with a larger audience.2014 Photography Fellows:David Guttenfelder, PhotographerDavid Guttenfelder is a photojournalist focusing on global geopolitics and conservation. Until recently, he spent his entire professional career working and living outside of his native United States. He began as a freelancer in East Africa after studying Swahili at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Guttenfelder spent 20 years as a photojournalist for the Associated Press, during which he was based in Nairobi, Abidjan, New Delhi, Jerusalem, and Tokyo, covering news in more than 75 countries around the world. In 2011 his story "Afganistan's Opium Wars" was published in National Geographic magazine. Five more have followed on topics spanning Japan's Fukushima nuclear refugees, the slaughter of migratory songbirds, the damming of the Mekong River, hidden North Korea, and the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Guttenfelder is a seven-time World Press Photo Award winner. He is the 2013 ICP Infinity Prize winner for photojournalism and a winner of the Overseas Press Club of America John Faber, Olivier Rebbot, and Feature Photography awards. Pictures of the Year International and the NPPA have named him Photojournalist of the Year. He was short-listed for the National Magazine Award for public interest in 2014. He is a seven-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. |
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EXPLORER PROGRAMS, ContinuedLynn Johnson, PhotographerLynn Johnson photographs the human condition. A regular contributor to National Geographic, Johnson is known for finding beauty and meaning in elusive, difficult subjects, including threatened languages, zoonotic disease, rape in the military ranks, and the centrality of water in village life. She collaborates with the people she portrays to honor their visions as well as her own. At National Geographic Photo Camps, she helps at-risk youth around the world find their creative voices. At Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications, she is helping to develop a program that challenges master's students in the multimedia, photography, and design department to push past their comfort levels in pursuit of their truth. She herself has committed to that hunt, frame by frame. Over the years Johnson has been awarded many World Press awards, Pictures of the Year awards, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for highlighting social justice and human rights, among others. Her work has been shown at Visa Pour l'Image in Perpignan, France; included in Communication Arts annuals; and published in over a dozen books, most recently National Geographic's Women of Vision.Paul Nicklen, PhotographerPaul Nicklen is a Canadian-born photographer and biologist with a specialty in polar ecosystems. He has been an assignment photographer for National Geographic magazine for 15 years. His work focuses on the fragile relationship between healthy ecosystems and marine wildlife. In addition to his collaboration with the National Geographic Society, his work has been featured in hundreds of publications around the world and he has given over 500 sold-out lectures in over 20 countries. Recently, Nicklen's work was exhibited at the world-renowned Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, and he was a featured speaker at the 2011 TED conference. His alma mater, the University of Victoria in British Columbia, presented him with a lifetime achievement award for his work in promoting marine conservation. He has received over 30 prestigious international awards, including the 2012 BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and five World Press Photo Awards, and he was the first ever recipient of the Natural Resources Defense Council's BioGems Visionary Award. Cory Richards, PhotographerA climber and visual storyteller, Cory Richards was named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2012. His camera has taken him from the controlled and complex studio to the wild and remote corners of the world, from the unclimbed peaks of Antarctica to the Himalaya of Nepal and Pakistan-all in an attempt to capture not only the soul of adventure and exploration but also the beauty inherent in our modern society. Richards is a passionate mountain climber on the North Face athletic team and has carved a niche as one of the world's leading adventure and expedition photographers. His photography has appeared in National Geographic magazine, Outside, and the New York Times, and his film work has won awards at nearly every major adventure film festival, including the grand prize at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Brian Skerry, PhotographerBrian Skerry is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine, covering a wide range of subjects and stories. An award-winning photographer, Skerry is praised worldwide for his aesthetic sense, as well as for his journalistic drive for relevance. His uniquely creative images tell stories that not only celebrate the mystery and beauty of the sea but also help to bring attention to the large number of issues that endanger our ocean and its inhabitants. His nearly year-round assignment schedule frequently brings him to extremely contrasting environments, from tropical coral reefs to polar ice. While on assignment, he has lived on the bottom of the sea, spent months aboard fishing boats, and traveled in everything from snowmobiles to canoes to the Goodyear Blimp to get the picture. He has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater over the past 30 years.FELLOWS PROGRAM National Geographic Fellows provide expert consultation on active NG-supported projects that have clear goals and deliverables. They lead novel, ambitious projects that promise to make an impact on the world. Focusing on collaboration with cross-divisional stakeholders at NG, they deliver broad media impact during their term. They represent and illustrate the diversity of disciplines that NG covers in its scientific and editorial efforts. 2014 Fellows: Dan Buettner, AuthorDan Buettner is an internationally recognized researcher, explorer, and New York Times bestselling author. His National Geographic article on longevity, "The Secrets of Living Longer," was the cover story of one of the magazine's top-selling issues ever and made him a finalist for a National Magazine Award. Buettner's books, "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest" (2008) and "Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way" (2010), appeared on many bestseller lists. Buettner founded Blue Zones , a company that puts the world's best practices in longevity and well-being to work in people's lives. Its community well-being strategy focuses on optimizing the health environment instead of individual behavior change. Buettner holds three world records in distance cycling and has won an Emmy Award for television production. Bryan Christy, Investigative JournalistBryan Christy is an investigative journalist whose October 2012 National Geographic Magazine article "Ivory Worship" inspired action against ivory trafficking around the world, including Vatican City and the Philippines. His work put elephants and the ivory trade at the center of a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting and has led to numerous Internet petitions and youth campaigns to stop the ivory trade. In February 2014, the White House announced a U.S. ban on the commercial trade of elephant ivory. |
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EXPLORER PROGRAMS, ContinuedSean Gerrity, ConservationistSean Gerrity is president of American Prairie Reserve (APR), an organization he has led since its founding in 2002. APR's vision is to create the largest wildlife complex ever assembled in the continental United States, a vast grassland landscape spanning 5,000 square miles in northeastern Montana. Featured in the National Geographic film "American Serengeti," APR is growing through a unique model that uses private land to leverage public land, resulting in a new national treasure that is both open to the public and privately funded. Gerrity hopes to inspire others around the globe to use similarly creative 21st-century solutions for the world's conservation challenges. Fredrik Hiebert, ArchaeologistFredrik Hiebert is an archaeologist and an explorer, investigating regions across the world where ancient cultures are quickly disappearing. So far, he has excavated 4,000-year-old Silk Road cities from Turkey to Uzbekistan. Hiebert has conducted underwater archaeology projects in highland Asia and in South America, and has partnered with Robert Ballard in the Black Sea search for submerged settlements. His work with National Geographic traveling exhibitions has allowed millions to learn about these regions. These exhibitions include "Hidden Treasures of Afghanistan," "Ancient Seafaring," and "Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology," and "Peruvian Gold." To reach the next generation of explorers and archaeologists, he is also developing these topics for National Geographic school publications. Hiebert was educated at the University of Michigan and Harvard University. Among other honors, he received the Chairman's Award from the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration in 1998. Hiebert held the Robert H. Dyson Chair of Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania before joining National Geographic in 2003. Zeb Hogan, Ecologist/PhotographerZeb Hogan is an assistant research professor at the University of Nevada-Reno and the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species Scientific Councilor for Fish. His research focuses on migratory fish ecology, multi-species fisheries management, the status and conservation of giant freshwater fish, endangered species issues, and conservation genetics. Hogan leads the Megafishes Project, a multi-year effort to document the 20-some species of freshwater fish at least 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length or 220 pounds (100 kilograms) in weight. In addition to his work on Mekong River fish species, Hogan has been involved with conservation projects on the Colorado River and, more recently, in Mongolia. Corey Jaskolski, Engineer and InventorCorey Jaskolski grew up fascinated with imaging and how technology can help take it to new frontiers. He has degrees in mathematics, physics, and electrical/computer engineering. While attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jaskolski was the DuPont Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Fellow as well as the Shell Ocean Engineering Fellow. He is currently working on technologies such as 360-degree video, ultra-high-resolution imaging, and immersive viewers to share this imagery. Jaskolski also runs Hydro Technologies, a company focused on developing technologies to help prevent subsea oil leaks. He is excited to use his technical capabilities to see the world in a unique way, help tell the stories that really matter, and encourage people to care about our planet. Mattias Klum, Photographer/FilmmakerMattias Klum, photographer and filmmaker, specializes in portraying and interpreting threatened environments, species, and cultures. Among other awards, his advocacy on behalf of biodiversity earned him a medal from the King of Sweden and designation as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2010 he was named Senior Fellow of the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Today, Klum is increasingly involved in establishing multidisciplinary platforms and awareness campaigns with globally recognized network organizations to support key environmental, sustainability, and humanitarian initiatives. He also released two films in 2011: "The Testament of Tebaran," a Penan elder's plea to end deforestation in Borneo, and "The Coral Eden," which highlights the importance of a functional marine ecosystem from one of Earth's last untouched coral reef havens. Other projects include the Baltic Sea Media Project, a 10-year initiative to help restore the Baltic Sea; and Expedition Sweden, a long-term program designed to inspire and motivate more businesses, youth, and communities throughout Sweden to take an active interest in our environment. Thomas E. Lovejoy, Tropical and Conservation BiologistThomas Lovejoy is a conservation biologist who coined the term "biological diversity." Lovejoy holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biology from Yale University. In 2010, he was elected professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University. He served as president of the Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment form 2002 to 2008 and was the Biodiversity Chair of the Center from 2008 to 2013. Spanning the political spectrum, Lovejoy has served on science and environmental councils under the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations. In 1980, he produced the first projection of global extinctions for the Global 2000 Report to the President. Lovejoy also developed the now ubiquitous "debt-for-nature" swap programs and led the Minimum Critical Size of Ecosystems project. With two co-edited books (1992 and 2005), he is credited with founding the field of climate change biology. He and Lee Hannah are working on the second edition of "Climate Change and Biodiversity." He also founded the series "Nature," the popular long-term series on public television, and he serves as a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation. In 2012, he was recognized by the Blue Planet Prize. Greg Marshall, Inventor and BiologistGreg Marshall created the field of animal-borne imaging research. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and a CNBC "Worlds Coolest Jobs" designee. He is best known for inventing "Crittercam," the pioneering research tool to document behavior of difficult-to-study species--from their unique perspective. He has used his invention in groundbreaking studies of marine and terrestrial species across the globe, creating an international collaborative research program. He founded National Geographic's Remote Imaging Program to conceive, develop and deploy innovative technologies for exploration, science and conservation. He and his collaborators have published dozens of research papers, and his work has helped shape critical conservation and management efforts. Through his research, films, lectures, educational outreach and conservation programs, he allows animals to inspire us with their mysteries, their challenges and their triumphs. Sarah Parcak, ArchaeologistSarah Parcak is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and is the Founding Director of the UAB Laboratory for Global Observation. She pioneers the young field of satellite archaeology, using futuristic tools to unlock secrets from the past and transform how discoveries are made. She is the first Egyptologist to use multispectral and high-resolution satellite imagery analysis to identify previously unknown archaeological sites. Parcak has written "Satellite Remote Sensing for Archaeology" (Routledge 2009) and numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles. She has discovered over 3,100 previously unknown archaeological settlements in Egypt, thousands of tombs, and 17 possible pyramids. Her remote sensing work has been the focus of two BBC 1 specials on the use of satellite remote sensing in Archaeology. She is a Fellow in the Society of Antiquaries, a 2012 TED Fellow, and co-Director of the Survey and Excavation Projects in Egypt with her husband, Dr. Greg Mumford. |
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EXPLORER PROGRAMS, ContinuedSandra Postel, Freshwater ConservationistSandra Postel is director of the Global Water Policy Project and lead expert for the Society's freshwater efforts. For more than 25 years, Postel has lectured, taught, and written prolifically on the geography of water stress and its implications for agriculture, rivers, wetlands, and regional peace and security. Postel is the author of several acclaimed books, including "Last Oasis," which appears in eight languages and was the basis for a PBS documentary. Her essay "Troubled Waters" was selected for Best American Science and Nature Writing. She is a Pew Scholar and has been named one of the "Scientific American 50" for her contributions to water policy. Postel is co-creator of Change the Course, the freshwater restoration campaign undertaken by National Geographic and its partners and now being piloted in the Colorado River Basin. Paul Salopek, WriterPaul Salopek has lived and worked in the developing world for most of his life. For the past 19 years he has been a foreign correspondent in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Central Asia, where he writes frequently about war. His work has won most of the major print journalism awards in the United States, including two Pulitzer Prizes, the George Polk Award, the National Press Club Award, the Overseas Press Club Award and the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage in Journalism, as well as fellowships at Harvard and Princeton universities. His articles have appeared in National Geographic, the Chicago Tribune, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, The American Scholar and Conservation Magazine, among other publications. The Best American Travel Writing series has twice anthologized his stories. His current project, Out of Eden, is an exercise in slow journalism. Salopek is retracing on foot our ancestors' migration out of Africa and across the globe and engaging with the major stories of our time along the way. His 21,000-mile odyssey began in Ethiopia and will end seven years later at the tip of South America. Joel Sartore, Photographer and ConservationistJoel Sartore is a conservationist, National Geographic contributing photographer, author and speaker. In more than two decades on assignment for National Geographic magazine, he has focused on endangered species and environmental issues. Sartore is currently working on a multi-year personal effort to document life on Earth in studio portraits, called The Biodiversity Project. He has photographed more than 4,700 species to date, with the eventual goal of photographing all 6,000 species represented in American zoos. Sartore serves on the board of Defenders of Wildlife, is a co-founder of the Grassland Foundation and is a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. He has received multiple awards for his photography from the North American Nature Photography Association, the Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, Pictures of the Year International competition and Communication Arts. Barton Seaver, Chef and ConservationistBarton Seaver is a chef and author, who works to restore our relationships with the ocean, the land, and each other - through dinner. He believes food is a crucial way for us to connect with the ecosystems, people, and cultures of our world. Seaver explores these themes through healthful, planet-friendly recipes in his two cookbooks, "Where There's Smoke" and "For Cod and Country." As the director of the Healthy and Sustainable Food Program at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard's School of Public Health, his projects aim to highlight the important connection between environmental resiliency and human health while ensuring the profitability of local food producers. The New England Aquarium has named Barton its first Sustainability Fellow in Residence to help relate the Aquarium's conservation messages with our dinner plates. Seaver is known for his devotion to quality, culinary innovation, and sustainability. EMERGING EXPLORERS PROGRAMNational Geographic's Emerging Explorers Program identifies and recognizes the next generation of adventurers, scientists, and storytellers- uniquely gifted and inspiring individuals who are already making a difference early in their careers. Each year, NG bestows the title of Emerging Explorer on a new group of leaders from a variety of fields and invites them to establish a relationship with the Society. Emerging Explorers are frequently highlighted in NG media and are encouraged to develop strong connections with representatives across the Society. They are a source of new ideas, energy and inspiration for NG staff and members. 2014 Emerging Explorers:Inventor Jack Andraka, of Crownsville, Maryland, is not your typical teenager. Two years ago, at the age of 15, he invented a new, potentially lifesaving tool for detecting pancreatic, lung and ovarian cancer. The test, using a dipstick-type sensor, filter paper and a basic instrument for measuring electrical resistance, detects an increase of a protein that indicates the presence of these cancers during early stages when there is higher likelihood of a cure. The test costs three cents and takes five minutes to run. Based on promising preliminary results, Andraka calculates his sensor is 90 percent accurate, 168 times faster, 26,000 times cheaper and 400 time more sensitive than current pancreatic, lung and ovarian cancer-detecting methods. He holds an international patent on the device and hopes to bring it to market within 10 years. He believes the same detection method could be applied to virtually any disease. Andraka won the grand prize at the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. He advocates for open access to federally funded scientific research.Educator Shabana Basij-Rasikh was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. She attended high school in the United States through an exchange program and then earned her degree at Middlebury College in Vermont. During college, she co-founded School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), a nonprofit to give young Afghans access to quality education abroad and jobs back home. She also founded HELA, a nonprofit organization to empower Afghan women through education. After graduating, she returned to Kabul to turn SOLA into the nation's first boarding school for girls. She is the president of the nonprofit school that provides college preparatory courses and helps graduates enter universities worldwide and return to substantive careers in Afghanistan, often being the first women to enter certain fields. SOLA has helped girls from dozens of provinces across the country access more than $7.7 million in scholarships.Conservation biologist Shivani Bhalla, a fourth-generation Kenyan, is working to safeguard the future of Kenya's rapidly declining lion populations. She is founder and executive director of Ewaso Lions, a conservation organization that uses scientific research and community outreach to promote coexistence between people and lions who share habitats. It is the only organization that focuses on lions that live both inside and outside protected areas in northern Kenya. There are now fewer than 2,000 lions in Kenya, and they could vanish within two decades if habitat loss and conflict with humans continues. Ewaso Lions' innovative community outreach programs, which involve young tribal warriors as well as women and children, are helping foster local support for conservation. Her team has dramatically changed local attitudes, and the lion population she monitors has grown to its highest numbers in a dozen years.Ecologist and epidemiologist Christopher Golden is studying the effects of global environmental trends on human health. His goal is to quantify how problems like wildlife depletion, land-use change or climate change affect the well-being of people and then to link those results to actionable policies. Based at the Harvard School of Public Health, he was recently appointed director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Health & Ecosystems: Analysis of Linkages (HEAL) program. Golden has conducted ecological and public health fieldwork in Madagascar since 1999. His study on wildlife hunting in that country proved people and wildlife were in peril and inspired efforts to replace hunting with chicken husbandry. Two HEAL projects Golden is involved with are quantifying how the global fishery collapse affects food security and worldwide malnutrition; and in a partnership with Facebook, he is studying the role of green spaces and national parks in providing mental health benefits, increasing happiness and alleviating stress. |
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EXPLORER PROGRAMS, ContinuedMarine biologist, ocean explorer and professor David Gruber searches the undersea world for bioluminescent and biofluorescent marine animals. Gruber's discoveries are providing a wealth of new insights into a secret "language" of shining colors and patterns that help many marine creatures communicate, interact and avoid enemies. He and his collaborators have illuminated and discovered novel fluorescent molecules from marine animals and are searching for connections between glowing sea life and the ability to visualize the inner workings of human cells. His research group at City University of New York and the American Museum of Natural History has deciphered the genomic code of scores of new fluorescent proteins, which are being developed as tools to aid in medical research and illuminate biological processes. On land, his team designs submersibles and other technologies to revolutionize ocean exploration and discovery. He is also designing extremely-light-sensitive cameras to film the shimmering sea creatures in much sharper resolution and employs submarines, robotic undersea vehicles and technical diving to push the boundaries of our understanding of life in the deep sea.German/Moroccan paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim, a postdoctoral scholar in vertebrate anatomy and paleontology at the University of Chicago, scours the deserts of North Africa for clues to life in the Cretaceous period, when the area was a large river system teeming with a profusion of diverse life forms. In addition to unearthing many huge dinosaur bones, he has discovered fossil footprints and a new species of flying reptile with an 18-foot wingspan that lived 95 million years ago. His upcoming paper describing the ecosystem of what is now Morocco's Sahara Desert in the mid-Cretaceous period will be a milestone, providing the most detailed account of the diversity, paleoecology and geologic context of fossil vertebrates from North Africa. His description is especially important, since northern Africa and the mid-Cretaceous period are underexplored and underrepresented in paleontology. "We found an entire lost world; a window on a moment of major evolutionary change," he says.Creative conservationist Asher Jay is a designer, artist, writer and activist who uses creative concepts and design to advance animal rights, sustainable development and humanitarian causes. Her art, sculpture, design installations, films and advocacy advertising campaigns bring attention to everything from oil spills and dolphin slaughters to shrinking lion populations. Much of her best-known work spotlights the illegal ivory trade, including a huge animated billboard in Times Square and an ambitious project aimed at China's ivory-hungry rising middle class. She participated in the Faberg Big Egg Hunt in New York, where her oval oeuvre went on to raise money for anti-poaching efforts in Amboseli, Kenya. Upcoming projects will tackle biodiversity loss during the Anthropocene and expose threats to the world's most traded and endangered mega fauna. "The power of art is that it can transcend differences, connect with people on a visceral level and compel action," she says. Conservation biologist Juliana Machado Ferreira fights illegal wildlife trafficking in Brazil using science, political articulation, professional training and educational outreach to curb demand, strengthen laws, empower police and build international partnerships. Every year, poachers take 38 million animals from natural habitats in Brazil to supply all kinds of illegal wildlife trade. The business brings in $2 billion a year. Machado Ferreira founded FREELAND Brasil to combat the thriving illegal trade, which she fights on many fronts. In Brazil, where keeping wild songbirds, parrots and macaws is a widely embraced cultural norm, her organization educates the public about the devastating impact this can have on nature. She also helps police to identify, count and provide triage care for birds seized during raids along with SOS Fauna. She holds a Ph.D. in genetics and has developed molecular markers that can aid in identifying the origins of birds seized by police and help return rehabilitated birds to the right spot in the wild.Composer, writer and musician Paul D. Miller's multimedia performances, recordings, art installations and writings immerse audiences in a blend of genres, raising awareness about climate change, sustainability, global culture, the role of technology in society and other pressing environmental and social issues. His multimedia composition, book and installation "The Book of Ice" creates an experiential visual and acoustic portrait of Antarctica's disappearing environment. In "Nauru Elegies," he explores, through a string ensemble, video, animation and live Internet feed, problems facing the environmentally exploited South Pacific island of Nauru. He also founded Vanuatu Pacifica Foundation, a sustainable arts center on the island of Vanuatu. Miller first rose to worldwide fame as hip-hop turntablist "DJ Spooky" and now lectures and performs at prestigious venues, arts institutions and universities on every continent. His free, open-source iPad app, DJ Mixer, has been downloaded over 20 million times. It gives users DJ tools to mix, scratch and add electronic effects to tracks from their own digital libraries. Miller was the first artist-in-residence at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.Environmentalist Maritza Morales Casanova has spent the last two decades working to revolutionize environmental education and awareness in Mexico - and she's only 29. At age 10, she founded the environmental organization HUNAB (Humanity United to Nature in Harmony for Beauty, Welfare, and Goodness) when she saw neighborhood children harming animals and vegetation. The organization has grown to become the force behind a major educational park focused not only on empowering children with conservation knowledge but also with leadership skills to become strong activists and agents of change. Today, Ceiba Pentandra Park provides a free, interactive learning experience for children and teachers on topics ranging from climate change and wetland conservation to wildlife protection and pollution. When completed, it will accommodate 64,000 children each year. The park's most unusual aspect is its teachers: other children. "I know children have great capacity to be leaders because I lived that experience," she observes. |
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EXPLORER PROGRAMS, ContinuedSocial entrepreneur Sanga Moses has a vision: to provide clean, inexpensive cooking energy to all Africans while improving socioeconomic outcomes and reversing deforestation. In 2009, he quit his job in a top bank in Uganda to pursue his dream. He worked with engineering students to design kilns and briquetting machines that could turn food waste into fuel. Four years after he founded the social enterprise Eco-Fuel Africa, 2,500 farmers use his kilns, and each earns an average of $30 a month in extra income. His company has created a network of 460 women retailers who each earn about $150 a month from retailing his clean-cooking fuel. More than 19,167 Ugandan households or about 115,000 people now use his clean-cooking fuel on a daily basis and are able to save at least $200 a year in energy costs. Cleaner-burning green charcoal also reduces indoor air pollution, respiratory disease and medical bills. Instead of spending hours gathering wood, girls can stay in school, and women can grow kitchen gardens or start businesses.Author and campaigner Tristram Stuart is a renowned activist waging a worldwide war against food waste. One-third of the world's food is wasted from plow to plate. The planet's 1 billion hungry people could be fed on less than a quarter of the food wasted in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. Irrigation used to grow food that is thrown away could meet the domestic water needs of 9 billion people. The scale of food waste was largely unexposed and unaddressed until Stuart's book "Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal" was published, and his grassroots initiatives lifted the topic to priority status worldwide. In 2009, he launched "Feeding the 5,000" in London. This free public feast of food that would otherwise be wasted has been replicated around the world. His "Pig Idea" seeks to change laws that restrict using food waste to feed pigs. He also has successfully campaigned for U.K. retailers to relax strict cosmetic standards for fruit and vegetables, and his Gleaning Network initiative sends thousands of volunteers into fields to harvest surplus produce that would otherwise rot. The food is then given to U.K. charities that distribute it to the hungry.Electrical engineer Robert Wood is an expert in robots that fly, robots you wear, squishy robots and tiny robots the size of a nickel. He founded the Microrobotics Lab at Harvard University, where he leads a team that invents and develops entirely new classes of microrobots and robots made of soft materials that may one day play a transformative role in medicine, search-and-rescue missions and agriculture. For years, the team has focused on creating autonomous flying microrobots called RoboBees that could be sent on missions deemed too dangerous, remote or tedious for humans or animals. The machines have a housefly-sized thorax, three-centimeter wingspan and a weight of 60 milligrams. The latest prototype flaps wings 120 times a second, hovers and flies along preordained paths. In the field of soft robotics, the lab invents new materials and embodies them with electrical or mechanical functionality so that they can safely interact with humans. For example, his team has created sensors and actuators for applications in rehabilitation and human-robot interactions that are as soft as skin.Chinese nanoscientist and Stanford professor Xiaolin Zheng leads a research team that created a groundbreaking invention that unlocks the practical potential of solar power. The team created solar cells in the form of flexible stickers - only a 10th the thickness of plastic wrap. The skinny, bendable solar cells produce the same amount of electricity as rigid ones. Since solar stickers are lighter, they will be easier and less expensive to install. And because they are extremely flexible, they can be attached to any surface - the back of a mobile phone, a skylight, a wall, a curved column. Zheng predicts peel-and-stick solar cells could one day paper the sides of buildings, cover sidewalks to light walkways, energize home security systems and help power solar cars or planes. Along with industrial uses for the flexible solar cells, Zheng envisions people being able to stop at their corner store to pick up a pack of solar cells the way one buys batteries today. |
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Other Grant Initiatives/ProgramsREMOTE IMAGINGNational Geographic's Remote Imaging Program is dedicated to developing and deploying novel imaging tools for research, exploration and conservation. In 2014, we continued making contributions of time, expertise and equipment to a diversity of projects.Remote Imaging's CRITTERCAM field projects included leopard seals in Antarctica, endangered Hawaiian monk seals, tiger sharks, Amazon river turtles, wolves and bears. Crittercam research into the fast-growing area of research - urban/suburban wildlife - has continued with project on coyotes in Chicago and feral cats in Georgia. New technology development, to allow working with more animals and addressing new research questions is always on-going. A new infra-red lit system was deployed on squid in order to record in darkness without disturbing the animals. The Deep Ocean Drop-Cams continue to allow researchers to investigate the ocean floor, providing access to new environments and documenting new species. A variant on this system, the Driftcam, adds automatic buoyancy compensation that will allow similar investigations in the hard-to-define mid-water regions of the world's oceans. Custom underwater lighting systems continue to support archaeological investigations into ancient humans in Mexico and shipwrecks in Canada. Aerial platforms continue to improve and diversify, providing new investigation and documentation options for research and exploration in China and Peru. Sub-surface detection technology helped search for artifacts lost in the Euphrates River in Iraq. New low-light imaging technologies were developed to allow better documentation in challenging environments and conditions. 'Camera traps' with capabilities beyond anything commercially available continue to be developed and improved, and have contributed to studies of mountain lions, coyotes, bears and other wildlife.Remote Imaging projects feed scientific discovery, publishing in top journals, as well as providing unique images that help capture the public's imagination and generate interest in science, exploration and conservation. RI-produced images and video have contributed to stories for the National Geographic Magazine. The 6,000 square foot exhibition "CRITTERCAM" museum exhibit continues to travel around the U.S., educated enthusiastic audiences about "the world through animal eyes" and 'spin-off' exhibits are being discussed for smaller venues. Remote Imaging staff also participated in many presentations on science, technology and exploration at schools, universities, conferences and events across the country. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AIR AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND IN CHINA Since its April 2012 launch, the NG Air and Water Conservation Fund has built a strong foundation for supporting cutting-edge field research and community-based initiatives around air and water conservation issues in China. To date, the breadth of issues supported has been wide, including: assessing water pollution in China's World Heritage Guizhou karst system; mobile mapping of greenhouse gases in the North China plain; using indigenous cultural knowledge to conserve water resources; hydrological studies on the impact of dams in the Yangtze River basin; community-based water monitoring in protected areas in Yunan; among others. In 2014, the Fund supported 32 air and water conservation projects. Additionally, the Fund has begun to see the benefits from the projects it supported in its first two years, as grantees returned from the field with fairly impressive results. Very positive impacts have been reported from grantees in terms of innovative approaches, information disclosure and public participation, capacity building of local institutions and individuals, and media coverage.In 2014, the Air and Water Conservation Fund also piloted an environmental youth leadership program to engage young adults and provide them with small grants to help build their expertise as future stewards of the environment.NGS partnered with a local NGO in China to identify high potential students, and mentor them in project development, proposal writing, budgeting, project implementation, project presentation, and collaboration with community and business leaders. Students organized into different groups with different project focuses such as water source protection, garbage disposal, wildlife protection, etc. Awards were given for all projects at the end of the project period. During 2014, the program team participated in a variety of outreach events targeting Chinese researchers, conservationists and explorers, including over 30 conservation conferences, events, face-to-face meetings with around 35 organizations, and other activities, reaching over 2000 people in total. Additionally, the Fund facilitated a number of activities to advance environmental education and awareness with National Geographic fellow Dr. John Francis and Air and Water grantees, including a 193 Km "planet walk" in Hangzhou.Since its launch, the Air and Water Conservation Fund has supported 71 projects over six grant meetings, with funding totaling $2 million and projects located across many parts of Mainland China.BIG CATS INITIATIVE National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative (BCI) is a comprehensive, action-oriented program that supports on-the-ground big cat conservation projects and a global public awareness campaign, Cause an Uproar. This initiative supports the protection of lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, snow leopards and other top felines who are quickly disappearing, all victims of habitat loss and degradation as well as conflict with humans. By the end of 2014, BCI had awarded 67 grants covering 24 countries with a total of more than $1.9 Million. The BCI grants program has made important strides in helping communities understand and protect big cats. The Cause an Uproar campaign raises awareness and funds for BCI. BCI continues to offer several ways for public engagement including free educator lesson plans, the "Build a Boma" peer to peer fundraising platform, text and online donations platforms, a "Little Kitties for Big Cats" photo-sharing donation platform and a Sister School program that connects schools in Africa with schools in the United States under the theme of big cats. |
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Other Grant Initiatives/Programs, ContinuedPRISTINE SEAS PROJECTNational Geographic's Pristine Seas project aims to protect the last wild places in the ocean. This includes not only preserving areas that are pristine or near pristine, but also helping to restore areas that may have suffered some human impacts but still harbor unique features such as large animals, healthy bottom communities, and outstanding biodiversity. The goals are to 1) help create large, no-take marine reserves with effective management over the long term and 2) help restore the health and resilience of unique ecosystems using a combination of solutions (e.g. marine reserves, fisheries management improvement, new ecotourism models), mostly in areas with some human population. We work to restore the health and resilience of unique ecosystems using a combination of exploration, scientific research, economic and policy analysis, and compelling media. We have completed 12 expeditions and, working with key partners, Pristine Seas has helped to inspire country leaders to create six large reserves totaling over 1.4 million square kilometers.GENOGRAPHIC PROJECTThe Genographic Project seeks to chart new knowledge about the migratory history of the human species and answer age-old questions surrounding the genetic diversity of humanity. In 2014 Genographic disbursed 7 scientific grants that enabled the study of DNA research samples using the Genographic genotyping platform. Members of the general public also participated in this real-time scientific research effort through a confidential kit that allowed them to send in their DNA to trace their own migratory history. By the end of 2014, over 680,000 members of the general public from over 130 countries had joined the Genographic Project by purchasing a kit. Project results have led to the publication of over 50 scientific papers. The project's DNA results and analysis are stored in a database that is the largest collection of human anthropological genetic information ever assembled. The samples and data we collected during the project continue to serve as an invaluable 'genetic snapshot' of humanity, our stated goal at the launch of the project.GREAT ENERGY CHALLENGELike food, air, and water, energy is essential to human existence. The hopes of billions for a better life depend on plentiful and accessible sources of energy. But with the world's population fast approaching seven billion, how do we meet the growing demand for energy in a responsible, equitable, and sustainable way? The Great Energy Challenge is an important National Geographic initiative designed to help all of us better understand the breadth and depth of our current energy situation. The Great Energy Challenge, a project undertaken in partnership with Shell, comprises an online portal, energy news reporting, and an energy-focused grant program. National Geographic has assembled some of the world's foremost research and scientists to act as advisors in support of the grant program. Led by Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, a National Geographic Fellow and renowned biologist, the team of advisors work together to identify and provide support for projects focused on innovative energy solutions. Since its inception in 2010, the Great Energy Challenge has awarded $2.04 million in support of 24 grants. The Great Energy Challenge awarded 3 grants in 2014, totaling $267,000.OUT OF EDENPaul Salopek's Out of Eden world walk is a seven-year exercise in slow journalism. Moving at the slow beat of his footsteps, Paul is engaging with the major stories of our time-from climate change to technological innovation, from mass migration to cultural survival-by walking alongside the people who inhabit them every day. As he traverses the globe from Africa to South America, he is revealing the texture of the lives of people he encounters: the nomads, villagers, traders, farmers, and fishermen who never make the news. National Geographic continues to publish Paul's dispatches in the form of words, photos, and sometimes audio or video. At various points throughout the year, a full-length feature story relating to the walk appeared in National Geographic magazine. By the end of 2014, Paul had nearly completed the second year of the walk reaching Tbilisi, Georgia. CHANGE THE COURSEBuilding on a strong web-based platform that educates the public through our freshwater website and the popular Water Currents blog, National Geographic launched the Change the Course campaign along with partners Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) and Participant Media in February 2013. The campaign is designed to engage with the public, corporations, and on-the-ground conservation groups to return critical flows of fresh water to critically dewatered portions of the Colorado River Basin. Change the Course motivates members of the public to learn about their own freshwater footprint and make a free pledge to conserve water at changethecourse.us. The pledge community is now comprised of people from 50 states and more than a hundred countries. For every pledge, Change the Course restores a thousand gallons of water to the Colorado River Basin. Corporate sponsors, such as Silk, Coca-Cola and Disney provide funding for the water restoration projects. In 2014, Change the Course funded a milestone project in the Colorado River Delta in Mexico, providing sustaining "base flows" to key restoration sites in the Delta that aim to provide long term benefits to migrating birds, local flora and fauna, and community members in the region. NG Freshwater Fellow and water expert Sandra Postel continued to engage with the public in a variety of lectures, keynotes and media interviews and continued to curate the Water Currents blog on the NG website. |
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The Committee for Research and Exploration (CRE) has awarded more than 9,400 grants since 1890, totaling more than $137 million. The Committee supported extraordinary research in 2014, awarding grants representing fieldwork in the disciplines of anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, biology, geography, geology, paleontology, and oceanography. Archaeologist Kurt Rademaker received a grant to investigate some of the earliest Paleo-Indian remains in South America. His work resulted in publications in both Science and Nature, and received considerable media attention. Ornithologist Karl Berg was funded to investigate how parrots vocalize during flight, given their limited respiratory capabilities. His discovery that parrots may actively "name" their chicks, received coverage on NPR and other media outlets. Finally, paleontologist Julie Meachen received a grant to return to Natural Trap Cave in Wyoming, the site where extinct megafauna such as sabre-tooth cats and American cheetahs were first identified. Using new technology, Dr. Meachen extracted DNA from the sediments and fossils located in the cave, and is currently waiting on the results. Her work was featured in media outlets throughout the world.The Expeditions Council (EC) is a grant program dedicated to funding the exploration of largely unrecorded or little-known areas of Earth, as well as regions of the planet undergoing significant environmental or cultural change. Since its inception in 1998, the Expeditions Council has awarded 533 grants totaling over $20 million, and has funded projects that span the spectrum of exploration and adventure. Among the Expeditions Council projects funded in 2014 was the work of photographer and scientist Tim Laman who is documenting never before seen behaviors in orangutan populations in Sumatra and Borneo. Previews of his work have been shared on National Geographic's website and more will be featured in upcoming print publications. Across the globe, geographer Anton Seimon was funded for his project analyzing the science behind the 2013 El Reno tornado- the widest tornado ever recorded. Seimon used crowd sourced video and images to create innovative models of the storm. In Alaska, ski-mountaineer Kit DesLauriers was funded for her expedition in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge where her team climbed and skied peaks to confirm photogrammetry research and establish the heights of the tallest peaks in the Brooks Range. DesLauriers' story was shared in National Geographic News and she was named a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.National Geographic Young Explorer grants (YEG) support the next generation of researchers, explorers and conservationists. Young Explorer Grants provide individuals age 18 to 25 with some of their first experiences carrying out fieldwork and exploration. In 2014, field projects spanning the globe were funded, including Chris A. Johns' conservation grant to study Hawaii's threatened leaf miner moth using advanced molecular analyses. He's working to raise awareness in non-science audiences about their life history and uniqueness and collaborating closely with the scientists and conservation organizations of Hawaii to develop methods to ensure their continual study and long-term protection. Cara Eckholm received a grant to travel to Sarajevo and document how the city has reinvented itself after years of destructive war- analyzing lingering ethnic tensions as well as pressures from foreign investors. Her work has produced multiple dispatches for National Geographic's website and she was invited to speak at the Telluride MountainFilm Festival about her project. Argentinian researcher Lucas Gheco received funding for his work searching for never before studied pre-Hispanic cave art in the Argentinean highlands. The unique art he works with was featured this year in the Latin American edition of National Geographic magazine. The Conservation Trust (CT) is a grant program that supports innovative solutions to issues of global concern. The Trust encourages model projects that engage and inform their areas' local population. The Conservation Trust including the Lindblad Expedition Grants as a subset, has awarded 283 grants since its inception in 2001, totaling $9.5 million. These projects included: Jessica Vitale's study on the spotted hyenas' role in the larger predator "guild" in the Okavango Delta of Botswana; Carlton Ward's ongoing documentation of Florida's wildlife corridors; and Sunita Pradhan's work in India, where people and hornbills share resources and rely on each other to thrive. The NGS/Waitt Grants Program is an initiative of the National Geographic Society and the Waitt Foundation that provides essential funding for cutting-edge exploratory field research in all disciplines around the world. Funding is made possible for research that holds promise of new breakthroughs in the Natural and Cultural sciences. A total of 361 projects have been funded from the program's inception in 2008 totaling $4.6 million. Projects with the NGS/Waitt Grants Program during 2014 include Brennan Phillips who studied an underwater volcano in the Solomon Islands and captured video footage of sharks and other marine life living in the extreme environment. The video of the discovery went viral online. Also funded was Matthew Helmer whose work at The Samanco Archaeology Project investigated early urban human adaptations in arid maritime environments in coastal Peru. Helmer led excavations at the archaeological complex of Samanco. Results yielded significant data about daily residential life for ancient Andeans living on the coast. These include the discovery of ancient kitchens, patios, plazas, storerooms, production areas, gardens, streets, burials, and animal corrals all located within Samanco's expansive stone wall compounds. Equally important was the work accomplished by Jeffrey Rose in The Dhofar Archaeological Project. This project investigated the prehistory and palaeoenvironments in the Dhofar region of southern Oman. During the course of the investigation, more than 500 surface and buried findspots have been mapped, including Lower Palaeolithic (1,000,000-250,000 BP), Middle Palaeolithic (250,000-50,000 BP), Upper Palaeolithic (50,000-20,000 BP), Late Palaeolithic (20,000-10,000 BP) and Neolithic (10,000-6,000 BP) phases of human prehistory. At the same time, genetic research in southern Arabia has revealed that a large portion of the modern Arabian population derives from indigenous peoples that have persisted in the region since the Last Glacial Maximum, some 20,000 years ago. Together, these archaeological and genetic data reveal the importance that the Dhofar region of southern Oman has played in the origin and evolution of human populations in the Middle East. |
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National Geographic Exhibitions:National Geographic creates exhibitions that allow visitors to experience the mission of National Geographic in a unique and highly educational setting. Each year, the museum presents exhibitions and programs that expand on National Geographic content and extend the life of the stories that we tell not only in Washington, but in Museums around the country and around the world.The National Geographic Museum welcomed 125,000 visitors in 2014 including 20,000 students and school groups. The Museum mounted 6 exhibitions in the NG Museum and introduced a new summer series of programming in 2014. The "Summer in Space" featured 4 unique public events organized in partnership with NASA around breaking news in the field of Space exploration. This programming was designed to capture new audiences for our public programming and complement the museum exhibitions as well as the July NG Magazine cover story on Astrobiology and a major NG books publication Mars Up Close, released in August on the second anniversary of the NASA/JPL Curiosity project. The audience for the museum includes National Geographic members, local residents, national and international tourists, military personnel, congressional members and staffs, the diplomatic community, school groups and students from around the region and beyond. Many of the exhibitions that originate at the National Geographic Museum are then offered to other museums around the U.S. and internationally so the audiences continue to grow for these projects even after they close in Washington. Highlights from the 2014 year are listed below.PERUVIAN GOLD: ANCIENT TREAURES UNEARTHEDNational Geographic has a long history with the country of Peru starting with the first archaeology grant given to Yale professor Hiram Bingham in 1911 to support his historic expeditions to Machu Picchu. Since then, over 80 grants for archaeology have been given for projects in Peru. Peruvian Gold; Ancient Treasures Unearthed was an exhibition developed by the NG Museum to celebrate this long relationship and to highlight the ongoing scientific discoveries in this fascinating country. The exhibition was a partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Peru, the Sican National Museum, the Museum of the Central Reserve Bank in Lima and the Larco Museum. The Peruvian Embassy in Washington was also a partner on the project. The iconic collections of these museums provided context and an educational narrative about the four thousand year pre Columbian history of Peru. The exhibition was open from April 10 through September 2. From Washington, the exhibition traveled to the Irving Arts Center in Irving TX where it was on view from October 1 - December 31, 2014. MARS UP CLOSEMars Up Close, a free exhibition celebrating the second anniversary of the Curiosity Project, opened on August 5 as part of National Geographic's "Summer in Space." The exhibition showcase the latest images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover as well as full-scale models of the family of rovers that have gone to Mars: Curiosity, Spirit/Opportunity and the 1997 Sojourner. The opening day was also timed to the release of a major NG book and also featured a special NG Live panel discussion moderated by veteran space journalist and author Marc Kaufman and featuring NASA scientists Ken Edgett, principal investigator, Mars Exploration Program; John Grant, geologist and long-term planner, Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory; and Pan Conrad, deputy principal investigator, sample analysis, at Mars team, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The exhibition was on view through November 2014.SPINOSAURUS: LOST GIANT OF THE CRETACEOUSNew science about one of the world's most ferocious predatory dinosaurs was featured in a cross platform project at National Geographic in September of 2014. Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous featured the findings of new research by a team of paleontologists led by Nizar Ibrahim and Paul Sereno from the University of Chicago. The first semi aquatic dinosaur ever discovered lived over 100 million years ago in a lush and tropical landscape that is now the vast desert regions of the Moroccan Sahara. A life-size skeletal replica and a life size flesh model of the Spinosaurus were the centerpieces of the exhibition which was on view from September 12, 2014, to April 15, 2015. The exhibition featured fascinating details about the 100-year history of discovery related to this bizarre creature as well and real fossils from the University of Chicago's extensive research on the dinosaurs of North Africa. The Spinosaurus was the cover story of the October issue of NG Magazine, the subject of several popular public programs and a documentary produced by NG Studios for NOVA on PBS. The exhibition is traveling in Europe through 2017.FOOD: OUR GLOBAL KITCHEN "FOOD: Our Global Kitchen", a traveling exhibition from the American Museum of Natural History, opened at the National Geographic Museum on October 16, 2014 - World Food Day. The exhibit explores the complex and intricate food system that brings what we eat from farm to fork. "FOOD" complemented National Geographic's on-going exploration of food issues, which includes an eight-month series in National Geographic Magazine. The exhibition was a survey on the history of food, the way food defines cultures and the challenges facing the world's food supply in the 21st century. The exhibition also included a test kitchen where visitors could learn about the way food is made. A partnership with Whole Foods made several programs possible in this kitchen and there were also several NG Live events that were food themed. The exhibition was on through February 22. PHOTOCAMP: A DECADE OF STORYTELLINGSince 2003, National Geographic Photo Camp has partnered with organizations worldwide to inspire young people to explore their communities through a camera's lens. The NG exhibition, "Photo Camp: A Decade of Storytelling", featured the spectacular images captured by the students who participated in the 67 workshops held to date in 18 countries. Since its inception, the program has reached an audience of more than 50 million worldwide through media coverage and exhibitions of student work. The free exhibit included photos from September 2014 Photo Camp in South Sudan. Supported by Internews, this exhibition as accompanied by a public program that featured 3 of the South Sudanese students as well as 2 of the photojournalists from this camp. It opened at the December 18 and remained on view through August 2015.TRAVELING EXHIBITIONSNational Geographic traveling exhibitions were hosted by venues around the world in 2014. There were 11 photo shows which included: National Geographic at 125, Food, 50 Greatest Photographs, The World in B&W, Polar Obsession, Weird but True, Lions&Tigers&Bears, Ocean Soul, Rare & Colors of the World. These exhibitions were held in 15 venues in 12 countries including Mexico, Japan, China, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Slovinia, Estonia, Qatar and the Dominican Republic. In addition, National Geographic exhibition Birds of Paradise: Amazing Avian evolution was on view at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences as well as the Academy of the Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment was on view at the Mint Museum in Charlotte and the Cranbrook Museum in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Earth Explorers, a new exhibition featuring 15 National Geographic Explorers was on view at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology was on view at the Discovery Center in Santa Ana California as well as the Fort Worth Children's Museum in Texas. |
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(Code:
)
(Expenses $
including grants of $
) (Revenue $
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Education Foundation/ProgramsThe National Geographic Society Education Foundation (NGEF) was established to commemorate the Society's centennial in 1988. With a mission "to support, promote and advance geographic education in the United States, Canada and elsewhere," the Foundation promotes improved teacher quality and classroom learning. Proposals are solicited from universities and other nonprofits for innovative projects. Since its inception, the Education Foundation has worked in programmatic partnership with other private donors and state governments to support university-hosted Geography Alliances-statewide partnerships between academic professors and K-12 teachers to provide professional development, networking, and more. In many cases, the Education Foundation supports individual Alliances through dedicated, state-specific endowments, called Geography Education Funds. While the Foundation emphasizes improvement of geographic literacy in the United States, select work is also supported in Canada and Puerto Rico.The Foundation's staff works with external evaluators and encourages grantees to assess programs and projects to determine the value of geographic education to student achievement on state and national standards, and to demonstrate the essential role of geography as an educational priority and a core component of K-12 academic curricula.In 2014, the Foundation made 60 grants totaling more than $2.9 million. Examples of work funded by these grants are as follows:Minnesota Alliance for Geographic EducationThe Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education (MAGE) works to increase the geographic literacy of Minnesotans by providing a range of outreach and professional development opportunities. NGEF grant funds supported MAGE's continuing collaboration with leaders in the Minnesota Department of Education and other academic organizations working to implement the new state-mandated standards for geography and other social sciences. It also enabled MAGE to offer a wide range of services and professional development opportunities for in-service and pre-service teachers. In addition, MAGE offered several programs for students, both in schools and in informal educational settings. South Carolina Geographic AllianceThe mission of the South Carolina Geographic Alliance is to provide the state's students and educators with innovative and effective practices, materials, and research to improve geography education. NGEF funds supported professional development workshops in schools and districts, focusing on state social studies and science standards, geospatial technology, STEM, Advanced Placement Human Geography, and Geography Awareness Week; sessions at national, regional, and state conferences; the Alliance Summer Geography Institute and two Geofest meetings; professional development workshops at teacher training institutes; the marketing of a state atlas; the creation of supporting atlas materials; and research updates for the SC MAPS program. Chesapeake Bay FoundationNGEF supported the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Chesapeake Classrooms initiative, a comprehensive professional development program for teachers throughout the Bay watershed. The hallmark of this initiative is the five-day accredited summer immersion institutes that are offered around the watershed. During the grant period, CBF reached several hundred teachers through 25-30 customized courses planned collaboratively with school system leaders. Participating teachers came from K-12 public, private, and parochial schools in the watershed states of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, as well as Washington, D.C. By reaching teachers, Chesapeake Classrooms results in a growing number of students who are prepared and motivated to care for this national treasure, ensuring a beautiful and bountiful Chesapeake Bay for generations to come.The National Geographic Education & Children's Media division creates best-in-class products, experiences, and programs that teach kids about the world and how it works, empowering them to make it a better place. We educate by sparking curiosity, imparting knowledge through storytelling, and empowering action. We support lifelong learning by providing opportunities for kids, families, and educators to join global communities where they can connect, learn, create, and share. And we inspire the new generation of global citizens to discover the world's past, celebrate its present, and protect its future. The NG Education team focuses on working closely with and creating materials for educators and schools that bring the Society's spirit of exploration and adventure to our goal of educating young people about their world.National Geographic Education OnlineThe NG Education website and social media channels are the primary methods of dissemination and communication for NG Educations' products and programs, which provide world-class learning resources and rich multimedia assets for educators in both formal and information settings, as well as for students and caregivers. NG Education creates free instructional materials aligned with national education standards, and continues to conduct professional development through the offering of massive open online courses (MOOC's). In 2014, NG Education continued to maintain it's partnership with the Verizon Foundation's Thinkfinity Consortium and enhance it's website www.natgeoed.org. Major online updates and priorities included: upgrading to a new content management system, enhancing search and printing functionality, and introducing the concept of a 3D interactive globe experience. NG Education also produced and revised more than 2 million "mobile friendly" resources. NG Education works in partnership with other national organizations to increase the quality and availability of learning opportunities. Over the course of 2014, the NG Education website received more than 25 million pageviews from over 9.5 million users. The Education Portal reaches approximately 1-1.2 million users a month. Since the beginning of 2014, the NG Education Portal increased its total social media followers by 67.9% to a total of 2,433,410, with the most notable increase coming from Google+, which grew 84%. Impressions of social content jumped by 12% relative to the same time period in 2013, and we geo-targeted Facebook content to U.S. users, with the goal of better reaching key audiences.MapMaker Interactive Over the course of 2014, we redesigned our popular MapMaker Interactive application (http://mapmaker.education.nationalgeographic.com). A main goal of the redesign was to enable the application to work better on traditional web browsers, as well as on touch screen tablets and remove the dependency on Flash. |
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(Code:
)
(Expenses $
12,870,755
including grants of $
3,604,310
) (Revenue $
306,406
)
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Education Foundation/Programs, cont.Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)In 2014, we launched a new Online Courses (http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/online-courses/) landing page to feature Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) we've developed and currently offer through Coursera.The course FLOW Education: Facilitating Learning through Outdoor Watershed Education ran September 17 through October 29, 2014. Watershed education is an excellent way to introduce students to rich, interdisciplinary studies of one of the most important resources located in students' backyards-water! This course is designed for classroom teachers of Grades 4-9 to learn about watersheds and outdoor education using the Chesapeake Bay watershed as an example. The course introduces engaging technologies for investigating watersheds and helps educators plan and effectively implement outdoor experiences. Montana teachers can apply for undergraduate and graduate credits from the School of Extended & Lifelong Learning at the University of Montana.The course Water: The Essential Resource ran October 15 through December 17, 2014. Water is an essential theme in social studies, science, and geography. Whether teaching about natural or human systems, water is part of the story. This course, framed around California's Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI), focuses on ocean and freshwater topics and strategies for teaching environmental topics in Grades 4-8. Resources and support are provided for how to use EEI to implement Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy. Grosvenor Teacher Fellow ProgramThe Grosvenor Teacher Fellow (GTF) program is an in-person professional development opportunity made possible by a partnership between National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions. The primary goal of the GTF program is to advance geographic literacy by engaging K-12 educators from the United States and Canada in field-based experiences that will be reflected in their teaching practice and shared with their professional and community networks. Selected educators travel aboard Lindblad Expeditions ship National Geographic Explorer to experience some of the world's most amazing places first-hand. While aboard, Fellows share the importance of geographic education with other travelers, develop activities to bring back to their classrooms, and have an adventure of a lifetime. In 2014, more than 1,700 educators applied for the GTF Program and twenty-five educators were selected. The selected Fellows traveled in groups of 2 or 3 on one of nine expeditions traveling to Arctic Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland, the Canadian Maritimes and Antarctica. Prior to their expedition all Fellows traveled to National Geographic headquarters for a 3-day hands-on preparatory workshop. MobileFieldScope (www.fieldscope.org) is an interactive mapping platform that invites ordinary people to explore with National Geographic by enabling them to join communities of citizen scientists. In 2014, we launched our first mobile app for use with the FieldScope tool to support data collection. The app allows participants out in the field collecting data to upload it to their mobile devices and submit it to a FieldScope project. They are able to contribute in real-time to a project, share their data with the community, and visualize it in the FieldScope web interface. Also in 2014, we published a new Mobile Apps and Content web page to surface apps and iBooks developed by our group, as well as mobile apps and content developed in partnerships with other organizations or by other Society divisions. The page features the new app we developed for our Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom interactive. This is a 3-D, first-person perspective interactive that can be played both as a web-based version and on tablets via the app. We developed an accompanying educator guide on using game-play to explore history with students in Grades 5-10. In addition to the Underground Railroad interactive, we launched a game that is both web-based and optimized for tablets in called Giant Pandas: Into the Wild. In this game, targeted to elementary students across Grades K-6, students design a giant panda wildlife reserve with the right amount of food, water, and shelter to help pandas be healthy, learn important survival and social skills, and prepare for release into the wild. We developed an accompanying educator guide on using game-play to explore habitats and endangered species conservation with students in Grades K-6, and also an education outreach toolkit to help museums with educational outreach. BioBlitzBioBlitz, National Geographic's annual event during which we partner with the National Park Service (NPS), took place on March 28-29, 2014. This year's BioBlitz was held in Golden Gate National Recreation Area, a series of parks that include the Presidio in San Francisco, the Marin Headlands and Muir Woods in Marin County, and preserved coastal lands south of San Francisco in San Matteo county.Schools and youth groups from across the area took part in the event, including classes staying at the NatureBridge campus in the Marin Headlands, 50 classes from the San Francisco Unified School District, Farrallone View Elementary School by the parks' sites in San Matteo County, classes participating through the Pt. Bonita YMCA in Marin, and approximately 50 students from John Muir Middle School in Corcoran, California, a Verizon Innovative Learning School, who had conducted a schoolyard bioblitz with the support of National Geographic earlier in the week. Highlights from the event include:--2,700 youth had an opportunity to directly participate in BioBlitz 2014, including 50 underserved classes from the San Francisco Unified School District.--Over 1,000 students received "degrees" at the Biodiversity University, a special event engaging youth with exhibitors at the BioBlitz festival.--The iNaturalist app was used to collect data entered by scientists, students, and the participating public; over 10,000 observations were entered, resulting in a count of over 2,300 unique species in the park.--iNaturalist was integrated with the National Geographic FieldScope platform, which provided a rich environment for visualizing data collected from the park.--To accommodate a high demand for participation from area schools and youth groups, "enhanced learning stations" were set up at the event in Crissy Field to provide a rich educational experience for all attending youth.--Several hundred children participated in an Engineering Exploration (see the Engineering Exploration Challenge description below) maker space as part of the festival at Crissy Field. At BioBlitz, children used engineering skills to create animal-proof cameras.Geography Awareness WeekThe goal of Geography Awareness Week (GeoWeek) is to raise awareness about the deficiency of geography in American education and to excite people about geography both as a discipline and as part of everyday life. The annual public awareness program encourages citizens young and old to think and learn about the interconnectedness of our world. For our annual Geography Awareness Week we celebrated geography and "The Future of Food" November 16-22, 2014. A week-long series of events were held at National Geographic Headquarters, including a very successful OpenStreetMap mapping party. Educators around the world participated in GAW, and the website had more than 20,000 visits. Partners played a key role in spreading the word for GAW this year. GENIP (Geography Education National Implementation Project) helped to promote the event. ESRI participated with their annual GIS Day. The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) held their teacher recruitment during this week and also conducted a series of webinars. And the Association of American Geographers (AAG) did a special mailing to their members. Map Skills for Elementary StudentsAlso in 2014, we added eight new activities and one original video to a collection of educational materials (activities, pictures of practice, and model student work) targeting spatial thinking, map, and language skills in Grades preK-6. Publishing this collection was the final phase of the project, which began with research/literature reviews to identify overarching trends in the way learners of different ages come to understand spatial concepts and a gap analysis to identify needs of elementary educators in access to resources for teaching map skills. This collection has a strong STEM connection, as research shows a positive correlation between spatial thinking and success in math and science. |
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4d
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Other program services (Describe in Schedule O.)
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(Expenses $
187,572,916
including grants of $
17,621,448
) (Revenue $
111,558,840
)
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| 4e |
Total program service expenses 464,742,559
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Attach to Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.