The Explorer Classroom program was created by National Geographic to connect classrooms around the world to National Geographic scientists. This is a great tool to use in a science classroom, as it is a way for teachers to make science fun, modern, and relatable to student interests.

I chose the Explorer Classroom tool to research and use in my classroom because it is a great way to make science fun for students. Let’s be real… students will not always be interested in the topics that your school’s science textbook has to offer. The Explorer Classrooms gives easy access to videos of people who participate in current science, which can sometimes be more interesting to students. Another reason I chose this tool was because of its accessibility. According to National Geographic’s website, “All events are free, open to the public, and include an instructional guide to help learners get the most out of the experience,” (Explorer, n.d.). What this means is that every teacher in every school has access to the Explorer Classroom, and consequently students everywhere can benefit from this tool.

The Explorer Classroom tool seemed useful to me, as a science teacher, because it allows students of all ages to connect to real world scientists and gain knowledge from those real world stories and experiences. In addition, it is a great way to integrate technology into your classroom, since this tool requires video connection between students, the teacher, and the National Geographic scientist. Third, multiple Explorer Classroom events take place every month, which means that you could make this tool a habit in your classroom. In relation to this scheduled use of the Explorer Classroom, read below to discover how I would use this tool in my classroom.

Similarly to how other teachers are using this tool in their own classrooms, I would use the Explorer Classroom to connect my students to real life, real world scientists who are out researching and studying different scientific topics. Maybe one of my classes could connect in real time to one of the National Geographic explorers and we could hold a Zoom call, similar to the videos you will see below. Or maybe as a class, we could simply watch pre-recorded videos from the Explorer Classroom as well. I would use these videos whenever the topics related to course curriculum, but I would also use these videos about once a month, to reward students, by allowing them to choose a video topic that interests them, and watch that video during class. This could be a great way to keep science fun and interesting for my students.

I also wanted to include some of the upcoming Explorer Classroom Events, in case anyone would like to have their classrooms join! Embedded below are the links for the next events! Please note, you do need to register for these events in advance! https://www.nationalgeographic.org/tickets/explorer-classroom/event/OET3CSIfortheOcean/ https://www.nationalgeographic.org/tickets/explorer-classroom/event/WaterConservationMiddles3/ https://www.nationalgeographic.org/tickets/explorer-classroom/event/WaterConservationLittles3/

Sources: Explorer classroom. National Geographic Society. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/tickets/explorer-classroom/

By: Emily Loeb