Explorers Festival 2017
June 15 – June 18 | Washington, D.C.
National Geographic Society
Join groundbreaking scientists, conservationists, explorers, and storytellers for a multi-day celebration of exploration!
Highlighted Events
Celebration of Exploration
Culinary Expedition & National Geographic Awards Presentation
Saturday, June 17 | 5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. | GWU Courtyard & Lisner Auditorium
Join the biggest names in exploration as they pay tribute to the visionaries who push boundaries and change our world for the better. Festivities will begin with a global culinary adventure featuring an array of cuisines prepared by some of D.C.’s most celebrated chefs, including José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup, Amy Brandwein (Centrolina), Todd Gray (Equinox), and Erik Bruner Yang (Toki Underground), complemented with music by lead singer of the X Ambassadors, Sam Harris.
The evening will continue in Lisner Auditorium with a star-studded show hosted by writer and comedian Mo Rocca, with filmmaker James Cameron and TV host Jason Silva, honoring the explorers, scientists, and storytellers who have inspired National Geographic’s love of nature and led the crusade to preserve the planet for future generations. This year, award recipients include astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, photojournalist Brian Skerry, and clean-energy visionaries Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg of Solar Impulse.
Red Planet vs. Blue Planet: Where Do We Explore Next?
Saturday, June 17 | 9:30 AM | National Geographic Headquarters
Where Do We Explore Next? Explore this thought-provoking question with some of the world’s best explorers and storytellers as they talk about the future of exploration on this planet and across the galaxy. Hear from notable speakers such as Neil deGrasse Tyson, renowned astrophysicist; Bob Ballard, ocean explorer and discoverer of the Titanic; Sylvia Earle, legendary oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence; and Colonel Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian Commander of the International Space Station.
Other Explorers Festival Events
Thursday, June 15 – Nat Geo Nights: Into the Okavango – Meet members of an amazing team that have spent the past two years navigating the Okavango River Basin to help document and protect one of the last truly wild places on Earth.
Friday, June 16 – BYT & Nat Geo’s Excellent Adventure – This special Explorers Festival after-hours National Geographic campus takeover will feature great music, explorer talks and experiences, bars, exclusive museum access, lasers, and (maybe…just maybe) a time traveling phone booth!
Sunday, June 18 – FURTHER Film Festival – National Geographic opens the curtain on an exciting new film festival showcasing the amazing work—and inspired vision—of Explorers in the field.
View the full schedule of events for Explorers Festival 2017.
