What’s new in the deep blue?
To those who are visiting the National Geographic Education blog for the first time, let us first say welcome and thanks for your interest in National Geographic Education! This blog is one of our primary means of communication with our audiences of teachers, students, and others interested in education–a virtual window into the National Geographic Society from an educational perspective.
On the blog we aim to increase awareness of geography, science, and social studies topics and teaching. We post multiple entries a week covering current events, popular science, educational content and instructional techniques, and general geographic observations about the world around us. Check out our Categories and Archives lists along with the Tag Cloud on the left column of the blog for examples of previous popular topics. The Blogroll lists some of our favorite blogs about geography and education, and blogs from our National Geographic partners.
For loyal followers of the blog (and perhaps our other social media sites Facebook and Twitter), what you’re about to see in the coming weeks will be a bit different from anything we’ve done in the past–so get ready! It’s been a whirlwind here at National Geographic headquarters with the kickoff of James Cameron’s exciting expedition, DEEPSEA CHALLENGE. In the coming weeks, the blog will support the mission with up-to-date information, as well as provide in-depth (pun-intended) content instruction about oceanography and deep-sea exploration, and suggest ideas for how to incorporate DEEPSEA CHALLENGE into the classroom.
and famed filmmaker James Cameron is on a mission to travel to the
deepest point on Earth: the underwater Challenger Deep of the Mariana
Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Challenger Deep is 11,034 meters (36,201
feet) below sea level, which is almost 7 miles. To put that into
context, if you placed Mount Everest at the bottom of the Mariana
Trench, the peak would still be 2,133 meters (7,000 feet) below sea
level. Cameron and his team of supporting scientists are ready to
attempt the first visit to the bottom of the trench in more than 50
years, since the submersible Trieste descended down 35,800 feet
beneath the waves in 1960. Cameron will make the solo trip in an
entirely new type of sub, inspired by his longtime passion for ocean
exploration and for telling powerful stories through documentary and
feature films.
To help us tell the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE story to our
audience of teachers and students, we will have four special guest
writers contributing to the blog: a high school biology teacher, a
geology professor with a knack for ocean engineering, a college professor blogging from Papua New Guinea, and a National
Geographic Young Explorer with a passion for ocean conservation. Look
for introductory blog posts from them later today!
Throughout
DEEPSEA CHALLENGE, we will continue to provide thoughtful posts on
traditional geography education topics–including the fan favorites
“Five for Friday” and “Wednesday Word of the Week”–when we can squeeze
them in between the ocean exploration blog posts from our wonderful
guests. We hope you enjoy this exciting time for NG Education and for
the Society as history is made. We look forward to making discoveries
alongside you!
