This week, National Geographic welcomes its 2014 Emerging Explorers to speak about their passions and experiences at our annual Explorers Symposium.  At this week-long event, Emerging Explorers come together with Explorers-in-Residence and Visiting Fellows to talk about their work and to share ideas that may even lead to innovative collaborations.  The Explorers Symposium is always an inspiring week for staff at National Geographic.

Nat Geo Ed sat down with three 2013 Emerging Explorers to talk about how they use technology in the field as part of our Mysteries of the Unseen World Collection.  In these videos, we not only learn how they became explorers, but we also learn what it means to be an explorer in our modern world.  These videos show kids that explorers start out as regular kids just like them!  By following their interests and curiosities (and by studying science, technology, engineering and math), these regular kids grew up to become National Geographic Explorers.

Have your kids told you what they want to be when they grow up?  Watch these videos with your kids and see if they inspire them to learn more about fields in science and exploration.

Which explorer did your kids relate to the most?  Are your kids inspired to pursue a career in science and exploration?  Or did the videos pique their interest in uncovering history by using technology?  Do they feel that there’s still more to discover and invent in our world?  Finally, did the videos spark enthusiasm in your kids to try something new or think differently about their world?

As National Geographic celebrates its explorers this week, take some time to think about what inspires your kids.  Visit our collection of profiles and videos that capture some of National Geographic’s most intriguing Emerging Explorers to find more resources to share with your kids.  Browse National Geographic’s explorer website to read more about our mission to pursue exploration, conservation, and scientific research.  We hope these resources help you to keep inspiring your kids to think big and explore their curiosities so that they may become the next generation of National Geographic Explorers.