A conservationist who protects elephants harmed by Mozambique’s civil war.

A geoarchaeologist who conducts underwater excavations in the Mediterranean, looking for evidence of past tsunamis.

An ecologist who works to save sea turtles in Central America by outwitting egg poachers.

What do these people have in common? All are women.

National Geographic Explorer magazine returns with its second annual Women in Science issue, sharing the stories of three intrepid women: conservationist Dominique Gonçalves, geoarchaeologist Beverly Goodman, and ecologist Kim Williams-Guillén.

This special issue celebrates the important work of female National Geographic Explorers working toward a more balanced planet through conservation, science, and exploration.

Last year, in its first Women in Science special issue, Explorer magazine celebrated three generations of women whose work has already left an indelible impact on their fields of study: primatologist Jane Goodall, linguist Sandhya Narayanan, and polar explorer Jade Hameister. 

“Last year’s Women in Science issue really resonated with our readers,” said Explorer managing editor, Brenna Maloney. “Telling the stories of working scientists and explorers inspires all of our young readers. But we strive for our young women readers, in particular, to see themselves in our pages. Dominique, Beverly, and Kim were just like you—girls. If they can do it, then you can, too.”

Devoting an entire issue to three incredible women explorers, however, just wasn’t enough for the Explorer magazine team. There were so many other remarkable women the team wanted young readers to know about, so they created a classroom-sized calendar poster to celebrate 12 more National Geographic women scientists throughout the year.

This special edition will be available for Grade 2 (Lexile levels 250L-550L), 3 (350-750L), 4 (450L-850L), and 5/6 (520L-950L). Compare samples of Explorer magazine to find which edition is right for your students.Full-year subscriptions are available until October 15. Spring subscriptions are available until November 15. The deadline for digital subscriptions is January 15. More information is available at ExplorerMag.org.

Top image by Ivan Agerton.