Explorer Zoleka Filander is a biologist and deep-sea researcher whose work focuses on taxonomy, or the identification and classification of organisms. With most of the world’s seabed yet to be explored, this work largely involves documenting the species in various regions to establish a baseline, as well as reporting on new species. Join to learn about deep-sea coral, the detective work of taxonomy, and why it is important!

Explorer Classroom is an interactive session that connects learners with National Geographic Explorers for short lessons and Q&A. After the featured Explorer’s lesson, your students will have a chance to have their questions answered in real time! This event is recommended for student groups in grades 3-8, but all are welcome, and will take place on February 15th @ 10am and 2pm ET; register for the time that works best for your class. A recording of the event will be available to watch on-demand on our YouTube channel if your students cannot attend live. 

Each month of the school year will be organized around a specific theme to help students build an #ExplorerMindset. February’s theme is Oceans! We’ll focus on conservation, research, and education work our Explorers do for and in the world’s oceans and coastal communities! They will demonstrate the attitude of curiosity and the skills of problem-solving and using geographic perspectives. The related standards are Geography and Earth and Human Activity. Teachers, we’ve also created a new interactive guide, Explorer Mindset in Action! Share this with your students to take them on a learning journey with each of our Explorers that sparks curiosity, builds empathy, and empowers ALL learners to take action.

#ExplorerClassroom is for everyone! All events are free.

There are two ways to participate in the virtual event, as a featured class on screen or watching live on YouTube. If space is available, you may request to be a featured class during the registration process.