The Voyage Begins...

Yesterday we had our first day of training at National Geographic for our up-coming expeditions. There are 25 teachers here representing 17 states and Canada. We were congratulated for being selected from over 1300 applicants. I was so impressed by the variety of grade levels and curriculums that these teachers work with. We began our day with breakfast at National Geographic Headquarters and then wandered through the building until we entered the historical Gardiner Greene Hubbard Memorial Building. As we wandered through the hallway we encountered various photographs.

When we entered our training room there were photographs of explorers throughout the room. My favorite was of Jane Goodall framed above the mantle of the marble fireplace.
Across the hall was a room that housed the historic table where the founders of the National Geographic Society first signed the constitution for the National Geographic Society in 1888.An interesting fact about the painting below is that the founders were actually much younger but the artist painted beards onto them because they thought they appeared too young to be starting a society like this.

In another room was the office of Alexander Graham Bell who was the son-in-law of the first President of National Geographic,Gardner Greene Hubbard. Alexander Graham Bell eventually became the President and he eventually passed it on to his son-in-law, Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor. The Fellowship that I will be doing is a partnership between Lindblad expeditions and National Geographic. The program is named in honor of Gilbert M. Grosvenor, Chairman Emeritus National Geographic Society. I will be going to the Arctic Svalbard and I am so excited to continue this blog with updates of my learning experience.