Explorer Classroom
Following the Flippers
Grade / Age
Duration
Follow marine biologist Roxanne Beltran into the field to track elephant seals and learn how they navigate the ocean.
Credit: Roxanne Beltran
Event Recording
About This Event
Explorer and marine biologist Roxanne Beltran uses her tracking and mapping skills to research elephant seal migration and understand how they find their way in the vast ocean using an internal navigation system.
Resources
Featured Explorer
National Geographic Explorers are an international community of changemakers, who use the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world, while inspiring the next generation to do the same.
Other Explorer Classroom Events
Explorer Classroom
Wildlife Series 2026
Christopher John Schell, Karen Gallardo Cruz, Vishal Subramanyan
An interactive multi-week program with live virtual events and activities designed for your students to learn about wildlife globally, while inspiring action locally.
5 sessions
Grade: 3 - 8 / Age: 8 - 14
Sep 17 - Nov 12, 2026
Thursdays, 10 AM or 2 PM / ET
Exploring Our Wild Cities
Christopher John Schell | Urban Ecologist
Discover the secret lives of animals living right under our noses with urban biologist Christopher Schell.
Grade: 3 - 8 / Age: 8 - 14
Sep 17, 2026
10 AM or 2 PM / ET
Barn Owls on the Hunt
Karen Gallardo Cruz | Ecologist
Learn how Karen Gallardo Cruz uses GPS to track the hunting habits of the American barn owl–and the impacts of human noise.
Grade: 3 - 8 / Age: 8 - 14
Sep 24, 2026
10 AM or 2 PM / ET
The Bobcat in My Backyard
Vishal Subramanyan | Conservation Storyteller, Content Creator, & Wildlife Filmmaker
Meet Blondie, the bobcat that wildlife photographer Vishal Subramanyan has been documenting since he was 14 years old.
Grade: 3 - 8 / Age: 8 - 14
Oct 8, 2026
10 AM or 2 PM / ET
Miami’s BAYby Sharks
Julia Saltzman | Biologist
Explore Florida’s Biscayne Bay with Julia Saltzman, as she tracks the movements of sharks that call this coastal ecosystem home.
Grade: 3 - 8 / Age: 8 - 14
Oct 22, 2026
10 AM or 2 PM / ET
Creatures of the Dark
Iva Njunjić | Cave Biologist, Storyteller
Join cave biologist Iva Njunjić this Halloween to explore extreme environments and meet the creatures that call these places home!
Grade: 3 - 8 / Age: 8 - 14
Oct 29, 2026
10 AM or 2 PM / ET
Wildlife Series Celebration & Shark Stories
Gibbs Kuguru | Shark Scientist & Geneticist
Celebrate student ideas to protect wildlife and get shark DNA research updates from our host, Gibbs Kuguru.
Grade: 3 - 8 / Age: 8 - 14
Nov 12, 2026
10 AM or 2 PM / ET