Category: Events

In July 1881, Lt. A.W. Greely, the first president of The Explorers Club, and his crew of 24 scientists and explorers were bound for the last region unmarked on global maps. Their goal: Farthest North. What would follow was one of the most extraordinary and terrible voyages ever made. Greely and his men confronted every possible…

In summer 2020, Tez Steinberg of Boulder took social distancing to the extreme by spending 71 days on the Pacific Ocean alone, rowing solo and self-supported from California to Hawaii. Called the United World Challenge, it was a collaborative mission to raise scholarships to United World Colleges, help protect our oceans, and inspire others. And…

Come hear Club member Chris Nicola’s presentation on how five Jewish families survived the Holocaust by taking refuge in a Ukrainian cave in excess of 500 days. Chris describes how he spent ten years developing a story, which he had first heard as a rumor, of how a group of 38 Jews survived the Holocaust…

George Frandsen has heard all the jokes from people amused by his passion for collecting fossilized dinosaur excrement – ancient poo if you will. The 41-year-old from Jacksonville, Florida, who started collecting at age 19, holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest collection of coprolites, the scientific name for fossilized poo. The word comes…

 In 2002, the Joola, a government-owned Senegalese ferry, capsized off the coast of The Gambia in a tragedy that killed approximately 1,863 people, leaving only 64 survivors. The Joola is recognized as the second worst maritime disaster in peacetime history yet few people are aware of this event and how it shaped the lives of Senegalese people.   Karen will…

We can’t live our entire lives on Zoom. Sometimes explorers have to get out and, well, explore a bit. Masked up and socially distant, of course. Join us to learn how prairie dogs, specifically the black tailed prairie dog of the Great Plains, have been systematically persecuted by western land holders and governments starting in…

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the largest ice-free region of Antarctica.  They were first discovered by Robert F. Scott’s party in the early 1900’s, and have since become an important scientific resource for research on fundamental life sciences, geology, and extraterrestrial studies. Dr. Gooseff has been conducting research in the Dry Valleys since 1998 and…

John Huston is a professional polar explorer and veteran of the first American unsupported expedition to the North Pole. He has completed major expeditions to the South Pole, on Greenland, and to Canada’s fabled Ellesmere Island.   He began his career as an instructor and sled dog trainer at the Voyageur Outward Bound School in northern Minnesota’s…

This month as the Rocky Mountain chapter continues its COVID-era online meetings, we’re pleased that Mark Armstrong is available to discuss how the Armstrong family is maintaining their father’s legacy, and the continued importance of space exploration, especially now when reliance in science could potentially cure some of the world’s most pressing ills.  Mark is…

Can bees fight against elephant stampedes? What’s being done about poaching rhinos? Come join us for a fascinating evening with Dave Johnson, a zookeeper at the Denver Zoo who has been on the pachyderm team for 22 years. Dave has written three children’s books about animals and travels the world with a non-profit he founded…

Paul Dye retired from NASA in 2013 as a Lead Flight Director for Human Spaceflight after serving as flight Director for nearly 20 years on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. His forthcoming book, Shuttle Houston: My Life, in the Center Seat of Mission Control (Hachette Books, 2020), tells the stories of those years flying human…

“Adventure Freediving – Trail Blazing, Conservation, and Working Underwater, a presentation by Mehgan Heaney-Grier, a lifelong ocean adventurer with more than 20 years experience working above and below the waterline. In 1996, Mehgan pioneered the sport of freediving in the United States by establishing the first U.S. freedive record for both men and women, in the constant…

“Unknown Waters: A First-Hand Account of the Historic Under-Ice Survey of the Siberian Continental Shelf by USS Queenfish (SSN 651)” presentation by Alfred Scott McLaren, Captain, USN (Ret.), Ph.D., MED ’71.  Dr. McLaren is a retired U.S. Navy Captain, recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal and two Legions of Merit, President Emeritus of The Explorers Club,…

Gregg Treinish founded Adventure Scientists in 2011 to get scientists the data they need to create lasting, positive changes for the environment by harnessing the skills and passion of the outdoor community. Join him as he relives the grueling adventures and insights that led to the founding of this nonprofit based in Bozeman, Montana, and discover his…

Presented by chapter member, Preston Sewell. Location: Colorado Chautauqua in Boulder, 6:30 PM. $12 admission. For more information and to RSVP: https://www.chautauqua.com/portfolio/using-archaeology-for-conservation-in-the-peruvian-andes Using his background in science, photography, and mountaineering, Preston Sowell has been conducting research expeditions to study high-altitude ecosystems and environmental responses to climate change in the South American Andes for over 15…

It is our privilege to host a dinner presentation by Tom Hames of the Tenth Mountain Division Foundation. His talk is titled “Skiing Off to War, an Overview of the 10th Mountain Division and Camp Hale.” Tom is the Chairman Emeritus of the Tenth Mountain Foundation and the son of a WWII 10th Mountain soldier.…

Rocky Mountain chapter members broke out their polar expedition gear on Nov. 1, 2019, to visit the National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility in Denver, the world’s largest such facility which stores, curates and studies ice cores recovered from the planet’s polar ice sheets. Over 21,000 meters (about 13 miles) of core samples are stored…

Join us for a private tour of the National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF). Formerly the National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL), the facility stores, curates, and studies meteoric ice cores recovered from the glaciated regions of the world. NSF-ICF provides scientists with the capability to conduct examinations and measurements on ice cores, and it preserves…

Chamberlin Observatory is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was renovated in 2008 by the University of Denver with the support of a Historic Colorado grant, the Observatory Park community, and the Denver Astronomical Society. The $15 fee for both members and guests includes a small donation to the chapter.

The chapter travels to Montrose for a tour of the Shavano Valley Petroglyph Park and a fascinating talk by Kelvin Kent, a member of Chris Bonington’s British teams for Annapurna (1970) and Everest (1972). In 1971, he was deputy leader of the British Trans-Americas Expedition which took two Range Rovers from Anchorage to Terra Del Fuego in…