National Geographic Expeditions Announces New Family and Student Trips

Give gift of travel with new offerings from National Geographic Student and Family Expeditions and submit image to win trip in Student Photo Contest

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Give the gift of travel to your future explorer, photographer or conservationist this holiday season with a range of exciting new family and student trips from National Geographic Expeditions.

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Send your high school student into the field to explore on a hands-on student expedition in Namibia or France, or treat your whole family to an adventure that celebrates the culture, landscapes and wildlife of an amazing place like Peru or Iceland. Whether it's learning to track lions on safari with local naturalists on the Tanzania Family Adventure or monitoring manta rays and sea turtles with a National Geographic Emerging Explorer on the student expedition to South Africa and Mozambique, National Geographic Expeditions provides unique itineraries and special access to people and places, making for a meaningful and transformative travel experience.

Drawing on the Society's global resources to create experiences that are authentic, immersive and fun, National Geographic family expeditions are designed to inspire and enrich travelers of any age. On the new China Family Adventure, families will hike and raft in karst landscapes featured in "Avatar," climb watchtowers on a less-visited part of the Great Wall and join local masters to learn Chinese cooking, kung fu or traditional kite-making. On the new Iceland trip, families will go spelunking in a massive cave system formed by lava and water, explore myths and mysteries at the Icelandic Sea Monster Museum and take a dip in a "hot pot," a tub-sized natural hot spring. Other new family trips include white-water rafting through Costa Rica's tropical forest; spending time with the Maasai in their village in Tanzania; venturing into dungeons, ancient ruins and underground cities in Turkey; or exploring the mystery of Machu Picchu in Peru.

All new family trips in 2014 feature a "Kid-to-Kid Connection." Young travelers will be linked with pen pals of about the same age before the trip. After corresponding from afar, pen pals will meet in person on the trip and share cultures through games, crafts or even a cooking lesson.

National Geographic Student Expeditions are geared toward students completing 9^th through 12^th grade and include expeditions, field and photography workshops and community service programs. A series of special conservation-in-action expeditions has students working alongside scientists on conservation projects supported by National Geographic, including marine mammal preservation in Mozambique and habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest. 

In Namibia, for example, students will work with researchers in the field to create a group project using photography and video that helps raise awareness about important conservation issues.  On the new Alpine Adventure in Switzerland and France, students will go glacier-trekking, rafting and zip-lining while learning filmmaking and photography skills from National Geographic photographer and Adventurer of the Year Cory Richards. New to the lineup of photography workshops is a Prague workshop that will have students heading into the forests and medieval towns of Bohemia on photo shoots and curating their work for a public gallery opening.

National Geographic Student Expeditions offers a scholarship program that provides financial support for students seeking educational summer experiences who could not otherwise afford them. To learn more, visit ngstudentexpeditions.com/about/scholarships. To watch our newest videos and get a glimpse of a National Geographic Student Expedition, go to ngstudentexpeditions.com/video.

Student Expeditions invites high school students to enter the annual Student Photo Contest for a chance to win a spot on a photography workshop next year. Students should submit a photo and a short statement describing the photo and how it captures the essence of what exploration means to them. The grand prize is a summer 2014 photography workshop of the student's choice — in London, Paris, San Francisco or Prague — including round-trip airfare and program tuition, valued at approximately $7,000. To enter, visit ngstudentexpeditions.com/student-photo-contest.

"Travel is one of the best ways to inspire kids of any age to explore and learn — and to become global citizens," said Lynn Cutter, executive vice president for National Geographic Travel. "Creating meaningful travel experiences for families is important to us, and we're thrilled to be nearly doubling our lineup of family adventures in 2014. We're also pleased to be offering more student expeditions than ever before. We hear time and time again from our student travelers that their trip helped them discover their passion, whether it's photography or anthropology or conservation. We're looking forward to inspiring future generations!"

For a complete listing of expeditions, updates on new trips and reports from the field, visit www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com.

About National Geographic Travel
National Geographic Travel is the travel arm of the National Geographic Society, one of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations, founded in 1888. National Geographic Travel creates meaningful and engaging travel content and experiences through National Geographic Traveler magazine; National Geographic Expeditions; travel books; maps; apps; digital media; and travel photography programs. National Geographic Traveler (eight issues per year) is the world's most widely read travel magazine and has 14 international editions. It is available by subscription, on newsstands in the United States and Canada, and digitally for tablets. National Geographic Expeditions, the travel program of the Society, offers a variety of unique travel experiences led by top experts to more than 60 destinations across all seven continents. Travel opportunities include family and student expeditions, active adventures, private jet trips and voyages on the six expedition ships in the National Geographic-Lindblad fleet, as well as photography workshops, expeditions and seminars. The National Geographic Travel digital group offers inspiring and authoritative digital travel and adventure content such as trip ideas, photo galleries, blogs and apps. National Geographic Travel Books bring readers curated travel advice and inspiration. Follow National Geographic Travel on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE National Geographic Society