Meeting the explorers of National Geographic

Good morning, DMV. It’s Thursday, June 25.

When I was a child in the rural Midwest, National Geographic meant well-thumbed magazines in doctor offices, at friends’ homes. On our TVs, it was the majestic drum roll and trumpeting theme song.

That trademark yellow frame, the signature notes — da da da DA! da — promised adventure in faraway lands. But it seemed distant, beautiful, mysterious and locked away in those pages, on the television screen.

In my childhood, it didn’t occur to me that there was a headquarters for these expeditions. Since 1888, D.C. has been home to National Geographic’s explorers and the center of operations for their staff.

This week, I stepped into their world. I went for a preview of the new National Geographic Museum of Exploration, which opens tomorrow. My former Washington Post colleague, Michelle Jaconi, had invited me to the preview.

And explorers were there, in the flesh, in expedition uniform, with an endless supply of stories.

We started the evening in the museum’s Explorers Eatery. Bob Ballard, a National Geographic explorer best known for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, stood behind the bar, pouring and mixing cocktails.

A tall, weathered man, wearing olive green and a brimmed hat, walked toward me and Michelle near the bar. He looked as if he had just returned from an expedition. It was Steve Boyes, an explorer conserving Africa’s wilderness and recently featured in a documentary about elusive ghost elephants in Angola.

He spoke to us about the Angolan Highlands Water Tower, whose spongelike peatlands hold enough water to feed 11 major rivers of southern Africa. He opened up the June issue of National Geographic and showed us a map of this water tower.

I noticed on his left wrist what looked like dozens of yellow beaded bracelets. He told me he wore them so he had them when needed, to give as gifts.

Michelle and I meandered through the museum. We stopped to talk to Bob Ballard, who stood atop a museum exhibit piece about the Titanic and spoke of his team’s chance discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

Upstairs, we spoke with marine biologist Enric Sala, who has helped to create 29 of the largest marine reserves on the planet, covering an area of 6.9 million square kilometers.

He pulled out his phone to show us sharks he has seen on expedition and healthy coral. As he described nights spent on the boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, under a sea of stars, far from light pollution, he held out his arm and rubbed it, telling me it gave him goosebumps to talk about it.

The museum is impressive. It features hundreds of explorer objects. There are interactive displays. The exhibited photos, of course, are stunning.

But the highlight at this museum is the opportunity to meet National Geographic’s people. Beginning in July, the museum will host coffee with an explorer (every other Thursday morning, $10), drinks with an explorer (every other Tuesday night, $20) and pop up talks with an explorer (every other Friday at 12:30 p.m., included with price of museum admission).

The Museum of Exploration opens to the public tomorrow. Tickets appear to be sold out this weekend, but those of us who live here can wait until the initial buzz dies down then delve in and enjoy.

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Jennifer Cooperman, of Falls Church, Virginia, sent in this image she captured on June 8.

“I often see this heron on my morning walk that takes me by the Holmes Run pond behind the Jefferson [District] Golf Course,” Jennifer wrote in her submission. “The water was particularly still this morning, making it look like s/he had a twin.”

What are you up to this summer? Share your photos of life in the DMV here.

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