NATIONAL Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions has introduced its ‘Explorers in Training’ immersive kids and teens program, which will be offered on select cruises.
The line’s youth engagement program, formerly known as National Geographic Global Explorers, has been updated and expanded, and will roll out on voyages most popular with families, in destinations such as Alaska, Antarctica, Baja California, Iceland, and the Galapagos Islands.
Participants will engage in hands-on activities designed to inspire curiosity and environmental stewardship, such as learning to drive a Zodiac, collecting plankton, logging wildlife sightings, and more.
Each young traveller will receive a region-specific field notebook to fill with details on their discoveries during activities, onboard experiments, and games.
Programs will be led by a certified field educator, and supported by expert staff, including National Geographic photography experts, undersea specialists, and naturalists.
Each participant will earn a patch and certificate celebrating their achievements at the expedition’s end.
Vice President Lesa Bain told travelBulletin Lindblad has been seeing more multigenerational families since the COVID-19 pandemic, which encouraged the line to rethink its youth program.
“It’s designed so that it’s a shared family experience,” she explained to tB.
“We’ve always had family focus, and I think coming out of COVID that’s even bigger, because families want to be together, they realise that they lost time.”
Chief Executive Officer Natalya Leahy added Lindblad is committed to delivering exceptional enrichment to every guest at every age.
“We see more and more multigenerational families travelling with us every year, and our expanded National Geographic Explorers-in-Training program is designed to be an engaging educational experience for our young explorers,” she said.
“It is not your standard ‘kids club,’ it is a highly acclaimed, age-appropriate expedition program for young travellers – and this new name better reflects its essence and our mission.”
