Explore festival
Join us from Monday 28 October for our epic celebration of geographical expeditions and fieldwork.
Attend a series of lectures and workshops during the week, and opt to attend Explore 2024 in the weekend.
Explore festival 2024
Get ready for the return of the Explore festival, kicking off from Monday 28 October, and running through to Monday 4 November. This year's festival promises to be an unforgettable experience, packed with exhilarating events and activities designed to ignite your sense of exploration!
Prepare to be captivated by two expedition-themed Monday night lectures. Sharpen your artistic skills in a hands-on workshop that will teach you how to document your adventures with creative flair. Plus, don't miss an inspiring evening where artists and geographers will come together to showcase their work, exchange ideas, and fuel your passion for exploration.
The festival reaches its peak during the flagship annual planning weekend, the Explore symposium. It all begins with a series of dynamic microlectures: Welcome Home: Postcards from the Field. These rapid-fire presentations from recent expeditions and field research projects will reveal the daring exploits and invaluable lessons learned from the farthest corners of the globe.
Browse the Explore festival events programme
- Lecture
Exploring the explorers’ maps
This talk will discuss explorers’ maps with an especial emphasis on the collaborative effort that goes into creating them, an effort that often included Indigenous peoples. It asks what stories we can and should tell with explorers’ maps? Part of the Explore festival.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Open to allMonday 28 October 2024 - Lecture
Why we travel: a journey into human motivation
Award-winning author, journalist and broadcaster Ash Bhardwaj talks about Why We Travel, his smart-thinking debut book, which explores our motivations for travel, how to do it better, and how it helps us live more fulfilling lives. Part of the Explore festival.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Members + one guestMonday 28 October 2024 - Workshop
Off-site safety management course
A must for those involved in planned visits in the UK or overseas, this course looks at the safety management issues involved in planning, managing and evaluating local visits, fieldtrips, residentials and exchanges.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Teachers29 Oct 2024 - 30 Oct 2024
- Workshop
Field journals and sketching in nature workshop
Keeping a field notebook not only strengthens our bond with the natural world but also enhances our understanding of it. Join us for this workshop where you’ll learn the essential tools and techniques for keeping a nature journal. Part of the Explore festival.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Open to allWednesday 30 October 2024 - Social
Art of exploration gathering
Join us for a dynamic and interactive evening sharing how artists around the world are using art to explore geography. Attendees will be able to explore the Society where we will have themed displays and short presentations by artist-geographers, view gallery displays of maps and polar art, and visit the bar. Part of the Explore festival.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Open to allWednesday 30 October 2024 - Lecture
Quest: Shackleton’s last ship and the end of the heroic age
John Geiger explores the gripping story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s final expedition aboard the ship Quest. John will also recount his involvement in the remarkable discovery of Quest's wreck, shedding new light on this legendary ship’s enduring legacy.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Open to allThursday 31 October 2024
- Workshop
Off-site safety management course: training the trainers
A one-day course for trainers with relevant previous experience in managing a wide range of visits in the UK and overseas who wish to deliver the Off-site safety management course to their own groups.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)TeachersThursday 31 October 2024 - Conference
Expedition and wilderness medicine: update session and celebration
Expedition medicine offers an exciting opportunity to combine your medical skills with travel, field research and exploration. This gathering is intended to share experiences and encourage best practice. This year topics will include hypothermia and avalanche rescue, restorative health and research reports on nutrition and physiology in extreme environments.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)ProfessionalsFriday 1 November 2024 - Lecture
Welcome home: postcards from the field
Short presentations from recently returned expeditions and field research projects, what they did, and lessons learned. Followed by an opportunity to meet and celebrate. Part of the Explore festival.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Open to allFriday 1 November 2024
- Conference
Explore 2024: the expedition and fieldwork symposium
Book your tickets for Explore 2024. Connect with leading field scientists and explorers and learn everything you need to make your expedition a success.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Open to all1 Nov 2024 - 3 Nov 2024 - Lecture
Hamilton Rice’s Amazon
This talk celebrates the centenary of Alexander Hamilton Rice’s final expedition to Amazonia (1924-25) which pioneered technological innovations such as the use of hydroplanes for reconnaissance, aerial photography and shortwave radio in the field. Part of the Explore festival.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Open to allMonday 4 November 2024 - Lecture
Observations from African climate change hotspots
Africa is the continent least responsible for anthropogenic climate change but is highly vulnerable to its effects. This lecture explores new fieldwork designed to uncover the science behind African climate change. Part of the Explore festival.
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)Members + one guestMonday 4 November 2024
How do I make a booking for the Explore festival?
If you would like to attend multiple events, here are instructions on how to pay for all the events together:
- Select ‘book now’ on one of the events.
- Fill in the booking details.
- Select ‘next’ and you will arrive at your cart.
- Go back to ‘Events’ (top right-hand tab) or follow this link: Explore festival 2024 to book the other events if you wish. Your cart will be saved while you do this.
- Once you have added all the events you want to the cart, you can ‘proceed to checkout’ and pay.