"Carrying the Flag: The Explorers Club, Flag 83 & the Evolution of Exploration"

An Environmental Studies senior thesis presentation by Elliote Muir ‘2025.5 Environmental Writing major.

“Carrying the Flag: The Explorers Club, Flag 83 & the Evolution of Exploration.” This project examines the evolution of The Explorers Club, a private club headquartered in New York City dedicated to furthering global exploration. The Club’s members have been the first to the North and South Poles, the highest and lowest points on Earth, and to walk on the Moon. Founded in 1904, the Club endorsed a style of exploration that centered male heroes and their daring conquests of the natural world. Now, in 2025, the Club is poised to be a global leader in finding creative, inclusive, and multidisciplinary solutions to the myriad climate and conservation challenges that face our world. This project seeks to understand how The Explorers Club evolved from its origins to its present, how the definition of exploration has evolved, and who gets to be an explorer in 2025.