Last Friday saw the grand opening of the National Geographic Museum of Exploration, or MOE, in Washington, D.C. The $300 million project spans 100,000 square feet, and invites visitors to be engaged in 138 years of human exploration. Built on the site of the previous National Geographic Museum, the new museum opened after four years of construction expand the site from 16,800 square feet to its current, larger scale.
The museum’s mission is to “inspire the explorer in every visitor,” says Emily Dunham, the National Geographic Society’s chief campus and experiences officer. Large outdoor projection screens, a 400-seat theater, a massive photo archive, and gear from National Geographic fieldwork are just a few of the exhibits housed by the new museum.
“Every visitor who enters these doors is invited to see the world as our Explorers do: alive with wonder, urgency and possibility,” Tiefenthaler says.
