Partnership with Agastya Foundation explores how EXPLO curriculum can support economically disadvantaged students in rural India
We live in an era where students are consumed by checklists: taking the SATs, navigating GPAs, and designing a schedule to fit all of their extracurriculars in any given Wednesday.
How can parents ensure their kids make friends that will help them flourish and grow? Choose the right environment.
A board game can feel a lot like an entire universe resting on your kitchen table. Its rules can extend beyond the natural laws of physics, beget creatures you’ve never even dreamed of, or ask you to play the role of a character completely out of, well, character.
Running shoes and motivation. According to EXPLO New York Registrar Ariel French, these two things are all you need to transform yourself from a non-runner to a runner. You don’t need to have a sub-8-minute mile or sign up for a race — although Ariel has competed in roughly 215 in her lifetime...
We’ve pretty much all heard it. And we’ve definitely all said it. The kind of advice that’s orbited planet earth since the beginning of humankind. That simple phrase that invites you to attempt a vague, absolutely near-impossible task uttered by every parent, every friend, and every inner voice: ...
How does an interior designer navigate the world?
That was the question a cohort of EXPLO students set out to explore this summer, and thanks to a partnership with multinational home furnishings outlet IKEA, they experienced firsthand what it takes to create a space that meets a client’s vision —...
Have you ever been good at something but you had no passion for it? Straight A’s in biology but you want to spend all your free time jamming out to cover songs of AC/DC? Or, you’re the high school track star but the idea of pursuing it as a career makes you want to shrivel up and cry.
There have been plenty of times in my life where I’ve failed at something so miserably, I fear even thinking about that failure. I fear processing it. I fear navigating it. I fear even trying again. Although unhealthy, this is a common response: failure becomes an ever-churning fear conditioning...
For most of the day, your mind works in overdrive to try and solve problems for you. Brains spend their days at proverbial gyms, where they exercise potential solutions for things like work, extracurriculars, and relationships.
If you’ve ever met someone who spent their summers at sleep-away camp, you’ve likely heard all about how it was there that they forged the most influential friendships of their lives. Hard to believe, when you consider that summer is a relatively short time frame in the scope of a child’s life.
On Monday, March 25, 2019 we live-streamed an info meeting about EXPLO at Wheaton hosted by Director of Admission, Tim Watson, Head of Programs, David Torcoletti, and Director of Teaching + Learning, Kristi Jacobi.
Planning your child's summer can be a daunting task. Whether it's scheduling daily childcare, keeping their skills sharp, or fitting in the family vacation, summer is a puzzle that many parents tell us they struggle to put together. And for most of them, the goal is the same: to...
For top performing companies, CEO’s, educators, even students, terms like “continued improvement” or “growth mindset” aren’t just showy catchphrases. They're the essence of a lifelong learner, where feedback is at its core. The life benefits of specific, meaningful, and ongoing feedback allow us...
On Monday, March 18, 2019 we live-streamed an info meeting about EXPLO at Wellesley hosted by Director of Admission, Tim Watson, and Head of Programs, Elliot Targum, and Registrar, Ariel French.
Students and families tell us all the time that navigating the college admission process is one of their top concerns — and often a source of anxiety — as they enter high school. With applications to competitive colleges and universities at historic highs, it's harder than ever to stand out.
On Monday, March 11, 2019 we live-streamed an info meeting about EXPLO at Yale hosted by Director of Admission, Tim Watson, and Heads of Program, Sarah Ruter and Andy Smith.
When we are looking to improve our frame of mind, there are a few go-to’s that doctors recommend. Connections with friends can help us feel more present. Eating healthy foods can increase our emotional and physical alertness. Exercise can feel like straight up mood sorcery.
We believe the best learning often happens outside of the classroom when students are able to tackle assignments based on real world problems. Working with a variety of world-class organizations allows us to provide these opportunities to EXPLO students.
At EXPLO, we work to give students real-world experience wherever possible, allowing them to take the skills they gain in our courses and apply them to authentic projects similar to scenarios they could encounter out in the world.
According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, women comprise 48 percent of the U.S. workforce — but just 24 percent of workers in STEM fields.
Growing up, we are constantly encouraged to expand our vocabulary. We look up words we don’t know and practice implementing them in our everyday jargon. For me, it’s fun. It feels exciting to have more “tools” to use when participating in conversation or debate with someone.
So, what do you do for fun? It's a question that tends to help us get to know someone far better than any "what do you do for living" or "what's your favorite television show" would. It's also a question I see people struggle to answer all the time.Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone, helped...
The New Year brings with it much to look forward to — the prospect of new adventures on the horizon and the excitement of not quite knowing what this next cycle around the sun has in store.
But before we dash forward, we'd like to take a moment to look back on 2018 and celebrate the many...
Let’s try an exercise. I want you to think about writing a song. Any subject you like. Every instrument is available to you. Take as long as you need.
Depending on who you are, you might currently be paralyzed, with no idea where to begin. Now, what if I said that you had five minutes and a...
Thousands of students have attended the EXPLO at Yale pre-college summer program over the past 40 years, and time and again they tell us the same thing: EXPLO is where they discovered something about themselves that they never knew existed. It's where they first glimpsed their future and began in...
The most innovative ideas were born under constraints. When faced with a blank canvas, you may easily be intimidated — even paralyzed — by limitless possibilities. Given a problem to solve, however, you're much more likely to find that your creative output is multiplied.
During the Holiday season, we tend to weigh back and forth on what type of gifts we want to give. Do we want to one-click purchase something off of Amazon’s “Recommended Gift” list, or buckle down to spend an evening working with a new material and creating something entirely from scratch? Well,...
Families often ask us about what makes EXPLO at Wellesley such a transformative experience for our eighth and ninth grade students. Our resident tweenagers are fascinating people. They are in a period of figuring out who they are, trying on different identities, and fearlessly practicing being...
We live in an era where students are consumed by checklists: taking the SATs, navigating GPAs, and designing a schedule to fit all of their extracurriculars in any given Wednesday. These checklists distract students from the essence of what applying to college is supposed to be — which, at its...
Figuring out who you are and how you want to be in the world doesn't happen overnight. It's part of a lifelong exploration — a willingness to try new things, even if that's not what everyone else is doing. Our students tell us that finding yourself requires patience and flexibility: don't worry...
There’s a reason we all like to be right — and perhaps it’s more biological than you think. According to Judith Glasser from the Harvard Business Review, “in situations of high stress, fear or distrust,“ a neurotransmitter called “cortisol” floods the brain and, as a result, brain functions that...
From ghoulies, and ghosties, long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night, happy Halloween from EXPLO Studio.
More and more, we are beginning to see a rising number of adolescents who, in striving for excellence, have developed elevated levels of stress.
We wanted to take a moment to thank you, our inspiring students and families for yet another incredible summer of daring and courage.
Making new friends — at any age — can be daunting. For some of us, it’s as easy as saying hello. For others, it may take some time. We talked to our students during the summer to get their perspectives on friendship, and though approaches may vary, they all agree: friendship is essential to our...
- Yale University Professor Laurie Santos
Ph.D., delivered the keynote address to more than 300 students at EXPLO's inaugural CORE Day. Dr. Santos is the head of Silliman College, a residential college at Yale University, and has most recently been in the news for her course, "Psychology and the Good Life" — a course offered to first year Yale students that instantly became the most popular course in the University's 317-year history. Students then participated in breakout sessions to explore topics and build skills that will help them develop their strengths and interests as they prepare for college.
If you were to take inventory of the professionals in your field that you admire most, would you feel too intimidated to reach out to them? Kelly Corrigan — EXPLO parent, Writer-in-Residence, and New York Times best-selling author — says it's time you feel otherwise.
Commencement season has arrived. ‘Tis the time for inspiring speeches, advice-giving tales of caution, and everyone in a high school graduate’s extended family asking them what their plans are now that their senior year has ended.
Richard Light, distinguished professor at Harvard University, author of Making the Most of College, and founder of How To Live Wisely — a program that aims to strengthen student experiences on undergraduate campuses — discusses how taking chances helps one develop healthy habits of mind and being.
We all have experienced some version of the classic assignment of “Show-and-Tell” — hefting in family heirlooms, jars full of bugs, Pokémon cards, and prized stuffed animals onto our kindergarten desks. We’d “oooh” and “ahhh” over our neighbors' things, using our senses to learn more about each...
This week, learn about the science of thriving from Dan Lerner, Professor of NYU’s most popular elective, “Science of Happiness”, and a keynote speaker at EXPLO at Yale's CORE Day — a day dedicated to teaching students how to lead...
This week, dive into the concept of "sneaky learning" with us, a term coined by EXPLO parents, Anna and Graeme Lawrie, which gets to the heart of EXPLO's curriculum, both inside and outside of the classroom.
In this week’s Philosophy Friday, 2018 Pulitzer Prize Winner for General Nonfiction, James Forman, Jr. — a three-year EXPLO Instructor who went on to launch the Maya Angelou Charter School and is now a Yale Law Professor — discusses the importance challenging your own perspectives.
In this week’s Philosophy Friday, EXPLO and MIT Trustee, Brian Hughes discusses the value of dismantling educational silos in favor of liberal arts.
"EXPLO is one of the first places where Alison really stepped up and started advocating for others... that was for her a start in real confidence, in terms of [Alison thinking] 'This is how I should behave as a citizen of the world.'"
Christine and Brett Rogers, parents of three Exploration...
For more than 40 years, EXPLO has created remarkable teaching and learning experiences that inspire curiosity and encourage young people to embark on a lifelong journey of turning over stones, taking healthy risks, and pursuing that which they only ever imagined.
Each summer, EXPLO welcome students from more than 40 states and 70 countries to our campuses where we explore the world of people and ideas, and celebrate the differences that bring us together as a community. The above video is a comprehensive overview of EXPLO summer programs played at our Info...
As we welcome the year 2018, everyone here at EXPLO would like to wish you a new year full of exploration and adventure! We put together a short slideshow of just a handful of our fun summer moments — made all the more meaningful set to the EXPLO Alma Mater, a wonderful tune composed by our former...
We could continue to tell you all of the amazing things we love about EXPLO, but our students and alumni really tell our story best.
Paul Piff + Dacher Keltner
Why Do We Experience Awe? — New York Times Op-Ed