The National Geographic Magazine is published by the National Geographic Society, which describes itself as a nonprofit scientific and educational association. The magazine is published monthly; and is a unique publication with high standards of writing, photography, and graphics. The 7 X 10 inch size, for a format, along with the photographs, makes it different from any other scientific publication, for both those interested in science and the experts. The writing is somewhat sophisticated; I typed a side-bar description of a photograph into my word-processing program. The caption contains 131 words and is written at the 12th grade Kincaid reading level. However, the writing makes the topics understandable to those who are not scientists. There is something to learn, even if one looks at just the photographs and reads the captions. The Society also publishes companion magazines for children.
Inside the magazine, the reader will find about 5 detailed topics that cover, not only geography, but earth science, anthropology, world cultures, wildlife, and molecular biology; just to name a few. Often, included with the magazine, is a detailed and accurate map that provides a companion guide to a topic in the magazine.
My first memory of National Geographic is my use of it to produce presentation to my high school biology class on the Dr. Louis Leakey’s discovery, in Africa, of early human tool use. My favorite issues include September 2001 issue on The Evolution of Whales, the January 2006 issue on the descendants of millions Irish men from one king, and the June 1985 issue that contains articles on Great Salt Lake: The Flooding Desert (I studied the marshes near the lake), U.S. Mexican Border: Life on the Line, Java’s Wildlife Returns, Along Afghanistan’s War-torn Frontier, Fair Skies for the Cayman Islands. The president of the National Geographic Society, Gilbert H. Grosvenor writes about the magazine receiving an award from Kappa Delta Pi as “Educator of the Year,” and the back page has a short follow-up story, with pictures, about Koko the gorilla receiving a new pet kitten, and Dr. Francine Patterson’s work with teaching Koko American Sign Language. The articles and pictures are inspirational for learning and also document important human events in the world.
