Welcome from National Geographic writer and Quest leader, Dan Buettner.
For at least seven centuries, exploration has always worked the same. A group of people strikes off on some far away part of the world, endures hardships, returns (or not) to tell US what was found (or not). We can hear their stories, but there's no real participation in the adventure, discovery or the fun!
Welcome to a Brave New World of Exploration. The Blue Zones Quest takes the old way of exploration and turns it on its head. For three weeks, beginning January, 29, 2007, we're going to let YOU direct a live expedition to a remote area in Central America. You will vote to tell the team where to go, how to conduct scientific exploration, how to resolve ethical and logistical decisions, and finally, how to unlock one of the most important secrets of our time.
Here's how it works. Each day during the expedition, you'll vote to direct the team. The next morning, we'll report back to you with written pieces, image galleries, and videos. Embedded in our daily content will be the lifestyle factors that may explain Costa Rica's extreme health and longevity. At the end of the Quest, we'll let you, the audience, gather up all of the evidence and rank them. Our PR team will then make sure this finding makes national news and YOU will be cited as the author.
For educators, we've created an offering that helps teachers use the live expedition to meet national standards in Social Studies, Language Arts, Science and Health. The Blue Zones Challenge empowers students to take charge of their own health—and teach their parents while they're at it.
The action all starts back here on January 29th. So log in, vote, and participate in the expedition. What you discover may just add good years to your life.
