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THE MAGELLAN CIRCLE

PRESERVING THE PAST … CHARTING THE FUTURE

  
 

BECOME A MAGELLAN CIRCLE MEMBER

Since 1891 Geographical Society members have connected with an intriguing world of distinguished explorers, filmmakers, photographers, and scientists. Now, to extend that rich heritage into the future, the Society offers an important membership level - the Magellan Circle, inspired by Ferdinand Magellan's 1519-1521 expedition, the first to circumnavigate the globe.

 

Magellan Circle members enjoy intimate evenings with authors and achievers, exclusive behind-the-scenes tours, the Magellan Dinner, pre-program receptions, and the opportunity to help select Geographical Society award recipients.

 

Please join us as a member of the Magellan Circle. Enjoy special activities and benefits, and have the satisfaction of knowing that you are directly contributing to the lasting impact of the Geographical Society.

MAGELLAN CIRCLE MEMBER BENEFITS

All member benefits plus:

 

  • Free tickets to full series of 8 programs
  • Exclusive Magellan Circle Lapel Pin
  • Admission to 6 exclusive Magellan Circle events
  • Tax deduction for a portion of your dues

 

The 6 exclusive events include events include behind-the-scene tours, meet the speakers, and dinners (at no additional charge except Magellan Dinner).

 

EXCLUSIVE MAGELLAN CIRCLE MEMBER EVENTS

(Invitations will be mailed to Circle members.)

 

Franklin Institute Roof Terrace

September 15, 2010. Open the Season AT THE TOP - on the Franklin Institute’s Roof Terrace overlooking the Parkway

 

After an elegant reception enjoy a private screening of National Geographic’s new film The Wildest Dream which captures one of history’s great feats of mountaineer-ing. It tells the gripping story of George Mallory and the modern climbers who follow his path, seeking to solve the enduring mystery of his last ascent of Mt. Everest in 1924.

 

November 6, 2010. Into the Masonic Temple Archives

 

Go behind the scenes at the Masonic Temple with a private tour and unveiling of its historic archives by the Curator of the Masonic Library and Museum, which includes letters signed by George Washington. See spectacular spaces such as the Egyptian Room. Continental Breakfast included!
Three Polar Stars
Amundsen - Shackleton - Peary
photo by William H. Rau, Philadelphia
~
“A notable Geographical Society of Philadelphia event on January 16, 1913, brought together ‘The Three Polar Stars’ when Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, fresh from his discovery of the South Pole, lectured before the Society and was introduced by Admiral Robert E. Peary, who discovered the North Pole in 1909, with a tribute by Sir Ernest H. Shackleton, who in 1907-08 ‘blazed the way in the Far South for Amundsen and Scott.’”
- from The History of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia 1891-1960 by Marie Peary Stafford.
~
William H. Rau was Philadelphia’s preeminent photographer in the 1890s. Society correspondence shows that he helped to prepare Robert Peary’s pictures from the North Pole, and his colorist worked on Peary’s slides for his presentation for the Society in the Academy of Music. Among other assignments, Rau was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Railroad to take hundreds of photographs along its routes in order to promote travel on the railway to the general public.
Society Logo designed by artist Cecilia Beaux
Henry Grier Bryant portrait
 
 

November 17, 2010. French wine Tasting and Buffet

 

Discuss French culture and wines with Mary Lee and Sid Nolan before their film program, Wine Regions of France. Enjoy selections of the wines of France while savoring a themed buffet dinner at the Academy of Natural Sciences before the evening performance.

 

December 8, 2010. Behind the Scenes at the Rosenbach Museum and Library

 

Rosenbach Museum and Library

Join the Rosenbach’s Director for a tour through the elegant rooms in its 19th century Delancey Place townhouses. See a display of the rare travel collection as well as their fine art and decorative arts collections. Of special interest to us is Tourists and Their Travels which features how people traveled in 19th-century America and covers the experiences of gold rush emigrants, settlers, soldiers, Indians, and European tourists. See what they left behind: maps, advertisements, broadsides, letters home, guidebooks, and scrap books, and learn where they went and what they saw. A wine reception will follow.

 

February 2, 2011. Magellan Dinner - Travels in Syria, Lebanon & Jordan

 

Share sights and insights with photographer Tom Tauber. See dramatic images of Petra, Damascus, Crusader castles, Roman ruins, mosques, souks, and street scenes. Then enjoy a themed dinner at Fez Restaurant in Society Hill, with its fabric covered walls, carpeted floors, and aromas of exotic spices as Lebanese chefs prepare a delicious dinner. Program free - Dinner charge.

 

  
 
 
 

 

March 10, 2011. Chinese Feast

 

Join Himalayan Region explorers and photographers Ryan Pyle and Brandon Zatt prior to their evening presentation Report from the Remote Corners of China. Dine with them at the Asia on the Parkway restaurant two blocks from the Academy of Natural Sciences.

  
 

 

other past magellan circle programs

 

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