Richard Wiese facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Wiese
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Richard Wiese
July 13, 1959 Long Island, New York, United States
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| Occupation | Explorer, host, producer, author |
Richard Wiese (born July 13, 1959) is an American explorer. He is the President of The Explorers Club and the host and producer of the TV show Born to Explore. This show has won many awards, including Emmy Awards.
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Early Life and Learning
Richard Wiese was born on Long Island, New York. His father, Richard Wiese Sr., was famous for being the first person to fly alone across the Pacific Ocean. Richard started exploring at a young age. He first climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania when he was just 11 years old!
He went to St. Anthony's High School and then to Brown University. At Brown, he studied Geology (the study of Earth's rocks and soil) and Biology (the study of living things). He also studied how the body works at Columbia University and learned about weather at the USDA.
Amazing Adventures and Discoveries
Richard Wiese has been on many exciting trips around the world.
- When he was a teenager in 1977, he helped build the first artificial reef in the Long Island Sound. This helped create new homes for sea creatures.
- He worked in the Yucatán jungle in Mexico, where he helped put special collars on jaguars to track them.
- He climbed a volcano in Tanzania called Ol Doinyo Lengai to collect samples.
- He also went on two trips to Antarctica to study glaciers. He took ice cores from the glaciers to learn about Earth's climate history.
Exploring Central Park
In 2006, Richard helped find 202 new kinds of tiny living things in Central Park in New York City. This was part of the first study of its kind in the park. He also started the Central Park "Bio Blitz." This is a special event where scientists and volunteers try to find and list all the living things in the park in just 24 hours!
More Incredible Journeys
During the same time, Richard joined a medical team on Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. He also skied all the way across the North Pole. In 2004, he was part of a team that explored Yeronisos island in Cyprus. They were looking for ancient ruins, possibly the birthplace of Caesarion, who was the son of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.
In 2009, Richard led another trip to Mount Kilimanjaro. This time, he was looking for new and unusual life forms in the Ngorongoro Crater. His team discovered 29 new species! On this trip, they also put the first weather station on Kilimanjaro's slopes. This station helps scientists understand how global warming is affecting the mountain.
In 2020, Richard traveled to the Yukon in Canada with Prince Albert of Monaco. They followed the path of an old expedition from 1934, exploring the wild sub-arctic area.
Leading The Explorers Club
In 2002, Richard Wiese became the youngest president ever of The Explorers Club. This club is a famous group for explorers and scientists. He has been elected president seven times, more than anyone else in the club's 118-year history!
As president, he helped the club work with big companies like Rolex and Microsoft. He also started the Global Exploration Summit in Portugal, which is a big meeting for explorers from all over the world.
Richard also created "The Explorers Club 50," which highlights 50 people who are making a big difference in the world. He also started the club's first program to make sure everyone feels welcome and included. In 2019, he was invited to speak at the United Nations about global climate change.
On Television and in Movies
Richard Wiese is well-known for his work on television.
Television Shows
His most famous show is Born to Explore with Richard Wiese. This show taught viewers about different places and cultures. It aired on ABC stations in the United States from 2011 to 2016. Later, it also showed on PBS stations.
The show won many awards:
- In 2012, Richard won the Cronkite Award for his excellent exploration and journalism. The show was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award.
- In 2013, Born to Explore won a Daytime Emmy for its amazing camera work.
- It continued to receive many Emmy nominations in 2014, 2015, and 2016, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Sound Mixing in 2015.
- The show also received the Parents' Choice Gold Award for teens, the CINE Golden Eagle, and many Telly awards.
The production team filmed in many exciting places, including Botswana, Uganda, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Hawaii, Chile, Cyprus, South Africa, India, and many states across the United States.
From 2018 to 2019, Richard also hosted a show called Weekend With Yankee on PBS.
Other TV and Film Work
Richard has appeared in a few movies, including Endless Love (1981) and Club Paradise (1986). He also hosted other TV shows like Exploration with Richard Wiese and Hell on Earth. Sometimes, he even appeared in funny skits on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s.
In the News and Books
Richard Wiese has been featured in many popular magazines and newspapers. He has appeared on TV shows like Late Night with Craig Ferguson, CNN, and Good Morning America. You might have seen him in USA Today, The New York Times, People magazine, or National Geographic.
He is also an author. In 2009, he wrote a guidebook called Born to Explore: How to Be a Backyard Adventurer. This book encourages everyone to find adventure close to home.
Awards and Recognition
Richard Wiese has received many honors for his work:
- In 2006, the American Museum of Natural History named him an 'Explorer in Residence'.
- He was honored at the Boy Scout National Jamboree in 2005, where he spoke to 90,000 people. A camp was even named after him!
- He received a Special Lifetime Achievement Award from the Science Museum of Long Island.
- As a journalist, he has won multiple Emmy Awards, a Genesis Award, and other honors for his environmental and wildlife campaigns.
About His Life
Richard Wiese lives in Weston, Connecticut, with his wife and their three children.
