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The Explorers Club is exactly what it sounds like: a members-only institution, established more than a century ago, and dedicated to scientific inquiry. Many of those admitted — there are currently 3,500 members — have touched upon uncharted territories, and all are active in the field of science research. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were part of the club, as was Thor Heyerdahl. Recently, Elon Musk joined.

For 115 years, members have gathered annually for a weekend of science and a black-tie dinner at the New York headquarters, on the Upper East Side. The most recent event, held on March 16, featured 10 astronauts who were part of the Apollo program and an auction where attendees could bid on joining a world-renowned paleontologist on a dinosaur fossil dig.

The weekend of science also introduced something new: The club let its youngest members, some still undergraduates in college, present their initiatives.

There was Alex Borowicz, a Ph.D. candidate at Stony Brook University, who uses high-resolution satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to track whales. “It used to be that people had to go on a boat with binoculars to do that,” he said, during his presentation. “I do it from my couch.”