Chosen from more than 4,000 entries nationwide to go on a trip to South Africa, National Geographic Kids magazine has selected the winners of the Hands-On Explorer Challenge. The winning photographs and essays exhibited a unique passion for discovery and exploration.

The winners include a student who unlocked the mysteries of the ocean through the Junior Lifeguard program, another who likes to explore the world and its cultures through food found at his local kosher deli. One boy traveled to China to meet his newly adopted sister, while a young conservationist helped rebuild a wood duck habitat destroyed by hurricanes. Two teachers will also join the trip as winners of the companion "Hands-On Explorer Teacher Challenge."

The expedition includes a ten-day safari through Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve and Grootbos Nature Reserve, two of South Africa's finest wildlife preserves. Sabi Sabi teems with 300 bird species and 200 animal species, including the "big five"—elephant, rhinoceros, leopard, lion, and Cape buffalo. Grootbos Nature Reserve boasts more than 650 species of indigenous plants and is home to the awesome great white shark.

This is the second annual "Hands-On Explorer Challenge," the first expedition having charted a course to the Galápagos Islands. It was the first year that teachers were invited to submit entries as part of the "Hands-On Explorer Teacher Challenge."

2007 South African "Hands-On Explorer Challenge" Expeditionary Team:

• Bridget B., 13 (Brookeville, Maryland)
• Madeleine B., 13 (Theodore, Alabama)
• Timothy C., 10 (Sadieville, Kentucky)
• Charles D., 11 (Wayzata, Minnesota)
• Joshua G., 12 (Plain City, Ohio)
• Emily H., 14 (Woolwich, Maine)
• Katie H., 11 (Las Cruces, New Mexico)
• Aric K., 13 (Edmond, Oklahoma)
• Maggie M., 13 (Elk Rapids, Michigan)
• Caitlin M., 10 (Plandome, New York)
• Meghan M., 10 (Manhattan Beach, California)
• William M., 12 (Franklin, Virginia)
• Gary O., 13 (Fairfield, Connecticut)
• Temi O., 11 (Elkridge, Maryland)
• Luke P., 13 (Highlands Ranch, Colorado)
• Brian P., 12 (Olivette, Missouri)
• Douglas R., 11 (Lockport, New York)
• Lexi R., 12 (Capistrano Beach, California)
• Jocelyn T., 12 (Saratoga, California)
• Maria T., 10 (San Marcos, Texas)
• AJ W., 10 (Versailles, Kentucky)
  

The winning teachers are Lisbeth Uribe, a third- and fourth-grade science, robotics, and geography instructor in New York City, and Joan Romine, teacher/coordinator of first through sixth grade in Lake Oswego, Oregon.