Bringing Marco Polo to Life - A Unique Educational Curriculum

When Denis Belliveau is teaching kids about Marco Polo, he is in his element. He brings history to life through his groundbreaking educational curriculum he lovingly calls his "Explorer-in-Residence" program. The "Silk Road Subway Tour" is just one of the many interdisciplinary modules from his critically acclaimed program. Here Denis takes students on a No. 7 train ride through Queens, New York's most diverse borough, stopping at restaurants, temples and vibrant markets, in neighborhoods that mirror Polo's trip, exposing students to a taste of life in these far away lands.

Belliveau spent two years retracing Marco Polo's entire 25,000 mile land and sea route from Venice to China and back. Surviving a deadly firefight in Afghanistan, crossing the desert in a camel caravan, and mingling with native Mongols and tattooed tribes in Indonesia, his journey, part travelogue, part history trek, inspired the book and movie "In the Footsteps of Marco Polo." The PBS documentary was nominated for an Emmy and has been used as the basis for his unique Explorer-in-residence (EIR) curriculum that transports audiences on a remarkable journey through time, history and the rich tapestry of cultures along the fabled SILK Road. Presented at hundreds of schools nationwide, Belliveau's program hones essential 21st Century survival skills of analysis, weighing evidence, reasoning and problem solving through its mix of project based learning, critical thinking exercises and out of the classroom tours. Offering students unlimited potential for discovery and growth in the humanities and STEAM skills, Belliveau's unmatched authenticity provides an inspirational, living narrative for building knowledge and expanding worldviews, underscored by his profound message that through passion, hard work and perseverance, even the seemingly impossible, becomes possible. Gardner Dunnan of Avenues: The World School describes Belliveau as "One of the best scholars-in-residence I have come across in 40 years of administering in public and private schools" while Marjorie Mandell of Trinity School states "Our speaker list has included Vice President Al Gore, former Poet Laureate Billy Collins, scientists, artists and politicians ... that said I don't think I have ever seen the students quite that engaged... the kids and teachers are clamoring to have you back again."

For more information on the EIR program visit http://thestepsofpolo.org/about/about-the-explorer-in-residence-program/.

Denis was born in NYC and attended The High School of Art and Design and the School of Visual Arts. Raised Catholic, he was inspired to follow his passion for art and travel by his uncle, Father Paul Belliveau, a Maryknoll missionary.

A photographer, author and explorer whose travels have taken him to 80 countries his work has been widely published in Photographic Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine and BBC's Planet Earth. He is the recipient of numerous professional photographers awards including Eastman Kodak's highest honor, The Gallery Award.

A technical scuba diver with over 600 dives on the Mesoamerican Reef, his underwater photography helped create the definitive map for the island of Cozumel, Mexico.

In 1996 he was inducted into the renowned Explorers Club and in 2008 earned an Emmy nomination for writing and directing his PBS film "In The Footsteps of Marco Polo." as well as receiving numerous awards for writing and photographing the PBS companion book published by Rowman and Littlefield.

Denis is a distinguished guest speaker at schools, colleges and universities nationwide as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian, The Cosmos Club, The Geographical Society of Philadelphia and the United Nations.

Denis is CEO of the Foundation for Historical Exploration a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the design and implementation of live talks and inspirational curricula activities based on historic expeditions that have been replicated in modern times.

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