Jill Hienerth Presents 'Explorations in Excellence'

Kingsbury Hall

This spring, join the Natural History Museum of Utah as we explore the water that shapes our planet and connects all living things during the 2025 Lecture Series, PLANET WATER: Exploring a Vital Resource.

Water drives exploration, inspires wonder, and holds the key to understanding Earth's past, present, and future. This year's speaker lineup presents a vanguard of explorers and researchers studying water in its many forms on our world and beyond—from the depths of the ocean to the shallows of the Great Salt Lake, and from desert oases to the frozen waters of distant planets.

This year’s Lecture Series theme is inspired by the Museum’s current special exhibition, Orcas: Our Shared Future, and will connect the dots between marine life, global water systems, and humanity's future.

On April 22, join us for an unforgettable evening with Jill Heinerth as she presents Explorations in Excellence: More people have walked on the moon than have been to the places Jill Heinerth has explored right here on earth. Instead of following maps, she has blazed a trail into the planet exploring lava tubes beneath the ocean floor, submerged caves inside icebergs, and the deepest recesses of the world’s oceans.

Heinerth’s dynamic multimedia presentation will inspire audiences to reach beyond their limitations, challenge the unknown, and overcome their fears. She shares remarkable experiences and lessons learned in the deadly arena of extreme underwater exploration and adventure filmmaking, applying her practical knowledge to share lessons on risk management, discovery learning, failure, and collaboration strategies.