discovery and exploration

Provides information about the Polynesians who migrated in canoes from Asia to the islands of the Pacific Ocean, and looks at the adventures of sixteenth and seventeenth-century explorers in the South Pacific.

Examines the explorations of Juan Ponce de Leon and other Spanish conquistadors in Florida and the southwestern region of what is now the United States, and discusses the founding of St. Augustine by Pedro Menendez de Aviles.

Examines the accomplishments of European adventurers who, spurred by Christopher Columbus's accidental "discovery" of America, set out to explore the continents of the New World.

Tells the stories of some of the men who were among the first to explore and map the American West in the early nineteenth century, paving the way for westward expansion by the United States.

Provides information about the lives and activities of some of the early explorers of the American frontier, including Daniel Boone, William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, Zebulon Pike, and others.

Discusses the sixteenth-century exploration of California's coast, including the adventures of such Spanish explorers as Cortes, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and Sebastian Vizcaino, as well as Englishman Sir Francis Drake.

Examines the history of polar exploration and the adventures of some polar explorers.

Discusses the history of Columbus Day, describes how it is celebrated, and includes a related song, activity, and recipe.

Provides a history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, including excerpts from journals that Lewis and Clark kept during the journey, and describes how historical documents such as these can be restored and preserved.

Examines the lives and accomplishments of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, discussing their early years in late eighteenth-century America, and telling of their grand exploration of the country's expanding frontier on a mission for President Thomas Jefferson.