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PBS Learning Media

Illustration of explorer Hernando de Soto in silver armor superimposed over an old-style map of Florida and other Caribbean islands. Caption. Hernando de Soto explored, conquered.
World Explorers
Episode 11
4 minutes 43 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Illustration of the islands of the Caribbean. Haiti and the Dominican Republic highlighted. Caption: Cortés lived on the island for six years.
World Explorers
Episode 10
5 minutes 37 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Painting of a man with a dark mustache and forked beard wearing a gray turban and red and gold tunic sitting cross-legged. Images of animals on circles form a floating circle around him. Caption. Battuta would travel to even more distant lands.
World Explorers
Episode 1
4 minutes 21 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Sepia-tone sketch of explorer John Cabot with Shakespeare-era hat and forked white beard. He is superimposed over an old-style map of the globe. Caption. Caboto decided to also try to find a westerly route to Asia.
World Explorers
Episode 5
4 minutes 23 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Sepia-tone sketch of explorer John Smith with a fluffy beard, big white collar, and leather coat, superimposed over a red and tan map of the Northeast United States. Caption. He explored and mapped the Chesapeake Bay.
World Explorers
Episode 20
4 minutes 44 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Ruins of a building made of limestone bricks with greenery in the front. The left of the building has a arch with a cross and 4 small windows with iron bells. Caption. Serra founded 9 missions to convert Native Americans.
World Explorers
Episode 22
4 minutes 14 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Sepia-tone map with a label in Gothic-style text that reads, "A Map of Lewis and Clark's Track," with other illegible text underneath. Caption. Mapping the territory and discovering its resources.
World Explorers
Episode 23
6 minutes 4 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Color illustration of a lazy river between rolling hills covered in trees in reds, yellow, and oranges. Caption. Marquette had heard about the great river.
World Explorers
Episode 27
3 minutes 48 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Illustration of Marco Polo wearing red coat and furry cap holding a sword and bow and arrow. His image is superimposed over a color map with a compass rose and Gothic-style text, enclosed by elaborate patterned border. Caption. Marco Polo returned with amazing tales.
World Explorers
Episode 3
5 minutes 23 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Black and white closeup image of explorers Matthew Henson on the left and Robert Peary on the right. Both are wearing fur-lined hoods and furry coats. Caption. Became the first 2 people to reach the top of the world.
World Explorers
Episode 25
5 minutes 8 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Person in a space suit with the helmet removed, the moon in the background. Caption: Neil Alden Armstrong commanded a mission to the moon
World Explorers
Episode 28
5 minutes 59 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Sepia-tone sketch of 3 conquistadors in armor carrying a wounded soldier over a dead soldier. 2 wooden gun stocks are on each side of the screen. Caption. Ponce de León was wounded in the battle.
World Explorers
Episode 9
4 minutes 54 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Sepia-tone sketch of explorer Robert de La Salle in a colonial-style uniform taking a fur from a Native American while 2 other colonists smoke pipes and watch. Caption. La Salle established himself as a fur trader in Montréal.
World Explorers
Episode 21
4 minutes 32 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Brown and tan map of the Northeast United States, including the Great Lakes, with a portion highlighted in blue and labeled, "New France." Caption. Samuel de Champlain secured France's piece of the New World.
World Explorers
Episode 19
4 minutes 12 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Black and white sketch of 3 conquistadors in uniform looking at a man in wide-brimmed hat and fancy coat gesturing toward a sign that reads, "Croatoan." Caption. To this day, their disappearance remains a mystery.
World Explorers
Episode 16
5 minutes 4 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Painting of a man wearing a dark velvet hat and a red velvet vest over a jacket with puffy sleeves. An old-style map of western Africa is under yellow text on the screen and reads, "Vasco da Gama." Caption. Was the first person to sail from Europe to India.
World Explorers
Episode 6
4 minutes 31 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Computer rendering of explorer Zheng He wearing a black bonnet-style hat and red cloak. He is superimposed over a colorful map with Chinese writing. Caption. Assembled the largest fleet of ships ever seen.
World Explorers
Episode 4
4 minutes 34 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
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