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World Explorers

World Explorers

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Some sailed across the Atlantic, while others rocketed to the moon. Learn more about the lives and journeys of some of history's greatest explorers.

ASL
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
ASL
Dark gray statues of vikings, Erik the Red and Leif Erikson, superimposed over a parchment-colored old-style map of Western Europe, Iceland, and Greenland. Caption. Erik the Red and his son, Leif Erikson.
World Explorers
Episode 2
4 minutes 49 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
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
ASL
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
ASL
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
ASL
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
ASL
Painting of Christopher Columbus wearing a triangle hat and a large, dark cloak on the left. He is superimposed over a map of the globe drawn in maroon. Caption. Many Americans honor the feats of Christopher Columbus.
World Explorers
Episode 7
4 minutes 47 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
Painting of explorer Amerigo Vespucci holding a large golden drawing compass on a map on a wood table. An illustration of a ship with a dark sky and a compass rose are in the background. Caption. Securing a position as a mapmaker and astronomer.
World Explorers
Episode 8
4 minutes 24 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
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
ASL
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
ASL
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
ASL
Illustration of explorer Ferdinand Magellan leaning over a desk writing in a large book with his right hand. He is looking at a golden ball that he's holding up with his left hand. Caption. Magellan was born to a noble Portuguese family around 1480.
World Explorers
Episode 12
5 minutes 7 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
Sepia-tone sketch of the upper half of explore Francisco Pizarro with a long beard. He's wearing a metal helmet with several large feathers and a cloak looking at a trunk of a tree. Caption. The Pizarros overthrew the Inca Empire.
World Explorers
Episode 13
5 minutes 57 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
Color illustration of explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado wearing a big golden helmet and white ruffled collar. A map is in the background, along with a gold city outline. Caption. Seeking fabled golden cities.
World Explorers
Episode 14
4 minutes 45 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
Color illustration of Sir Francis Drake with a large ruffled collar and black cloak next to a globe on a table. An illustration of many large ships with sailboats is in the background. Caption. Drake successfully raided Spanish ships and harbors.
World Explorers
Episode 15
4 minutes 49 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
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
ASL
Simple map showing northwestern Europe, Iceland, and Greenland in tan, the Atlantic Ocean in light blue, and a red line depicting a sailing route out of London going north. Caption. Hudson sailed northward, toward Greenland.
World Explorers
Episode 17
4 minutes 29 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
Sepia-tone sketch of white-haired Daniel Boone holding a shotgun on his left while looking right, superimposed over a photo of tree-covered hills on a foggy day. Caption. Known as 'The Great Pathfinder.'
World Explorers
Episode 18
4 minutes 18 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
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
ASL
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
ASL
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
ASL
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
ASL
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
ASL
Sepia-tone image of explorer Gertrude Bell superimposed on the left side of a faint image of a sandstone ruin amongst sand dunes. Caption. Explored the desert lands of sultans and sheikhs.
World Explorers
Episode 24
4 minutes 23 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
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
ASL
Person against a backdrop of the moon, earth, and an American flag. Caption: (female narrator) Alan Shephard, the first American in space,
World Explorers
Episode 26
5 minutes 21 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
ASL
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
ASL
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
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