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Explorers are curious and adventurous people who have travelled to new and unknown places all around the world. Unafraid of taking risks, they have often gone on journeys that have been very dangerous. In doing so, they have made many awesome discoveries and achieved many great things that no one else had ever done before. Without the explorers of the past, the world would be very different today. As you will soon see, many explorers made scientific breakthroughs and changed the way we think. They also discovered new lands, brought different communities into contact with one another and influenced how countries evolved. Past explorers created maps as well. They also discovered treasure, filling their boats with many things that they believed would earn them their fortune, from glistening gold goodies…

Many explorers past and present have made discoveries that tell us lots about the world. When Europeans came across lands they had never seen before, they would map the coastlines, describe coastal features and share information about the geography of the countries and the continents they had discovered. They would also create nautical maps that allowed other seafarers to work out where they were going when travelling across the oceans. Explorers understood how winds, ocean currents and general weather would affect a journey. They could also share information about their trips and the discoveries they were making. James Cook proved to be a pioneer because he took scientists on board his ships. But discoveries have been made by explorers on land too: when Alexander von Humboldt climbed an inactive volcano…

WORD SCRAMBLE Unscramble the words, then use the highlighted letters to form a phrase spoken by explorer Edmund Hillary. 1 OURGCAE 2 SCPMAOS 3 SIYDCVEOR 4 ADNL 5 IAGNOTINAV 6 EPRENISO 7 SATREERU 8 QTENCSUO ANSWERS: ‘Good planning is important’ WATER WAY TO TRAVEL! Humans can’t drink seawater because it contains too much salt. If you do drink it, your kidneys will not be able to produce enough urine to flush the salt away. Instead, your body will try to use the water contained in your cells, which will cause you to dehydrate. Anyone drinking too much will become ill and die. Help this explorer to discover a new island and, to ensure he gets there safely, collect the barrels of fresh water that have been helpfully placed along the…

British-born James Cook loved sailing. He became an apprentice for shipowners John and Henry Walker in July 1746 when he was 18 years old, and he made his first voyage a year later on board a merchant ship called Freelove. In 1755, he decided to join the British Royal Navy aged 26, which is when his career reached new heights. He became a ship’s master after just two years. Cook loved cartography, which is the art, technology and science of making maps. His skill brought him to the attention of the Royal Society. He was asked to lead an expedition to observe the planet Venus as it transited across the Sun. In 1768, he set sail with 100 men on a ship called HMS Endeavour. After visiting the island of…

Wow! That was quite some journey, wasn’t it? You learned that exploration allowed some European countries to grow larger by taking over land far, far away. You also saw how explorers made maps so that others could make the same journey, and how maps allowed people to understand how large the world is. You discovered, too, that some explorers loved traveling so much, they would go on many sea trips during their lifetime. They enjoyed bringing back new things and loved the attention this brought them (lots of explorers became very rich and famous). When people heard about the amazing adventures the explorers had been on, it inspired them to set off and see the world as well. That’s why the Age of Exploration was such a packed time. But…

In the 13th century, Europeans didn’t have a lot of information about people who lived in Asia. They were aware of the Mongol Empire, which began in 1206 and stretched from eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan. But they did not know a lot about the continent’s culture and wealth. Marco Polo’s family helped to change that. Shortly after Polo was born in 1254, his father, Niccolò, and uncle, Maffeo, left their home city of Venice in modern-day Italy. The two men headed for Constantinople, which was at the time the capital of the Latin Empire. When they realised that Constantinople had become a dangerous city, they left and headed east. They eventually met the ruler of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan, who welcomed them with open arms. Soon,…

Nellie Bly was an awesome journalist. Born in 1864, she began her career at The New York World newspaper where, in 1887, she went undercover at a mental health asylum called Blackwell’s Island and reported on how awful the conditions were. Bly also investigated corruption in New York City. She became very well known. In 1889, she read Jules Verne’s novel, Around The World In 80 Days, which had been published 17 years earlier. The fictional adventure told of Phileas Fogg and French valet Jean Passepartout’s attempt to travel the world in less than three months to win a £20,000 bet. Bly believed she could circumnavigate the world in less time. She left on 14 November 1889, boarding a steamer called Augusta Victoria from New Jersey, USA, to London, UK. She only took…

When the Wright brothers invented and flew the first aeroplane in 1903, explorers began to consider the possibilities. They dreamed of being able to view the Earth from high, high above – much higher than in the hot air balloons that had been invented in 1783. They also realised that they would be able to reach far-flung locations with greater speed. Although there were some mishaps (the first plane crash happened five years later), suddenly remote areas of the world could potentially be reached. As technology advanced, the planes also became better. They stopped being made out of wood and fabric, and manufacturers started to use metal. By the 1920s, commercial air travel was becoming more popular, and explorers took advantage of the opportunity. It also became possible for explorers…

Today, flying from the United States to Europe is no big deal. Millions of people make the journey every year, crossing the Atlantic Ocean on jumbo jets that fly at an altitude of more than 10,000 metres (33,000 feet) above the sea, but it hasn’t always been an easy trip. Before the 1920s, nobody had ever flown non-stop between New York City and the French capital, Paris. So, to encourage pilots to try, a New York hotel owner called Raymond Orteig said he would give $25,000 to the first person to successfully complete the journey. Many pilots failed – six even died. But when Charles Lindbergh heard about the competition, he wanted to give it a go. He loved planes when he was a child, and he learned to fly…

For many centuries, King Tutankhamun’s body had rested peacefully in the Valley of the Kings. The young boy had been the ruler of all of Egypt from the age of nine until he died aged 18. He had been frail, suffering from malaria, epilepsy and a bone disorder. He also had a club foot and walked with a cane. Howard Carter had spent years looking for Tut’s tomb. He began his search in 1914 when Lord Carnarvon (an aristocrat who loved to learn more about Egypt’s rich history) paid him to lead a dig in an area known to be packed with tombs and temples. The First World War forced the plan to be delayed until 1917. Five years on, Tut’s secrets remained buried. Lord Carnarvon wanted to stop the…

The explorers you have just met made some awesome discoveries, but they also inspired lots of people to find out more. When Mouhot came across Angkor Wat, for example, lots of archaeologists began working on restoring the city. They carried out research to uncover new secrets, and used new technologies, such as radar imaging, when they became available. Laser technology has been a big help. In 2016, archaeologists used it near Angkor Wat and found that other medieval cities were close by. They discovered that these cities were 900 to 1,400 years old, and together, they showed evidence of a huge empire. Archaeologists have also found out that the population in the Angkor Wat area may have been around 900,000. It’s all ultimately thanks to Mouhot. Similarly, King Tut’s tomb continues…

CREATE A COMPASS A compass is an essential tool when exploring. It allows the user to find the right direction because the needle always points towards the magnetic north. Although this is different to the geographic North Pole, it still ensures that explorers can work out where they should be heading. Once you know where north is, you can work out where south is (directly opposite) along with east and west (to the right and left!). With this activity, you’re going to be able to make your own compass! WHAT YOU’LL NEED • Sewing needle• Magnet (a fridge magnet would work) • Cork• Small bowl• Pen INSTRUCTIONS 1. Cork is often used to seal bottles of wine. If you can’t get hold of an old cork from a finished bottle,…

Set sail on the seven seas, investigate stunning lands or blast off into space! In Future Genius: Greatest Explorers, you’ll meet the amazing men and women who discovered the world we live in. Solve some cool brain teasers, be creative with some crafts and head outside your front door to become an explorer yourself with our activities. There’s plenty to see and do in Future Genius: Greatest Explorers! WHAT WILL YOU DISCOVER?…

Thanks to trade links, people can buy items from across the world. But this hasn’t always been possible. Europeans had never seen a banana until the 15th century, and coffee wasn’t drunk in Europe for another 200 years! People did not know these things existed, but explorers who sailed the seas and crossed deserts discovered them. When demand grew, they began to trade them. As the years went by, international trade routes were established. The most famous was the Silk Road, a network of routes that connected China with the Roman Empire. It was used to transport silk, spices, tea, porcelain and jade, with spices being very highly valued. Demand for them grew throughout the Roman era and medieval times. From the 15th to the 17th centuries, explorers were asked to…

As you’ve already learned, when explorers travelled across the world, they came across lots of amazing items. For some explorers, finding such treasures was a primary motivation. Italian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni, for example, loved finding ancient artefacts. When he was rummaging through Egyptian tombs in the 1810s, he focused on items he believed were the most valuable. His booty included a huge statue of the pharaoh Ramesses II called the Younger Memnon, which ended up in the British Museum in London. He also discovered the sarcophagus of the pharaoh Seti I, which after he tried to sell it to the same museum, was bought by architect Sir John Soane for £2,000. Some have since called him a tomb raider, but as an archaeologist, he was interested in his finds.…

Time spent sailing across the world’s oceans was tough, but also very rewarding. As well as coming across different foods and materials, explorers would discover parts of the world they never knew existed. They would fill their ships with lots of treasures and open up trade routes. Explorers would also create the first accurate maps of the sea and many lands. Their discoveries would lead to new ideas spreading across the world, and they would embark on many adventures. In fact, numerous explorers risked their lives to find new things. Europeans in particular were very active between 1488 and the early 1600s. This period has become known as the Age of Exploration, and it led to the creation of new countries, such as the United States of America. But why did…

Some people used to believe that Francis Drake had superpowers. Spanish sailors would say that the English explorer had a magic mirror that let him see where other ships were located. They also said that he was friends with the devil. These rumours were not true, but they spread because Spanish people were scared of Drake. As well as being one of the first British slave traders, Drake acted like a pirate. He raided Spanish ships and ports, stole lots of treasure and became very rich. His expeditions were backed by Queen Elizabeth, too, so he felt he could do as he wished. Yet he also achieved some great things. In 1577, he sailed his ship, the Golden Hind, down from England to the eastern coast of South America. He…

ARE YOU HAVING A GIRAFFE? The Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty built many enormous ships, and these formed what became known as the Treasure Fleet. Packed full of weapons and with lots of room for goodies, they were designed to show Chinese wealth and power. The fleet was led by explorer Zheng He, who sailed to India and Africa many times between 1405 and 1433. It is said that the largest ship was about 230 feet (70 metres) in length – more than big enough to fit a giraffe which, as it happens, was one of the animals that was carried on He’s ships back to China! DID YOU KNOW? Zheng He was said to be seven feet tall. Is that also why he needed ships? ODD ONE OUT…

Some people became explorers by accident! In June 1325, when Ibn Battuta left home and headed for the holy city of Mecca, he fully intended to return. But Battuta, who was 21 at the time, continued to travel and, in the end, did not go back home for another 24 years! Battuta’s initial 18-month journey was not an unusual one. He was embarking on a holy pilgrimage called Hajj, which every adult Muslim must make at least once in their lifetime. He set out from his home in Tangier, a city in northern Morocco, and travelled through Egypt, Syria and Palestine, visiting cities such as Tunis, Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. When he reached Mecca, however, he realised that he had enjoyed seeing new places so much that he decided to travel some…

Just by reading about the work of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Charles Darwin and Nellie Bly, you will now understand just why the land explorers of the past have proven to be so important. Polo ensured that countries in the western part of the world could understand more about those in the east. Battuta showed that the Muslim countries were actively trading around the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Darwin changed the way that we see organisms and ourselves with the idea of evolution through natural selection. Bly proved hugely inspirational not only to women, but journalists too. She proved that anyone can do anything if they really want to do it. But they were not the only land explorers. Even on these pages, you’re going to learn…

Yuri Gagarin was born in Russia on 9 March 1934, and he grew up in a family of farmers. As a child, he survived – but suffered – during the Second World War, yet he flourished in maths and physics at school. Since he had a love for aeroplanes, he learned to fly and served in the Soviet air force from 1957. He was so talented, he ended up flying further than anyone had ever gone before: in fact, Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space! So how did that happen? When the Soviet Union – which is Russia today – wanted to send a person into space (and beat the Americans to it), it launched a selection process. A list of 154 qualified pilots was eventually…

Aloha Wanderwell was an amazing adventurer who used her great skill with a camera to chronicle her journeys. Born Idris Galcia Welsh, she answered an advert placed by a man called Walter Wanderwell (who she later married) to join an expedition in 1922. She became part of his team when she was aged 16, driving a 1918 Ford Model T car around the world for five years. As part of this trip, she used oxen to tow the car across rivers and mud flats in India, and she was nearly taken hostage on the Great Wall of China. She also released many documentaries, met Hollywood stars and travelled 380,000 miles across 80 countries. She became the first ever woman to drive around the globe! When she was in Calcutta in…

Many explorers have searched for new lands to open up trade, find lots of resources or expand a country’s territory. For those explorers, it has been important to look to the future and discover new opportunities. Yet plenty of explorers have also wanted to delve into the past. By discovering parts of the world or objects that have been hidden for a long time – sometimes for many years, decades or centuries – these explorers have been able to bring the past back to life. In this section, you are going to meet some of the explorers who have helped historians to learn more about the world. You will be able to feel the sense of wonder at unearthing tombs that had lain untouched for thousands of years and entire…

In the 1400s CE, the Inca Empire covered a vast region of 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles). It was located in South America and spanned modern-day Peru, as well as parts of Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Columbia and Chile. Its civilisation was advanced. The Inca people built large stone cities and temples, created a system of roads and bridges, and developed efficient farming methods. But the empire didn’t last long. When Spanish explorers arrived, they carried diseases such as influenza and smallpox that killed many. The Spanish then invaded in 1532 and the empire soon fell. Hiram Bingham was a professor at Yale University in the USA, where he taught South American history, and he was interested in the Inca civilisation. In 1909, he travelled through Peru and visited the ruined hilltop…

HIEROGLYPHIC HERO! DOG EYE DONKEY CAMP CHARIOT HOUSE FISH HARE BREAD THRONE The Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt discovered the ruins of Petra in 1812. When he was in Syria, he also discovered the Luwian hieroglyphs – an ancient method of writing where each hieroglyphic symbol looks like a picture. They were more than 2,500 years old. Can you match the symbols to the words? ONE OF THE WORDS ABOVE DOES NOT HAVE AN ASSOCIATED SYMBOL. WHAT DO YOU THINK IT MAY HAVE LOOKED LIKE? DRAW A SYMBOL TO REPRESENT THAT WORD HERE! FAST FACTS • Petra is believed to date back to 312 BCE. • It has been homes to the Edomites, the Nabateans and the Romans. • An earthquake damaged many buildings in 693 CE. • Al-Khazneh is…

There you go! You have come to the end of your journey, and what an amazing trip it has been. You have seen how explorers have made discoveries across land and sea. You have also seen how they have told us many great things about the past while revealing cool things that will help us in the future. By making geographical discoveries, scientific breakthroughs and introducing people from different countries to one another, explorers have shaped the world. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like today if explorers had not ventured out of their comfort zone and made trips that no one had done before. When people come together, they share ideas and learn about each other’s culture. Travel broadens the mind! But it’s important to remember that to…

You have just learned that some countries expanded after explorers found new trading partners across the world. These countries also began to create empires, which means they started to control other nations, having taken them over to make use of their land, labour and resources. Portugal’s empire began during the Age of Discovery between the 15th and 17 centuries. At first, Prince Henry the Navigator assisted in the conquering of Ceuta on the north coast of Africa. He then paid explorers to sail the western coast of Africa. This led to the discovery of the islands of Madeira and the Azores, which Portugal claimed. The country went on to colonise Cape Verde, Mozambique, Brazil and Angola among many others. It also, to its shame, brought slaves from Africa to Europe…

So now you know what an explorer is. You have learned about the things that motivate many of them and had a glimpse at the amazing work that lots of explorers have achieved. But wait – there’s more. Your journey is going to continue with a look at explorers in greater depth. You will discover how they made an impact on the world and how, even when things haven’t always gone to plan, exploring the world has still been beneficial. After all, exploration is challenging, and that is also an important motivation. Lots of explorers have a great desire to achieve something personal. They embark on journeys knowing that the expedition will often be hard, especially when they are going somewhere no one has been to before. But if it…

In the 15th century, traveling by land from Europe to Asia was not easy. Ottoman armies would try to stop Europeans making the journey, which meant it was hard to transport silks and spices back from India and China. To avoid trouble, Portuguese sailors would travel by sea instead. They would steer their boats down the west coat of Africa, go around the Cape of Good Hope and travel across the Indian Ocean to reach their destination. After loading up, they would go back again. Navigator Christopher Columbus had an idea. He believed it would be possible to sail to Asia by crossing the Atlantic Ocean instead. He told many rulers of his plan, and two of them – King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain – liked it so…

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen set himself a challenge: he wanted to become the first person to reach the South Pole. Since it’s located in Antarctica, where the lowest recorded temperature is-89.6 Celsius, he always knew it would be tough. But what made his journey even more challenging was an equally determined competitor: Robert Falcon Scott wanted to reach the South Pole too. The race was on. As soon as Amundsen heard about Scott’s ambition, he brought his plans forward. He also knew what to expect, because he’d been on an expedition to the Arctic between 1897 and 1899. Setting out with four teammates, they promptly set sail on a ship called Fram on 19 October 1911. The team also took four sledges and 52 husky dogs with them, which would…

Although many explorers ventured across the world by ship, lots of others travelled mainly on land. They would go on foot or make use of any available transport – including animals – and would venture far further inland than the areas around the coast. They encountered lots of danger. As well as coming across alarming animals and insects that most had never seen before (a lot of explorers were from Europe), they provoked people who (understandably) did not want them trampling on their territory. Explorers also had to make their way across dry deserts and slash their way through risky rainforests. Many were injured. Some died. Over the next few pages, you’re going to discover more about the brave people who embarked on land-based adventures. You’ll see how the explorers ventured…

Charles Darwin was really interested in natural history. This means he enjoyed observing animals, fungi and plants in their natural environment. When he was at Cambridge University studying theology, Darwin collected beetles. He had a huge collection and examined the different species, some of which have since become extinct. Darwin’s passion for nature was no surprise. Born in 1809 in Shrewsbury, England, he had spent much of his childhood outdoors. He explored his parents’ garden and learned about the different plants. But his greatest achievement was exploring a large part of the world from 1831 to 1836 as a naturalist on board a British Royal Navy ship called HMS Beagle. The scientific expedition sailed along the coastline of South America, but Darwin did not like being at sea. He said…

MASTER OF DISGUISE… To enter the holy city of Mecca, Sir Richard Burton knew he needed to be a Muslim, but he wasn’t. He was a Christian, so he had to come up with a cunning plan. The explorer’s idea was to wear a disguise, and it worked. He survived the trip, entered Mecca and wrote about his experience. … AND A TALENTED TALKER Burton also understood at least 26 languages. He translated classical literature. including One Thousand And One Nights (which is also known as Arabian Nights). This is the collection that includes stories about Aladdin, as well as Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. There are thousands of languages in the world today. How many can you list here? Knowing different languages allowed Burton to speak to and understand many people…

Watching the Soviets put a human into orbit in 1961 hurt the Americans. They were planning to fly their own astronaut into space, but they had been beaten. By the time astronaut Alan Shepard was rocketing towards the sky a few weeks later, it did not feel as groundbreaking as it should have done. The Americans were determined not to get beaten again. US president John F Kennedy told politicians that the US should try to land a man on the Moon before 1970. The Americans created the Apollo program to help them achieve this goal, but it didn’t always go well. The first Apollo mission with people on board (Apollo 1 on 21 February 1967) did not fly because a cabin fire during a test killed all three crew…

WHAT IS THE SOLAR SYSTEM? The Solar System consists of the Sun and everything that goes around it. It includes eight planets and lots of moons, as well as thousands of dwarf planets, asteroids, comets and meteoroids. It is located in the Milky Way, which is just one of many galaxies in the universe. As you’ve seen, explorers began to take to the skies. First they flew many thousands of feet in the air on aeroplanes, then a select few went even further by travelling 383,400 kilometres (238,855 miles) to the Moon. When they landed, astronauts were able to study the rocks and dust to learn more about the Moon. By doing this, they were able to discover that it wasn’t actually made of cheese (that was an idea widely shared…

In the midst of a remote jungle, Henri Mouhot came across an ancient city that had lain abandoned for many centuries. It was almost completely covered by forest, and difficult to reach, but the more Mouhot saw, the more excited he became. This city – known as Angkor – was, he said, grander than anything that has previously been left to us by Greece or Rome. As he discovered, it was once the capital of the Khmer Empire, located in what is now Cambodia in Southeast Asia. It included some amazing temples and magnificent monuments. Mouhot already knew the city existed. He had read about it in papers written by Father Charles-Emile Bouillevaux, who had visited Angkor in 1854. Even so, Mouhot’s main interest was collecting insect specimens and plants…

For most of the 1870s, Jane Dieulafoy and her husband, Marcel, travelled around Egypt and Morocco. In 1881, the couple found themselves in Persia, which is modern-day Iran. They spent years exploring the area, with Dieulafoy taking photographs and making notes. She also drew many illustrations and wrote extensively about what she saw and experienced. Since it was difficult for a woman to travel freely in a Muslim country at the time, Dieulafoy said she needed to dress as a man and wear her hair short. She fell in love with Persia, and wanted to return. The couple were particularly excited about an ancient town called Susa. They knew that the British explorer William Loftus had carried out a small dig there 30 years earlier, finding some coins dating back…

TO TRY AT HOME! So far, you have learned all about the different types of explorers. You have discovered all of the amazing contributions they have made to the world – and some of the negative impacts of exploration, too! By meeting some of the greatest explorers, you have also gained an insight into their mindsets. Not only have you learned about their individual success, but you should have a better understanding of what motivates them, too. Now, it is your turn. Over the next few pages, you can become an explorer, too. You will learn how to make use of essential tools such as a compass and GPS, and get out and about to study your environment in greater detail, having lots of fun doing so. As you will see,…