Exploration and Discovery: A Research Guide

Learn more about voyages to the bottom of the sea, adventures in space, and travels across the globe, both historic and contemporary. This guide contains books, Web sites, and other materials to introduce you to historic explorers you may already know like Christopher Columbus or some explorers of today. It might even help you figure out if you have what it takes to be an adventurer yourself. This guide introduces researchers to some of the basic informational sources on the topic. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library's catalog and research databases. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.

Against all Opposition: Black Explorers in America by James Haskins. New York: Walker, 1992. ISBN: 0802781381.
Surveys the lives and adventures of black explorers who helped discover new worlds.

American Heroes of Exploration and Flight by Anne E. Schraff. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, 1996. ISBN: 0894906194.
Biographies of American adventurers including Robert Peary, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, and Christa McAuliffe.

Career Ideas for Kids Who Like Adventure by Diane L. Reeves, Nancy Heubeck, and Nancy Bond. New York: Facts On File, 2001. ISBN: 0816043213.
A guide through a multitude of career possibilities based on specific interests and skills. Links talents to a wide variety of actual professions.

DK Illustrated Book of Great Adventurers: Real-life Tales of Danger and Daring by Richard Platt. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1999. ISBN: 0789444615.
Presents activities and accomplishments of great adventurers, including explorer Leif Eriksson, the glamorous spy Mata Hari, and astronaut Neil Armstrong.

Explorers of North America by Brendan January. New York: Children's Press, 2000. ISBN: 0516216295.
Describes activities of explorers in North America from 1000 to 1804 including Leif Ericsson, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Lewis and Clark.

Exploring the New World by Rebecca Stefoff. Tarrytown, NY: Benchmark Books, 2001. ISBN: 0761410562.
Traces exploration of America from the arrival of Asian hunters in Alaska more than 15,000 years ago to the English and French settlers in the early 1600s.

Land Ho!: Fifty Glorious Years in the Age of Exploration with 12 Important Explorers by Nancy W. Parker. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. ISBN: 0060277599.
Shows how the voyages of Columbus, Cabot, Ponce De Leon, and other explorers to the Americas were the result of mistakes, accidents, and misses.

Living Dangerously by Doreen Rappaport. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. ISBN: 0060251085.
Features American women who risked their lives for adventure.

The Seven Seas: Exploring the World Ocean by Linda Vieira and Higgins Bond. New York: Walker, 2003. ISBN: 0802788335.
Explores the diversity of the oceans, seas, and gulfs of the planet Earth.

The Sky's the Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and Girls by Catherine Thimmesh and Melissa Sweet. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. ISBN: 0618076980.
Brief accounts of the work of a variety of women scientists in such fields as astronomy, biology, anthropology, and medicine.

Space Exploration by Dana M. Rau. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2003. ISBN: 0756504392.
Looks at the universe as it describes telescopes as important tools, manned and unmanned missions, and discusses the future of space exploration.

A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme by J. Patrick Lewis and Alison Jay. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2002. ISBN: 0803725795.
Through illustrated poems kids can travel the globe to learn amazing facts about spaces and places in the wonderful world of geography.

History of Exploration. Wynnewood, PA: Schlessinger Media, 2000. ISBN: 1572253363. (VHS 23 min.)
Shows the motivations of early explorers whose bravery was the foundation for the successes during the Golden Age of Discovery. Grades 5–8.

Space Exploration. Wynnewood, PA: Schlessinger Media, 1999. ISBN: 1572252413. (VHS 26 min.)
Covers major challenges and benefits of exploration, including rocket science, a look back at the “Space Race,” and a history of manned space travel. Grades 5–8.

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Discovery Channel
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/quest/quest.html
Quest partners with scientists and explorers at the vanguard of their fields and follows them to see their far-reaching impact on our understanding of the world.

Library of Congress: Discovery and Exploration
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/dsxphome.html
Documents discovery and exploration using manuscripts and maps. Maps from the late 15th century to the 19th century by Lewis and Clark and others.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/explore_main.html
Learn about NASA, the missions, space exploration history, research aircraft, and much more.

NOVA/PBS Online Adventures
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/adventures/
Series of real-time expeditions follows scientists and explorers into the field, reporting on science as it happens and allowing audience participation via e-mail.

Voyage of Exploration
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001692/english/index.php3?subject=home
Exploration from 1500 B.C. to present. Includes information on explorers; expeditions; maps; quizzes, and time line. Also “Teachers' World” with lessons.