We've all heard the rhyme: "In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue." But Christopher Columbus was certainly not the first person to find his way to the amazing continents of North and South America. In our class we will uncover the historic evidence of early explorations of the Americans and learn about how these people and explorers managed to travel such vast distances, their navigation techniques, sailing vessels, and their first settlements! 

Throughout history there have been many people and groups that "Discovered" America. Our class will not be European Centric. We will examine the historical and archeological evidence from early Eurasians crossing the Bering Strait into North America, Polynesian sailing methods and their expansion throughout the South Pacific, Japanese Folklore of voyages to new lands, and Viking navigators sailing the Northern Atlantic Ocean. We will also examine the motivation of European Explorers searching for a new sea route to the Asian Continent and learn how their navigational methods contrast with earlier exploration.

Our adventure style class will blend multimedia presentations with Escape Room style learning as we chart the following course!

Historical Context:
1492: The Age of Exploration Begins
     - Christopher Columbus
     - Amerigo Vespucci and the Name of America 

900 CE: The Vikings Voyages
     - Erik the Red
     - Leif Erikson
     - Gudrid "Far-Travelled" 

Polynesian Explorations
     - The South Pacific Islands
     - Sweet Potatoes
     - Canoes

Westerlies Trade Winds and Kuroshiro Current
     - The Three Kichi's Japanese Folk Tale

10,000 BCE: The Bering Straight
     - The Ice Age
     - Human Migration from Asia to North America
     - Megafauna and Human Expansion

Students will work together to prepare for the long voyage and learn about navigation with the help of early explorers as we set out in search of the Americas!  

*Special Note: This class looks at exploration and discovery from a geological and historic perspective, using research, evidence, archeology and Earth Sciences to uncover the settlement and expansion of people throughout the American Continents. Sensitive topics, such as the treatment of Indigenous peoples by western colonizers, Slavery and Triangular Trade, are outside the scope of this class and will not be covered. Should these topics come up in class they will be quickly addressed by reassuring students that these are important and sensitive topics and there are many available resources available to them through Outschool and beyond, but that they are not the focus of our class today.