Resources

Games

Merchants of the Great Exchange

Image from Merchants of the Great Exchange game

The Great Exchange refers to the transfer of culture, plants, animals, and disease around the world. As people traveled around the world they discovered new products. By the 1700s, Europeans were sailing to Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia to trade.

This game is based on a book published in 1775 called, “The New and Complete Guide to the East India Trade.” It was written by British merchants traveling and trading in the East whose goal was to return alive and with enough goods to sell in England to make a profit.

See if you, too, can return alive to England winning fame and fortune.

The Adobe Flash plug-in is required to run this game.

Play Merchants of the Great Exchange

Whose Lunch is it Anyway?

Image from Whose Lunch is it Anyway? game

When Christopher Columbus and the explorers that followed him landed in the Americas, they began to introduce foods that they were familiar with. Wheat, beef, and sugar are just a few items they introduced through the years. These foods, combined with foods discovered in America, were combined to make the cuisine we eat today.

So… get ready for school, pack your lunch, and see just how many things would have been left in your lunchbox in America before 1492, with Whose Lunch is it Anyway?

The Adobe Flash plug-in is required to run this game.

Play Whose Lunch is it Anyway?

World Explorer: So just how good a sea captain are you?

Image from World Explorer gameReview your knowledge of five great world explorers: Leifr Eiriksson, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Henry Hudson, and James Cook.

Each explorer will test your readiness to be a sea captain by asking three questions. Each explorer will test your readiness to be a sea captain by asking three questions. Earn experience points for each question answered correctly.

After answering all fifteen questions, you will receive a sea rank. Do well, and the helm is yours!

The Adobe Flash plug-in is required to run this game.

Play World Explorer

Printable Activities

The printable activities in this section were created as a resource of ideas. You are welcome to download and copy them. These activities are adaptable for fifth grade through high school students.

Create a Compass

Create an Astrolabe

Create a Quadrant

Create a Globe

Identify the Parts of a Ship

What Would You Take to Sea?

Explorers Crossword Puzzle

Vocabulary Word Search

Identify Navigational Instruments

Latitude and Longitude

Starving Sailors

Sores, Scabs, and Scurvy