Education

I. Why We Explore

Students brainstorm and write about why people explore the world about them. Why did the people who came to be known as the Polynesians leave the world of continents and large islands in the Western Pacific to explore a vast unknown Ocean, discovering and settling small islands to the east and becoming the greatest explorers of their time? (Was their motive love of adventure? Or curiosity about the unknown oceanic space at the eastern frontier? Was the impetus for exploration population growth and a search for new land and resources? Or conflicts in the home country, with those defeated forced to leave? Why do we explore today?

Possible Activities: Students conduct explorations of their communities. Ask students to think about, discuss, or write about the following: Where would you like to explore if you could explore anywhere, real or imaginary? Why would you look to explore that place? What benefit would exploration of that place have for you, or for your family or community? How would you go about conducting your exploration? How would you keep your exploration safe?

If one of the places selected for exploration is in the neighborhood, the class could make an actual visit and carry out the exploration (under the supervision of teachers and parents for young children).

Resources within this website:

• Vision and Exploration

• History and Heritage

• Spirit of Ohana

• Polynesian Migrations part 1

• Polynesian Migrations part 2

• Plants Introduced to Hawaii by Ancestors of the Hawaiians

• Migrations Bibliography

• Voyaging Traditions of the Polynesians.

• What parallels are there to modern space exploration?