LEWIS & CLARK
"On March 4, 1801, a tall, red-headed Virginian named Thomas Jefferson was sworn in as the third president of a very young United States of America. The country was small - tiny, compared to its present size. Americans knew that a great expanse of land lay west of the Mississippi River. They knew Indians lived there; some white trappers had ventured into it, but no one had any real idea what was. . . "

ANTARCTICA
"Do you like subzero weather? How about six months of darkness each year? Do howling blizzards make your day? Does a long walk in hurricane-force winds sound like fun? If so, then Antarctica is the place for you. The fifth largest continent is the coldest, driest, iciest, windiest, and highest-lying area on Earth. It also has the fewest people living on it-- only about one thousand in winter and four. . . "

MAPS
"Tired of your day-to-day life? Looking for an escape? Why not browse through an atlas (a collection of maps). Maps can take you on flights of fancy all over the world-and even out of it. Of course, most people use maps to help them get from one place to another. But maps are also spurs to the imagination, suggesting where you could go, might go, will go-someday!"

MARCO POLO
"Imagine taking a trip that lasts 24 years! If you are 10 when you leave, you'll be 34 before you see your home again. Marco Polo (1254-1324) was actually 17 when he left his hometown of Venice in 1271, and 41 when he returned. He spent most of those years traveling throughout China, India, and Southeast Asia as emissary for Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. If this seems incredible to you, you are not. . . "

SPACE EXPLORATION
"Space is so close and yet so far away. It begins where the atmosphere ends - about one hundred miles above Earth's surface. A drive from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to New York City is a longer trip. But space travel presents special problems. In space, there is no air, food, or water. Powerful rockets are needed to break gravity's grip and reach the vacuum of outer space. . . . "

MOON
"The Moon has always been a source of mystery. In ancient times, people thought it had the powers of a god. Astronomers eventually proved that the brightest object in our nighttime sky was really just a rock satellite. But even then, scientists were not sure what they'd find there. Many fantasized that some new form of life would be discovered. In the 20th century, exploration of the Moon helped. . . "

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

• The Coast Mappers. By Taylor Morrison, Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books, 2004.
• Westward Ho: Explorers of the West. By Charlotte Foltz Jones, Holiday House, 2005.
• Matthew Henson (History Maker Bios). By Maryann N. Weidt, Lerner Publications, 2002.
• Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca (Latinos in American History). By Valerie Menard, Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2003.
• Race to the Moon: The Story of Apollo Eleven (Expedition). By Jen Green, Rebound by Sagebrush, 2002.

ADULT BOOKS

• The Moon Landing July 20, 1969 (Days That Shook the World). By Paul Mason, Raintree, 2002.
• The Last Voyage of Captain Cook : Including The Siberian Journals and Selected Letters of John Ledyard. By John Ledyard, National Geographic, 2005.
• Living Dangerously: American Women Who Risked Their Lives for Adventure. By Doreen Rappaport, Harpercollins, 1991.
• The Dig Tree : A True Story of Bravery, Insanity, and the Race to Discover Australia's WildFrontier by Sarah Murgatroyd, Broadway, 2002.
• Women of the Four Winds -- by Elizabeth Fagg Olds,Mariner Books, 1999.

WEBSITES

• Cabeza de Vaca's Exploration of Florida: www.floridahistory.com/cabeza.html
• Life and Writings of Captain James Cook: www.captaincooksociety.com
• Travels of Burke and Wills: www.pacificislandtravel.com/books_and_maps/burke.html
• Life of Annie Smith Peck: www.ric.edu/rpotter/smithpeck.html