An explorer is a person who travels to learn about places that are new to them. Long ago, explorers from Europe sailed across the big Atlantic Ocean in wooden ships.
Key idea
Leif Erikson reached North America about the year 1000. Christopher Columbus sailed in 1492. After him, many more explorers came.
Why it works
Leif Erikson came from the north, and his people built a small camp in what is now Canada, but they did not stay. Columbus sailed for the king and queen of Spain with three ships: the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María. He was looking for a new way to Asia. Instead he reached islands in the Caribbean Sea. After 1492, ships began to cross the ocean again and again, and life changed for the people on both sides.
Common mistake
People sometimes say Columbus "discovered" America. But millions of people already lived here: the first peoples. Columbus's voyage began lasting contact between Europe and the Americas. He thought he had reached the Indies, near Asia, so he called the people he met "Indians."
For the grown-up: Columbus Day is the second Monday in October; many states and cities mark that day as Indigenous Peoples' Day, to honor Native peoples. Contact also brought new diseases that took many Native lives.