Have kids make a Spanish galleon like the one that famous explorer Christopher Columbus sailed on as he crossed the Atlantic. Start with two milk cartons. To create the hull, tape a piece of black construction paper on one side of the first so that it covers half of the carton. Glue another piece of paper on the bottom of the carton, letting roughly 2 inches stick up as the ship’s back. Use white construction paper to cover the rest of the carton and glue two round pieces of clay in the center. Cut the bottom off of the second milk carton. Poke two holes in it and glue it over the clay. Push straws through the holes and into the clay to make masts. Use index cards to create the sails. Have kids draw an insignia on the cards. Punch holes at the top and bottom and shove them on the straws so that they curl as if the wind is blowing. Use scissors to cut a slit in the front of the ship and then stick a craft stick in the hole to make the bowsprit. Tie a string on the end of the stick and tie the other end to the straw.
Explorers often venture into the wild. Starting with a simple paper plate, kids can create a tiger mask. Paint the mask orange with black stripes. To make it more fur-like, glue on black felt in a striped pattern. Create the eyes by cutting out two triangles. Either draw in the nose or use a black Styrofoam ball. Glue black pipe cleaners so that they stick out from around the nose. For the ears, cut orange felt into triangles and glue. Poke holes in the sides of the plate and run a string through them so kids can wear their masks.
For explorers, the world is their playground. Whip together paste by mixing 1 cup of water and 1 cup of flour before adding 4 cups of boiling water. While it cools, have kids blow up their own balloon and rip newspaper into strips. Submerse the newspaper in the mixture and wrap it around the balloon until it is covered. Once it’s dried, have kids use a real globe as a model and then paint the oceans and countries. If the kids are old enough, have them write where the North and South Poles are and draw the equator. Give them stickers so that they can mark the places that they most want to visit.
High seas adventurers relied on spyglasses to navigate. Starting with a paper towel tube, create the glass lens by taking a piece of plastic wrap and putting it on one end, securing it in place with either a rubber band or tape. Cover the roll with construction paper and then let kids decorate the paper with stickers, images cut out from magazines, stamps, pipe cleaners or any other decorating items.