Columbus Plans & Navigates

Discovering America: 2nd Grade Columbus Plans & Navigates

Navigation: Exploring today is very different from 600 years ago.

Although now you can safely sail across the Atlantic Ocean in two weeks, things were not as simple in the time of Christopher Columbus. Columbus used stars in the sky to navigate, which is called celestial navigation. Other tools that Columbus used for navigational purposes were the compass, hourglass, and quadrant.

If you have never heard of a compass, hourglass, or quadrant, spend some time looking up these tools. Discover how they were used and if they are used today. If they are not used today, what forms of modern technology replaced them?

Columbus and other adventurers had to work hard to explore. They did not have the technology we have today.

In the 1400s, there were many challenges to traveling and exloring.

While those before him did not, Columbus was one of the first explorers to keep a detailed log of his voyages. These logs give historians today very good knowledge of how and where he explored.

Click on the start button to learn about the challenges Columbus faced, as well as the solutions to these challenges.
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Challenge 1

There were no cell phones or other ways to communicate with people across large distances quickly in the 1400s. This was a challenge when planning a trip to an unknown area of the world. Columbus used stories, prior ship logs, and other information to plan his trip from Spain.

Challenge 2

There were no tablets or computers to help Columbus look at the maps and directions he needed. This was a challenge since finding an unknown trading route meant using early instruments like a compass and an hourglass. The compass was used for direction and the hourglass was used to time each day to determine the distance traveled.

Challenge 3

There was no Internet or other way to search for directional information. This was a challenge since much of the only navigation information had to be located in old ships logs and from sailor and explorer stories. To find his way, one of the tools Columbus used was called a quadrant. This tool allowed Columbus to determine where his ships were located using a heavenly body – such as the moon or a star.

Without the help of modern equipment or technology, how did Columbus plan his trip to the west? How did he navigate once aboard his ship in the open ocean?

Columbus used basic math and science to calculate distance, as well as the position of his boats in the Atlantic Ocean.

He used the stars, moon, and sun to calculate the direction he was going — this is called celestial navigation. Each star in the sky has a celestial latitude (the vertical/up and down distance on the earth). Columbus would learn the latitude of a particular star that was directly overhead. Using this information, he could then determine the same latitude on earth.

He followed a series of small navigation steps. Steps that he calculated using the tools described above. And steps that he also researched and sourced from stories and notes of other sailors before him.

He used the three ships given to him by the King and Queen of Spain to carry himself, his crew, and the supplies they needed for the journey.

So now you know a little about the tale of Christopher Columbus and his initial historic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The story has evolved, over time, into a more realistic account of the trip. But there is one part of the story that not enough people pay attention to — the ships Columbus used.

How did Columbus make the journey that only a handful of Vikings had ever made before?

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