The Far East comes alive in this activity book centered on Marco Polo’s journey to China from Venice along the 13th-century Silk Road. Kids will join Marco as he travels by caravan through vast deserts and over steep mountain ranges, stopping in exotic cities and humble villages, until at last he arrives at the palace of the Kublai Khan. Woven throughout the tale are 21 activities that highlight the diverse cultures Marco encountered along the way. Activities include making a mythical map, creating a mosaic, fun with Feng Shui, making paper, and putting on a wayang-kulit (shadow-puppet play). Just for fun, kids will learn a few words of Turkish, Persian, Mongol, Hindi, and Chinese. A complete resource section with magnificent museums and their Web sites invites kids to embark on their own expedition of discovery.

Marco Polo was only a young boy when he joined his uncle and father in a journey to Asia. You can pretty much say that he was born to see the world. By reading his life story, your child might be encouraged to explore the world too. It will also open your child’s eyes to the realizations of geographic and cultural differences. Meet Marco Polo today!

Marco Polo was 17 the first time he saw his father. Soon after, he joined his father and uncle on a trip from Marco's hometown of Venice, Italy, to China. In the 1200s, that journey took several years and the three travelers faced many hazards. Once he arrived, Marco impressed the country's powerful leader Kublai Khan enough to become an ambassador and governor. He spent years crisscrossing China, then known as Cathay, in the Khan's service. He finally returned home, but a few years later he was imprisoned during a conflict between Venice and Genoa. During his imprisonment, he wrote a book that described places and sights few Europeans knew even existed and changed their view of the world forever.

Galileo, one of history's best-known scientists, is introduced in this illuminating activity book. Children will learn how Galileo's revolutionary discoveries and sometimes controversial theories changed his world and laid the groundwork for modern astronomy and physics. This book will inspire kids to be stargazers and future astronauts or scientists as they discover Galileo's life and work. Activities allow children to try some of his theories on their own, with experiments that include playing with gravity and motion, making a pendulum, observing the moon, and painting with light and shadow. Along with the scientific aspects of Galileo's life, his passion for music and art are discussed and exemplified by period engravings, maps, and prints. A time line, glossary, and listings of major science museums, planetariums, and web sites for further exploration complement this activity book.

For many, his name brings to mind both the glory and terrible danger of exploration: Marco Polo. Come along as this informative and engaging book describes Marco's travels from his native Italy past many obstacles, to the farthest reaches of Asia and back home again. Experience the incredible cold of the mountains of Pakistan, the intense heat of the Taklimakan Desert, and the wonders in between. Meet people like the fabled Kublai Khan, lord of the Mongol Empire. At journey's end, readers will understand why Marco Polo takes his place among the most important explorers in world history.

Most travellers want to have fun and feel relaxed from the moment they arrive at their holiday destination - that's what Marco Polo Guides are all about. This new series will appeal to all types of travellers, including those who haven't bought a travel guide in the past! Marco Polo's unique insider tips are peppered throughout the guide - offering a real insight into the destination. Includes special tips for when it rains, things to do for free, chill out and relax. Where to start - tells the reader the ideal starting point to explore the city / destination, how to get there: by car or public transport, where to park the car... and much more! The perfect day / perfect route - the best way to get to know a destination for those with limited time. Practical information on shopping, food and drink and much more - plus a phrasebook section. Also includes a fully indexed street atlas AND a pull-out map. And the best bit... all this for only £5.99!

Discusses the life of the Venetian explorer and the book based on his thirteenth-century travels along the Silk Road to the court of Kublai Khan in China.

Organised Fun for Kids is not only a fantastic collection of games that will keep children of all ages entertained for years to come, it is also wonderful reminder of a time before television when children made their own entertainment. Including many classic childhood favourites, such as HOPSCOTCH and CONKERS, and jam packed full of new exciting ideas, including FARM WARS, WOTSIT SCULPTURES and TRUSSED-UP TURKEYS, this treasure trove of games contains tons of inspiration for family bonding fun as well as ways for children to amuse themselves for hours on end. There is also a host of creative make-and-do ideas, alongside educational fun and games that make the most of nature’s playground. Whether you’re looking for ways to entertain children at a party, on holiday or when you’re stuck inside on a rainy day, Organised Fun for Kids will give you all the inspiration you need to provide them with more fun than they ever thought possible.

While all kids know something about Christopher Columbus, few know the full story of this amazing, resourceful, and tragic man of history. Christopher Columbus and the Age of Exploration for Kids takes a comprehensive, nuanced, and inclusive approach to Columbus, placing him in the context of the explorations that came before, during, and after his lifetime and portraying the “Admiral of the Ocean Seas” neither as hero nor heel but as a flawed and complex man whose significance is undeniably monumental. Providing kids, parents, and teachers with a fuller picture of the seafaring life and the dangers and thrills of exploration, the book details all four of Columbus’s voyages to the New World, not just his first, and describes the year that Columbus spent stranded on the island of Jamaica without hope of rescue. A full chapter is devoted to painting a more complex portrait of the indigenous peoples of the New World and another to the consequences of Columbus’s voyages—the exchange of diseases, ideas, crops, and populations between the New World and the Old. Engaging crosscurricular activities such as taking nautical measurements, simulating a hurricane, making an ancient globe, and conducting silent trade elucidate both nautical concepts introduced and the times in which Columbus lived. Ronald Reis is the technology department chair at Los Angeles Valley College and the award-winning author of sixteen nonfiction books for young adults on subjects as varied as African Americans and the Civil War and Simón Bolívar.