1. Assign each student an explorer to study for the duration of the project. You can either make the assignments yourself, or write the names of the explorers on the board, draw students' names (lottery style), and have them pick the explorer they want to study. The second method works better as the student has some ownership in the explorer they are to become. Here is a list of some explorers for the lesson:
   
   The Vikings/ Leif Erikson
   Gaspar Corte-Real
   John Cabot
   Sebastion Cabot
   James Cook
   Sir Francis Drake
   Henry Hudson
   Sir Martin Frobisher
   Sir Walter Raleigh
   George Vancouver
   Vasco Núñez de Balboa
   Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
   Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
   Hernando de Cortes
   Father Eusebio Francisco Kino
   Hernando de Soto
   Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca
   Francisco Pizarro
   Juan Ponce de Leon
   Father Junipéro Serra
   Jacques Cartier
   Samuel de Champlain
   Louis Joliet
   Rene Robert Cavalier Sieur de LaSalle
   Jacques Marquette
   Prince Henry, the Navigator
   Pedro Alvares Cabral
   Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
   Vasco da Gama
   Giovanni da Verrazzano
   Ferdinand Magellan
   Juan Bautista de Anza
   John Cabot
   Christopher Columbus
   Marco Polo
   Amerigo Vespucci
   
   
2. If you have access to computers for research purposes, schedule some time for the students to look up facts about their explorers. (It helps if you bookmark educational websites ahead of time so that students don't waste their time on meaningless websites.) Make a worksheet ahead of time so that students know what kind of information they need to obtain about their explorer. Facts you may wish the students to find include: date of birth, birth country, early life experiences including family life, occupations, country the explorer sailed or explored for, discoveries made, significant contributions, date and cause of death, and any other interesting facts.
   
   
3. If students do not have access to computers or encyclopedias or if the teacher wants to accelerate the timing of this project, the teacher may wish to print information about each explorer ahead of time for the students to look over during class time.
   
   
4. After research is complete, assign a date and time for your Mix 'n Mingle.
   
   
5. Have students use their creativity to come dressed as their explorer. Students may wish to wear colors or costumes representing their explorer's nationality, or use other props that are characteristic of their explorer.
   
   
6. Give each student a nametag with the name of their explorer and a Mix 'n Mingle game card.
   
   
7. Tell students that they must find another explorer that fits each criterion on their game card. The other explorer must sign their name and fill in pertinent information when asked. The first player to have a completed game card wins.
   
   
8. The Mix 'n Mingle game card may request information such as:
   
   a. Find someone whose explorer is from the same country as your explorer.
   
   b. Find someone whose explorer was born within 50 years of your explorer.
   
   c. Find an explorer that you have heard of before.
   
   d. Find an explorer that has had a city, state, island, or country named after them and write the name of that location.
   
   e. Find an explorer that made a major contribution to America and write the details of that contribution.
   
   f. Find an explorer that your explorer knew or was influenced by.
   
   g. Find an explorer that did something that interests you, and describe an interesting fact about that explorer.
   
   h. Find an explorer that helped colonize America.
   
   i. Find an explorer that died in an unusual way. (Something other than dying of natural causes.)
   
   
9. After all the students have filled in their game cards to the best of their abilities, offer refreshments like you would at a real Mix 'n Mingle. You may wish to have students stand one at a time and introduce their Explorers while the refreshments are served.

Lori Fillmore has a degree in Elementary Education and has had teaching experience in multiple grades. She currently works as a mother and freelance writer. Her work has been or will appear in Fun for Kidz, Boys' Quest, and Hopscotch magazines, as well as the Viatouch website. Lori currently lives in Rigby, Idaho with her husband and three children.

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