Before Hudson was a river, Columbus was a city, and Magellan was a GPS, they were all people -- men from the Age of Exploration (roughly defined as lasting from the 15th to early 17th centuries). This was a time of travel into uncharted areas of the world, when ships undertook voyages with the very real possibility that they would never return.

It might seem hard to imagine in this time when we're never quite disconnected...that men left their homes for years at a time, attempting to create new trade routes and map the globe. Our knowledge of the oceans and continents was changed immeasurably by the many voyages that took place during this time. The Age of Exploration also serves as a bridge between the Middle Ages and our more modern era. Come and discover the amazing stories of these explorers on our 2nd floor display this week!

Photo by Flickr user gwgs.