How did the Kon Tiki raft cross the ocean?

Find teamwork on a raft that sailed far away

In the middle of a huge ocean floats a raft with no motor. Its name is Kon Tiki. The SUPKids workbook tells the story of Thor Heyerdahl, an explorer from Norway, and his team, who crossed the Pacific Ocean on this raft. It was a very different trip from racing along a set route on a fast boat.

The workbook says Heyerdahl wanted to find out whether ocean currents could carry a raft from South America to the islands of the Pacific. The team built a raft and set out from Callao in Peru. The workbook says they crossed the ocean for 101 days and then arrived on the island of Raroia. As we read about the voyage here, we'll pay attention to where it started, how they traveled and the people who went together.

You don't have to cross a faraway ocean like Kon Tiki to be an explorer. Next to this story, the workbook says that discovering the world around you on a SUP is an adventure too. What links a big voyage to exploring the water nearby may not be how far you go. It may be staying curious, looking closely and getting ready together.

Into the story

1. Look at the start and the finish side by side

   Read the names of where they left from and where they arrived, side by side. Callao is the starting point in Peru, in South America. Raroia is the island they reached at the end of the voyage. The workbook first describes the plan to sail toward Tahiti, and then names the place they actually arrived. If you read the goal of the plan separately from the result recorded after the trip, you can understand the story more exactly.

2. Think about what moved the raft

   Kon Tiki tried to travel without a motor, using the flow of the ocean. Imagine the raft the team built floating on the sea. How is it different from a boat with an engine? Remember that it wasn't a trip where they could change direction and speed whenever they wanted. Then staying at sea for a long time may feel different to you.

3. Read the words 'he and his team' again

   The story's main character has one name, but it was a team that built the raft and sailed it. The workbook also says they caught fish at sea to eat. To live at sea for a long time, they probably had to get ready together and help each other. Think about what feelings the people who built the raft and sailed together might have needed. Then talk about the jobs your family could share when getting ready for an adventure.

4. Connect it to our own small adventures

   Along with the voyage story, the workbook also shows a lesson game where several SUP boards are held together to make a raft. Holding the boards together can remind you of teamwork, too. Read this game as an example of an on-water lesson set up by a coach. As a family, you can turn it into writing 'places we want to discover together' and 'ways we can help each other' on paper. It's an activity your family can try together after reading the Kon Tiki story. Listen to what each person hopes to discover when they think about an adventure.