ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hokulea

Hokulea is a very special canoe that can sail on the ocean. Hokulea is not like a normal canoe because it was built using special tools and methods that were used a very long time ago by the Polynesians, who were great sailors.

The Polynesians were people who lived on islands in the Pacific Ocean a really long time ago. They were very good at sailing on the ocean and they used the stars to help them navigate. Navigation is when you figure out where you are going and how to get there. They sailed from one island to another, exploring new places, and bringing back lots of things they found.

Hokulea is just like the canoes that the Polynesians used a long time ago, but it was built in the 1970s by people who wanted to learn how to sail like the Polynesians did. They made Hokulea very carefully and used special materials that would be good for sailing on the ocean for a long time.

Hokulea has traveled all over the world to show people how special it is and to teach them about the Polynesians and their special way of sailing. Hokulea can even sail without using any engines or motors like a car does, just using the wind and the stars to guide it.

Hokulea is a very important symbol of Polynesian culture because it shows how much the Polynesians respected the ocean and how much they knew about how to sail on it. It is also a symbol of hope for the world because it reminds us that we need to take better care of the ocean and the earth so that we can keep exploring and discovering new things.