Faye Smith, age 13, of Jamestown, N.Y., for her question:

WHO DISCOVERED THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS?

A great English navigator and explorer named James Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, as well as Australia, New Zealand and a number of smaller islands. An officer in England's Royal Navy, he was the marine surveyor of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1763.

In 1765 Cook was picked to lead a voyage of exploration to the Pacific Ocean. He sailed south from Tahiti and discovered and claimed for England the islands of New Zealand in 1769 and the east coast of Australia in 1770.

After crossing the South Pacific several times from 1772 to 1775, he confirmed that there was no additional continent in the Pacific Itself.

His final voyage was to find a shorter way from Asia to Europe by a northwest passage, or route north of North America. In 1778 he discovered the Hawaiian Islands. He surveyed the west coast of North America from Oregon through the Bering Strait and into the Arctic Ocean. The Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean was found to be blocked by a wall of ice. Returning to the Hawaiian Islands in 1779, he was killed by the natives.