Odyssey of the Mind teams often surprise others with the power of a well-constructed balsa wood structure. Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian archeologist and adventurer would agree. He spent much of his career attempting to prove that ancient mariners could cross oceans in primitive vessels. This eventually led him on a journey across the globe traveling on a raft made of balsa wood.

Heyerdahl grew up believing he would be a zoologist. His plans were derailed while he was studying the wildlife on the small, isolated Polynesian islands. While living there he fell in love with the land, sea, and people that inhabited the islands. He began to immerse himself in the culture and soon began studying their origins. He switched his studies to archaeology and began his journey in revealing the unsolved mysteries of the South Pacific and its tiny islands.

His thorough research brought him from remote tropical islands to the musty basements of New York museums, and to libraries worldwide. The combination of the culture, the currents and winds of the ocean led him to theorize that these islands were inhabited by ancient people of South America, even though they would have to travel great distances across the Pacific Ocean to do it. There was one thing holding him back -- many scientists believed the primitive sailing vessels of the time could never make it that far. Like many other great minds with new ideas, Heyerdahl’s conclusions were dismissed.

Heyerdahl believed so fiercely in his research and theories that he set out to prove the scientific community wrong. In 1947, he recreated an ancient raft made only of balsa wood and a few other native materials. He named the raft Kon-Tiki after an Incan sun god and set sail across the ocean with five like-minded archeologists. He was not only risking his archeological reputation, but he was putting his life at risk as well. They traveled from Peru, across the Pacific Ocean, and eventually smashed onto a reef in the Polynesian islands.

This dangerous adventure was successful. He traveled over 4,000 miles across the ocean in a primitive raft. The trip lasted 101 days and would inspire Heyerdahl to write a best-selling novel about it. The book, Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft, was printed in 50 languages and was made into a documentary that won an Academy Award in 1951.

Not only was his book sold around the world, but also his theory proved correct. This led to further adventures with him building and traveling on other recreated ancient vessels. This includes a reed boat that traveled across the Atlantic Ocean. In years following, Heyerdahl was involved with many expeditions and archaeological projects. However, he remained best known for his boat-building, and for his emphasis on cultural study within archeology.

Hyderdahl had radical ideas about the capabilities of our ancestors and decided to prove them by making the same voyages on primitive vessels. He was successful in showing the ingenuity of those people, but also took great risk in doing so. He eventually changed historical opinion of the origins of the people of the Polynesian islands and of the abilities of our predecessors and the risks they took to explore our planet.