33 Mayflower Facts for Kids (With Timeline and Quiz)
Quick answer: The Mayflower was an English cargo ship that carried 102 passengers, now known as the Pilgrims, across the Atlantic Ocean in 1620. The trip took 66 days. The ship reached Cape Cod in November 1620, and the passengers founded Plymouth Colony in what is now Massachusetts. Below are 33 true Mayflower facts for kids, a timeline, a “by the numbers” table and a quick quiz.
The Mayflower story is a big part of how American kids learn about Thanksgiving. But a lot of what people “know” is fuzzy, like the exact landing date or whether the Pilgrims really stepped on Plymouth Rock. Every fact here comes from Plimoth Patuxet Museums (the living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts), Britannica or the Library of Congress, with links so you can check them for homework. For more holiday learning, pair this page with our turkey facts for kids.
Key takeaways
- 33 sourced facts in four parts: the ship (6), the voyage (9), the arrival and first winter (12) and what happened next (6).
- The Mayflower carried 102 passengers and 20 to 30 crew for 66 days in 1620 (Plimoth Patuxet Museums).
- Some dates have two versions because England used an older calendar in 1620 that was 10 days behind ours. That is why you will see both November 11 and November 21 for the landing.
- The Mayflower Compact, signed by 41 men, is about 200 words long and was an early plan for self-government (Britannica).
Contents
- Facts About the Mayflower Ship (1–6)
- Facts About the Mayflower Voyage (7–15)
- Facts About the Arrival and the First Winter (16–27)
- Facts About What Happened Next (28–33)
- The Mayflower by the numbers
- Mayflower timeline with both calendars
- Quick Mayflower quiz for kids
- FAQ
Facts About the Mayflower Ship (1–6)
What was it like on board? Start with the ship itself.
- The Mayflower was a cargo ship, not a passenger ship. Before 1620 it sailed around Europe carrying goods like wine and cloth. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- Nobody knows exactly what the Mayflower looked like. No detailed description survives. Experts estimate it was about 90 feet (27 meters) long and weighed about 180 tons. (Britannica)
- Its captain was Christopher Jones. In 1620 he was called the ship's "Master." Britannica says he bought the ship in 1608. (Britannica)
- About 20 to 30 sailors worked on the ship. The crew lived on the upper decks. The Master had the driest, most comfortable space at the back (the stern). (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- The 102 passengers slept in the cargo deck. It was dark, cold and damp, with low ceilings and no windows, because the passengers took the place of the cargo. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- Sailors slept in the wettest spot on board. Their room at the front of the ship, the forecastle (say FOLK-sul), was hit by waves all day. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
Facts About the Mayflower Voyage (7–15)
The trip across the Atlantic Ocean in 1620 was long, cold and full of surprises.
- The Mayflower had a partner ship called the Speedwell. The Speedwell leaked so badly that both ships had to turn back twice. In the end the Mayflower sailed alone. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- The trip across the Atlantic took 66 days. That's more than two months at sea. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- Only about a third of the passengers were Separatists. Britannica Kids counts 35 Separatists, people who had split from the Church of England, and 67 other English settlers. (Britannica Kids)
- The ship took a northern route to avoid pirates. Pirates were a real danger for ships in the 1600s. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- A storm cracked one of the ship's huge wooden beams. The passengers had brought a "great iron screw" that pushed the beam back into place, so the trip could go on. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- A young passenger named John Howland fell overboard in a storm. He grabbed a rope trailing in the sea and was pulled back on deck. He lived and later signed the Mayflower Compact. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- A baby was born in the middle of the ocean. Elizabeth Hopkins gave birth to a boy, and his parents named him Oceanus. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- Another baby, Peregrine White, was born after the ship reached America. His name Peregrine means "traveler" or "pilgrim." (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- A sailor who made fun of seasick passengers died at sea. Plimoth Patuxet Museums tells how the passengers believed his death was a punishment for being cruel. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
Love ocean stories? Our ocean facts for kids explain why the Atlantic can be so rough.
Facts About the Arrival and the First Winter (16–27)
Landing was only the beginning. The first winter in Plymouth was the hardest part.
- The Pilgrims never planned to land in Massachusetts. They had permission to settle near the mouth of the Hudson River, in today's New York. Storms pushed them north to Cape Cod. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- They first reached land near today's Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod. Their first stop was not Plymouth. (Britannica)
- The arrival date has two answers: November 11 or November 21, 1620. England still used the old Julian calendar, which in 1620 was 10 days behind the calendar we use now. Plimoth Patuxet uses the old date; Britannica uses the modern one. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- Before going ashore, 41 men signed the Mayflower Compact. It was a promise to make "just and equal laws" and follow them together. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- The Mayflower Compact is only about 200 words long. Britannica calls it the first framework of government written and enacted in what became the United States. (Britannica)
- Nobody called it the "Mayflower Compact" until 1793. That name came 173 years after it was signed. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- The original Mayflower Compact is lost. We know the words because they were printed in a 1622 pamphlet called Mourt's Relation and copied by William Bradford. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- Plymouth was built where a Wampanoag village had stood. Most of the Wampanoag people who lived there had died in an epidemic a few years before the Pilgrims came. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- The Pilgrims lived on the ship for most of their first winter. They rowed ashore to build houses during the day and went back to the ship at night. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- About half of the Mayflower passengers died that first winter. Cold, wet weather and what they called a "general sickness" of coughs and fevers made many people ill. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- Everyone finally moved into houses on land in March 1621. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
- The Mayflower sailed back to England on April 5, 1621. It left without any of the colonists. (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)
Want to see how this fits into the bigger story of America? Try our United States facts for kids.
Facts About What Happened Next (28–33)
How the Mayflower story connects to Thanksgiving, and what became of the ship.
- In 1621 the colonists and about 90 Wampanoag people shared a three-day harvest feast. Governor William Bradford and the colonists were joined by Wampanoag leader Massasoit and about 90 other Wampanoag people. The menu included wild turkeys, ducks, geese, venison, lobster, clams, corn and dried fruit. (Library of Congress)
- The Mayflower's passengers weren't called Pilgrims until the 1800s. Later colonists called them the "Old Comers" or the "Forefathers." (Britannica Kids)
- Plymouth was the second English colony in North America. The first was Jamestown, Virginia, founded in 1607. (Britannica Kids)
- Nobody knows for sure if the Pilgrims stepped on Plymouth Rock. Only tradition says they landed at the rock. (Britannica Kids)
- Nobody knows what happened to the Mayflower. Some historians think its wood was reused to build a barn in Jordans, England. (Britannica)
- A copy of the ship, the Mayflower II, crossed the ocean in 1957. It was built in England and sailed to Massachusetts in 53 days, faster than the original. (Britannica)
Kids who enjoy history can keep going with our history fun facts for kids, then test themselves with these US history trivia questions.
The Mayflower by the Numbers
A quick table for school reports. Numbers marked “about” are estimates from the sources.
| Number | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 102 | Passengers on board | Plimoth Patuxet |
| 20 to 30 | Crew members (sailors and officers) | Plimoth Patuxet |
| 66 | Days at sea | Plimoth Patuxet |
| About 90 feet (27 m) | Estimated length of the ship | Britannica |
| About 180 tons | Estimated weight (size) of the ship | Britannica |
| 41 | Men who signed the Mayflower Compact | Plimoth Patuxet |
| About 200 | Words in the Mayflower Compact | Britannica |
| About half | Passengers who died in the first winter | Plimoth Patuxet |
| 2 | Babies born on the Mayflower’s trip: Oceanus Hopkins at sea and Peregrine White after arrival | Plimoth Patuxet |
| 53 | Days the Mayflower II replica took to cross in 1957 | Britannica |
Mayflower Timeline (Old and New Calendar Dates)
In 1620, England used the Julian calendar, which was 10 days behind the Gregorian calendar we use today. Plimoth Patuxet Museums usually gives the old-style date, and Britannica gives the modern one. Both are correct. They are just counted differently.
| Event | Old-style date (1620s England) | Modern calendar date |
|---|---|---|
| Mayflower leaves Plymouth, England, for good | September 6, 1620 | September 16, 1620 |
| Mayflower reaches Cape Cod | November 11, 1620 | November 21, 1620 |
| Mayflower Compact signed | November 11, 1620 | November 21, 1620 |
| Mayflower sails home to England | April 5, 1621 | April 15, 1621 |
Try it: Ask kids to add 10 days to each old-style date to get the modern date. It is a quick math warm-up and helps them remember why history books don’t always agree.
Quick Mayflower Quiz for Kids
Read the facts above, then see how many you can answer without scrolling back up. Answers are in brackets.
- How many passengers were on the Mayflower? [102]
- How many days did the trip take? [66]
- What was the name of the baby born at sea? [Oceanus Hopkins]
- Where did the Pilgrims plan to settle before storms pushed them north? [Near the Hudson River, in today’s New York]
- What was the name of the ship that leaked and stayed behind? [The Speedwell]
Want more quiz fun for the holidays? Our Thanksgiving riddles with answers are a good next step.
Mayflower Facts for Kids FAQ
What are 5 facts about the Mayflower?
The Mayflower carried 102 passengers across the Atlantic in 1620. The trip took 66 days. A baby named Oceanus Hopkins was born at sea. The ship meant to go to the Hudson River area but landed at Cape Cod. Before going ashore, 41 men signed the Mayflower Compact.
How long did the Mayflower take to cross the ocean?
The voyage took 66 days, which is more than two months. The ship left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620 (September 16 on today's calendar) and reached Cape Cod on November 11, 1620 (November 21 today).
How many people were on the Mayflower?
There were 102 passengers, plus a crew of about 20 to 30 sailors and officers led by the ship's master, Christopher Jones.
Why did the Mayflower land in Massachusetts instead of Virginia?
The passengers had permission to settle near the mouth of the Hudson River, which was then part of the large Virginia territory. Storms and rough seas pushed the ship north, so it reached Cape Cod in what is now Massachusetts.
What happened to the Mayflower ship?
The Mayflower sailed back to England in April 1621. Nobody knows its final fate. Some historians think its timber was reused to build a barn in Jordans, England. A replica, the Mayflower II, sailed to Massachusetts in 1957.
Sources: Plimoth Patuxet Museums: Mayflower and Mayflower Compact; Britannica: Mayflower; Britannica Kids: Pilgrims; Library of Congress: Thanksgiving primary source set.
Last updated: October 2026.
