Note: Information about virtual programming is located at this link.

In-Person Programming

For Field Trips and Class Visits, teachers are encouraged to choose topics that fit into their current curriculum:

• Introduction to Maps
  • Grades K-2
  • This lesson introduces students to maps and common map features, such as compass roses, legends, and scales. Students will complete Tino’s Map Book, in which they will make their own maps of familiar areas.
    Available for classroom visits and for field trips at OML.
• Maps and Landforms
  • Grades 3-5
  • This lesson uses maps of the world from the 1500s to the 1900s in a completely interactive lesson about map features, the continents and oceans, and other geographic landforms. Students will practice making a map using a compass rose, legend/key, and scale.
    Available for classroom visits and for field trips at OML.
• Maps of the World – History of Western Maps Emphasis
  • Grades 4-5
  • This lesson uses five centuries of world maps to show the progression of geographical knowledge in the western world, as well as the advances in the making of maps and globes. Each student will construct a copy of the 20-sided Dymaxion globe invented by R. Buckminster Fuller.
    Available for classroom visits and for field trips at OML.
• Maps of the World – Cartography and Western Worldview Emphasis
  • Grades 6-12
  • This lesson uses five centuries of world maps to show the progression of geographical knowledge in the western world, as well as the alterations in western worldviews. Each student will construct a copy of the 20-sided Dymaxion globe invented by R. Buckminster Fuller.
    Available for classroom visits and for field trips at OML.
• Portland History
  • Grades 3-12
  • This lesson investigates the destructions, resurrections, and transformations of Maine’s largest city in maps of Portland from the Revolutionary War to the beginning of the twentieth century. This visit theme includes a board game in which students must work together to save Portland from the infamous Captain Mowatt, while learning about the important people, buildings, and industries in ‘Falmouth’ during the Revolutionary War.
    Available for classroom visits and for field trips at OML.
• Maine Studies
  • Grades 3-12
  • Explore the changes in Maine from the time it was a district of Massachusetts valued largely for its lumber through its transformation into ‘Vacationland’. This visit theme includes a Maine State History trivia game.
  • Alternate Emphasis: Wabanaki Place Names on Maine Maps (Grades 3-8)
  • Alternate Emphasis: Maine Geography and Landmarks (Grades 3-8)
    Available for classroom visits and for field trips at OML.
• Colonial New England
  • Grades 4-12
  • This lesson shows how the competitors for land in present day New England saw and mapped the landscape and its resources. This visit theme includes a Resources of New England game in which students collect the resources that native peoples and early settlers used to survive and prosper.
    Available for classroom visits and for field trips at OML.
• Westward Growth of the United States
  • Grades 5-12
  • This lesson explores the events of the United States’ westward expansion, including encroachment on Native American lands, major land purchases, mass migrations such as the Oregon Trail and California Gold Rush.
    Available for classroom visits and for field trips at OML.
  • Grades 3-5 variant: Do a scavenger hunt style activity on the geography of the United States, including its important landforms, waterways, and largest cities. Preview
• Fun with Maps
  • Grades 3-12
  • This lesson features maps of familiar areas as well as fan favorite maps at the Osher Map Library. Students will be able to either play a team geography game or create their own map board game as a follow up activity.
    Available only for field trips at OML.

Because of the highly specialized nature of secondary curriculum, High School teachers are encouraged to work with OML educators to ensure that the primary sources used in the lesson fit well with the class material.

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS

We offer free interactive Virtual Field Trips to be hosted synchronously over Google Meets for groups of 10 to 35 (per session). Virtual Themes currently available include:

Theme(s) for Grades K-2:
     • “All About Maps”
Theme(s) for Grades 3-5:
     • “World Geography & Landforms”
     • “United States Geography”
     • “New England Geography”
     • “Maine Geography”
     • “Mapmaking Workshop” (Grades 4-6)
Theme(s) for Grades 6-8:
     • Two-Part “World Maps & Geography”
     • “United States Geography”
     • “New England Geography”
     • “Maine History in Maps”
     • “Maine Geography”
     • “Mapmaking Workshop” (Grades 4-6)
Theme(s) for Grades 9+:
     • “World Maps in History”
     • “Maine History in Maps”

We are hard at work creating additional Virtual Field Trip themes; if you have any requests or recommendations, please send them to Renee Keul at renee.keul@maine.edu, and please also consider filling out our short Educator Survey Form

Virtual Field Trip Themes for Elementary

“All About Maps”
Suitable for Grades K – 2
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip focuses on important map features. Students will practice making their own maps with scales, compass roses, and legends. The synchronous session will take approximately 25 minutes, depending on the age of the students.

“World Geography & Landforms”
Suitable for Grades 3 – 5
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip focuses on important geographic concepts and terminology. The synchronous session will take approximately 45 minutes, depending on the age of the students. [Also available in student-paced format]. Pre-teaching worksheets include:
     • Scale & Compass Roses –> Answers
     • Geography Vocab Crossword –> Answers
     • Oceans and Continents Matching –> Answers

“United States Geography”
Suitable for Grades 3 – 5
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip focuses on the geography of the United States of America, including its states, regions, and major landforms. The synchronous session will take approximately 45 minutes, depending on the age of the students. Pre-teaching worksheets include:
     • Where in the USA Worksheet

“New England Geography”
Suitable for Grades 3 – 5
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip focuses on the geography of New England, including its states and primary cities, major landforms, and natural resources. The synchronous session will take approximately 45 minutes, depending on the age of the students. Pre-teaching worksheets include:
     • New England Geography –> Answers

“Maine Geography”
Suitable for Grades 3 – 5
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip focuses on the geography of Maine, including its counties and primary cities, major landforms, and natural resources. The synchronous session will take approximately 45 minutes, depending on the age of the students. Pre-teaching worksheets include:
     • Maine Crossword Puzzle –> Answers

Also See: “Mapmaking Workshop” (Grades 4-6)

CLICK HERE to Request Virtual Field Trip

Virtual Field Trip Themes for Middle School

“World Maps & Geography”
Suitable for Grades 6 – 8
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip is broken into two 40-minute sessions. The first session consists of a review of important geographic concepts and terminology, and may be conducted synchronously or asynchronously (student-paced). The second session uses world maps and globes to introduce students to the concept of Worldview, and how different cultures may promote different views of the world. Students are asked to consider world maps not as objective representations of reality, but as products of their creators’ worldviews and motivations. Pre-teaching worksheets include:
     • Using Important Map Features –> Answers
     • Optional: Geography Vocab Crossword –> Answers

“United States Geography”
Suitable for Grades 6 – 8
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip focuses on the geography of the United States of America, including its states, regions, and major landforms. The synchronous session will take approximately 40 minutes, depending on the age of the students. Pre-teaching worksheets include:
     • Where in the USA Worksheet

“New England Geography”
Suitable for Grades 6 – 8
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip focuses on the geography of New England, including its states and primary cities, major landforms, and natural resources. The synchronous session will take approximately 45 minutes. Pre-teaching worksheets include:
     • New England Geography –> Answers

“Maine History in Maps”
Suitable for Grades 6 – 8
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip lasts approximately 45-60 minutes and explores the events and development in Maine’s history as seen through maps. Within the week previous to the Virtual Field Trip session, we recommend that teachers conduct the following pre-teaching with their students:
     • Wikhikon (Birchbark Maps), created by the educators at the Abbe Museum. The lesson requires three maps from 1888-89 Annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution:
                    Fig. 449, Penobscot Notice of Direction
                    Fig. 450, Passamaquoddy Notice of Direction
                    Fig. 457, Passamaquoddy Wikhegan [old spelling]
     • Clip from James Francis Lecture, “Penobscot Sense of Place” [BEGIN at 1:08:21 and END at 1:13:36]
     • Optional: Maine History Crossword –> Answers
     • Optional: Earliest Map of Maine Worksheet –> Answers
     • Optional: Have students practice finding Wabanaki place names on google maps. As reference, you can use this map with Wabanaki place names, compiled by Bates College students for Donald Soctomah and Micah Pawling’s “Wabanaki History in Maine” class: LINK to Wabanaki Place Names Map

“Maine Geography”
Suitable for Grades 6 – 8
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip reviews the geography of Maine, including its counties and primary cities, major landforms, and natural resources. The synchronous session will take approximately 45 minutes, depending on the age of the students. Pre-teaching worksheets include:
     • Maine Crossword Puzzle –> Answers

Also See: “Mapmaking Workshop” (Grades 4-6)

CLICK HERE to Request Virtual Field Trip

Virtual Field Trip Themes for High School

“Maine History in Maps”
Suitable for Grades 9+
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip lasts approximately 45 minutes and explores the events and development in Maine’s history as seen through maps. Within the week previous to the Virtual Field Trip session, we recommend that teachers conduct the following pre-teaching with their students:
     • Wikhikon (Birchbark Maps), created by the educators at the Abbe Museum. The lesson requires three maps from 1888-89 Annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution:
                    Fig. 449, Penobscot Notice of Direction
                    Fig. 450, Passamaquoddy Notice of Direction
                    Fig. 457, Passamaquoddy Wikhegan [old spelling]
     • Clip from James Francis Lecture, “Penobscot Sense of Place” [BEGIN at 1:08:21 and END at 1:13:36]
     • Optional: Maine History Crossword –> Answers
     • Optional: Earliest Map of Maine Worksheet –> Answers
     • Optional: Have students practice finding Wabanaki place names on google maps. As reference, you can use this map with Wabanaki place names, compiled by Bates College students for Donald Soctomah and Micah Pawling’s “Wabanaki History in Maine” class: LINK to Wabanaki Place Names Map

“World Maps in History”
Suitable for Grades 9+
This highly interactive Virtual Field Trip uses world maps and globes to introduce students to the concept of Worldview, and how different cultures may promote different views of the world. Students are asked to consider world maps not as objective representations of reality, but as products of their creators’ worldviews and motivations. Pre-teaching worksheets include:
     • Optional: Geography Vocab Crossword –> Answers
     • ONE of the following videos:
                    Option 1: Map Men, “Why every world map is wrong”
                    [Content Warning: one instance of profanity, and a reference to sexuality; please preview]
                    Option 2: Vox, “Why all world maps are wrong”
                    [Not as entertaining as the previous video, but may be preferable for less mature audiences]

CLICK HERE to Request Virtual Field Trip

Other Virtual Field Trip Themes

“Illustrated Mapmaking Workshop”
Recommended for Grades 4-6
*Groups of at least 10
Offered in conjunction with the Illustrated Mapmaking Contest, this workshop will teach new mapmakers the ins and outs of mapmaking, from where to gather inspiration to important map features to mapping techniques to illustration how-tos. Students will only need paper and pencil for the workshop itself, but motivated mapmakers may wish to request their choice of art supplies afterwards by submitting this form: https://bit.ly/mapmaking-supplies

CLICK HERE to Request Virtual Field Trip