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K-12 Educational Outreach

The Osher Map Library offers and supports educational services in keeping with its mission statement and its location within the University of Southern Maine. For any information about the Osher Map Library's educational activities, to reserve a teaching kit, or to schedule a tour, please call (207) 780-4850, TDD (207) 780-5646.

In addition to in-service training workshops, usually offered on an ad hoc basis in conjunction with the Southern Maine Partnership, the Osher Map Library offers several K-12 educational services.
 
 

Teaching
Kits

Lessons
on the Web
 Teaching Kits and Lesson Plans on the Web

Teaching kits are based on educational tours developed in conjunction with exhibitions at the Osher Map Library. They are designed for use by educators in the classroom, either as full lessons, or as resources to support ongoing learning. Kits are age- and subject- specific, and explore themes through the use of full-color facsimile maps from the Osher Map Library Collections, as well as overhead transparencies, handouts, audio-tapes, slides, and a slide script.

The Osher Map Library loans these kits without charge, subject to certain conditions: they are loaned for two weeks, plus one week for mailing if needed; there is no charge to borrow kits, but return mailing charges may apply.

Summary:

  • FREE
  • Available on a first-come, first serve basis 
  • Reserved by calling the Osher Map Library
  • Comprised of facsimiles, slides, transparencies, handouts, scripts, and contain suggestions for activities
  • Designed to compliment classroom based learning in Geography, Cartography, History and Art

Lesson plans on the web  

A grant from the Davis Family Foundation has enabled the preparation of an interpretative teaching guide for Charting Neptune's Realm: From Classical Mythology to Satellite Imagery. Targeted to middle-school, junior high-school and high-school levels, the lessons explore several subjects including science, math, art, and history. The seventeen units are self-contained; they include numerous maps and diagrams, historical background, glossaries, and age-appropriate activities. Designed by Maine educators to accommodate a variety of curricula, the lessons are all in compliance with Maine Learning Results.
Maine and Me. Through the activities and concepts introduced in this teaching kit, students will be able to recognize their place in the contemporary historical moment by identifying with the experiences of historical children. Each packet includes audio tapes of autobiographical accounts from children from the past, maps depicting the places they lived at the historical moments under consideration, and a discussion-presentation script. Activities include mapmaking of a 'fictional historical moment,' creating 'cityhood' maps, and constructing time lines and time capsules. Maps are selected from the 1995 exhibition, Maine 175: A Celebration of 175 Years of Statehood.
  • Grades 2-3, 4-5. "In Deep: Life in 'Untamed' Maine." This teaching kit explores indigenous and early frontier aspects of Maine's history. 
  • Grades 5-6. "The Revolution and Statehood: Reorganizing Maine." This teaching kit concentrates on how the Revolution and statehood affected Maine's sense of place.
Maps of the Past. (Grades 4-5). Drawing on three thousand years of mapmaking, this kit focuses on how maps are made, and the functional, educational, narrative and artistic elements of maps. Activities include making a map while following a verbal narrative. Maps are from the 1996 exhibition Jerusalem 3000: Three Millennia of History.

Jerusalem at the Crossroads. (Grades 6-8). Jerusalem, located near the intersection of Europe, Asia and Africa, was situated at a crossroad for trade, cultural interaction, and conflict. Jerusalem is also a city holy to three of the world's major religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Using the maps and a skit, this packet highlights cultural and religious interaction between residents, traders, pilgrims and soldiers in Jerusalem over its three thousand year history. Maps are from the 1996 exhibition
Interactive
Tours		 The Osher Map Library staff hold tours for classes throughout the life of each exhibition. The tours are free. They run approximately 90 minutes long and are scheduled on Fridays from 9:00 to 3:00. They are, unfortunately, limited to 25 people; larger groups can be handled by dividing up the group and organizing separate activities. Tours also include pre- and post-visit classroom activities. Please contact OML for more information.
Loan
Exhibition		 Mapmaking Through the Eyes of Maine's Children: Maps drawn by student visitors at the Osher Map Library, 1995-97.

This exhibition showcases artwork made by students from local school districts who participated in the educational programs sponsored by the Osher Map Library. The exhibit contains maps created by 4th and 5th grade students in conjunction with the Maine 175 (1995-96), Jerusalem 3000 (1996), and the Cartographic Creation of New England (1997) exhibitions. The arrangement of the maps illustrates the cartographic concepts to which students were introduced and include place-names, latitude and longitude, and narrative. The instructive exhibit is designed so that educators can use it to conduct a mapmaking lesson with their students. The large but lightweight display boards and maps can be hung on walls or dividers or supported on easels: a recommended minimum of 75 linear feet is needed to display the entire exhibition (not including space for the optional Creation Station). Exhibition checklist and recommended bibliography are included. Length of loan is negotiable; shipping charges may apply.