Free online resources from Maine cultural institutions, including virtual exhibits, interactive maps, games, lesson plans and more!

Abbe Museum

Educator Hub | Downloadable classroom and reference materials including lesson plans designed to bring Wabanki history and culture into the classroom.

Interactive Maps | Changes in the Dawnland, Languages and Landscapes, Stories of the Dawnland, and Wabanaki Today.


Colby College Museum of Art

Colby Museum @ Home | Hands-on art projects, audio & video recordings, jigsaw puzzles, virtual exhibitions and more.


Hudson Museum

Online Exhibits | View the museum’s exhibits online.

Resources for Teachers | Find websites, books and videos on Wabanaki history and culture.

Web App | Explore material culture traditions central to the Native Peoples of Maine through interviews, games, and animations.

YouTube Channel | Watch videos showcasing Wabanaki artists talking about basketmaking, birchbark and carving traditions, and more.


Maine Historical Society

Maine Memory Network | Access to thousands of historical items, lesson plans, and online exhibits.


Maine State Museum

Lessons & Resources | Lesson plans, primary source sets, and other resources to connect students with Maine State Museum exhibits and collections.


Osher Map Library

Gallery Exhibits | Virtual re-creations of Osher’s popular gallery exhibits.

Map Play 4 Kids | Slideshows, trivia, geomatching, scrambler, and links to other fun geography games.

Teach | Social studies lessons using maps, charts, and atlases as well as worksheets, board games, and other activities for K-12 students and teachers.


Penobscot Marine Museum

Online Exhibits| Take a tour of PMM’s paintings, photographs, and museum artifacts.

Penobscot Bay History Online | Educational site where students, teachers, and researchers can learn about maritime history and culture.

Story Map | Travel with Ernest W. Perkins from Boston to Buenos Aires through his diary written in 1892. Includes activity prompts.


Explore the world from home with Google Earth Voyager — a collection of interactive guided tours on topics like travel, culture, nature, and history. Voyager integrates media including 360 videos and Street View to let you learn about the Earth from a new perspective!

Try one of the following tours, or visit Voyager for many more!

Amazing Libraries

Global libraries with a difference — from 9th-century landmarks housing medieval manuscripts, to ultra-modern buildings that light up the city sky at night.

Animals and Wildlife of the World

See a sampling of the planet’s eight million species of wildlife, from ancient tortoises of the Galápagos to monkeys that bathe in the hot springs of Japan.

Discover the United States

From coast to coast, the US is home to stunning natural sites, diverse cultural scenes, and historic landmarks.

Great Hikes Around the World

From Switzerland to Israel, ascend these picturesque hiking trails and discover breathtaking views along the way.

Museums Around the World

Visit 28 museums near and far — from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to the National Museum in New Delhi — to learn about art all over the globe.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Visit 30 historic landmarks around the world, including the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge and more!

US National Parks and Historic Sites

Get up close with nature and explore the beauty of US National Parks.

Walk the Appalachian Trail

Tour popular Appalachian Trail pitstops, where hikers find shelter and stock up on supplies during the 2,190-mile journey. (Featuring Monson, Maine!)

The World’s Ocean

The ocean covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, yet only 5 percent has been explored. Discover the wonders found under the sea with Street View imagery collected by Underwater Earth and The Ocean Agency.

WWII Memorials Around the World

From Pearl Harbor to Brandenburg Gate, these monuments piece together the solemn story of WWII as countries experienced it around the world.

Approximately three months ago, I didn’t know what a podcast was, or is. Sounded to me like something from The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But behind TFL’s front desk one day, I tuned in to a conversation between Michelle and Kim and kept hearing the word “podcasts” being bounced around (apparently I was wearing my hearing aids that day). Once they were clued in that I was eavesdropping, I was abruptly challenged with, “So, which podcasts are you into?” My deer in the headlights response elicited glances that left me me feeling as old as one of Tim Conway’s characters on The Carol Burnett Show, “Mister Tudball, the Oldest Man.” Long story short, I was encouraged to consider joining them in the twenty-first century before it was too late, given a short list of pod-thingy titles to sample, and a step-by-step tutorial on How to Download a Podcast App on My Phone. Despite my misgivings, it turns out that it’s easy. And podcast apps are free.

If you’re a listener to NPR, then you’ve heard a few podcasts already. Much of their broadcasts use the podcast format: scintillating little discussions and interviews with ten-second musical interludes between segments. Podcasts are 1-minute to 2-hour-long radio-broadcast-like presentations, recorded and left available for you 24-7 on the web. You’ll find fiction and rock-hard nonfiction, in all genres. They can, and do, cover virtually any subject imaginable: crocheting, movie or book reviews, flying saucers, poetry, unsolved mysteries, hypnosis, history, conspiracy theories, trivia, art, physics, psychology, philosophy, podcasts about NPR, and even podcasts on how to do podcasts if you can believe it (let’s call them podcast podcasts). So: to infinity and beyond!

If you own a Mac tablet, iPad, or iPhone, visit the App Store and SEARCH for “podcast app.” From there select the purple “Apple Podcasts” icon, after which you will click on “Get” or the Download Symbol. In a minute or so, the prompt “Open” appears. Click it. Voila! You’re there! It’s the same if you own a PC or Android phone, except you visit the Microsoft Store website. My PC comes with the Spotify program included though, and many people use that.

OK. So here we all are: sheltering at home, virtually quarantined with an empty social calendar. And like me you’ve got your TV, (hopefully) your books, and of course Facebook and Twitter. The restaurants and movie theaters are closed. All sports, including the Olympics have been cancelled or postponed. Along with your doctor and dentist appointments. Why not experiment with something new for a change? You might be surprised. I definitely have been. But I’m not your mother and I’m not your boss, so you can do what you like. But here are a few peeks into some alternate audio universes awaiting an explorer just like you. Only suggestions, mind you. Each episode has a little description at the beginning titled “Details” to give you a heads up.

TOM’S PICKS


Decoder Ring

Decoder Ring

Episode: The Grifter (1/31/19) Brett Johnson was a career criminal: fraudster, conman, cyber-criminal. A fascinating true account, the stuff of movies, similar to Catch Me If You Can. non-fiction


The Dark Side Of

Season 3, Episode 34: The Best of Hollywood: Judy Garland & The Wizard of Oz. 16 year old Judy Garland filmed the beloved classic in 1938, battling eating disorders and drug addictions she developed on set- unbelievable story

Season 2, Episode 14: Johnny Cash: Man in Black. Johnny Cash’s outlaw image wasn’t just an act,and for decades he struggled with the consequ3ences of drug use, depression, and his own personal dark side. Riveting.


Quirks & Quarks

Episode of 1/17/20: Ancient gum preserves genome, a living robot, wolf puppies play fetch, rattlesnakes skin holds raindrops for drinking, science of imagination and quiet snow.


Stuff You Should Know

(A compendium of anything and virtually everything.)

Halitosis: Worst Smell Ever?, How PEZ Works, How Ouija Boards Work, The Man Who Didn’t Eat for a Year, How Human Cannonballs Work, The Coconut Cult, What Is the Civil Air Patrol?, How Dying Works, Were Nazis Drug-Fueled Crankheads?, How Disgust Works, Bedbugs, Wigs in English Courts… much, much more


Radio Rental

Episode 1, 10/31/2019: (Two creepy, engaging first-person stories) (1) a young man on an airliner feels the powerful adrenaline of fight or flight… (2) an Alfred Hitchcockian account of an anonymous game by smart phone that is going too far? A real creeper, this one.


Odd Ball

Episode 1: Darndest Thing I Ever Saw, Episode 2: Who is Gerri?, and Episode 3: It Gets Weirder

A “true” story (well, true in the since that many people actually witnessed the phenomenon and several agencies subjected it to scientific scrutiny, and that it occupied the newspapers for a number of years). An odd, metallic, bowling-ball-size ball is found in the Florida woods, and its strange characteristics caused many to ask, is this object extraterrestrial?

Explore! Experiment! You’ll find something different…

Digital Maine Library

Kids InfoBits Digital content covering a broad range of educational topics including Animals, Arts, Geography Literature, Social Studies, Technology, and more.

Miss Humblebee’s Academy Theme-based, interactive curriculum for children preschool through kindergarten.

National Geographic Kids Includes all magazines from 2009 to the present, as well as books, videos, and images.

World Book Early World of Learning K-3rd Grade. Offers a children’s encyclopedia, and resources like animated poems, stories, and games.

World Book Kids K-5th Grade. This online encyclopedia includes videos, activities, and read-aloud features.

In Context: Middle School Combines reference content with age-appropriate videos, newspapers, magazines, and primary sources.

In Context: High School Offers a selection of overviews, primary sources, videos and images.

World Book Discover Great for reluctant readers. Engages with easy-to-understand content, interactive multimedia and text-to-speech.

World Book Student Connects students with a variety of multimedia and articles.

World Book Timelines Brows existing timelines in a variety of subjects or create custom timelines using articles from the World Book Encyclopedia.

Learning Express Provides support to students for academic skill-building and standardized test prep.

NoveList K-8 Plus Helps kids find books that are just right for their reading level and interests.

Other Online Resources

Community of Learning Begins March 23. Interactive, live-streamed programs for homebound students in grades K-6.

Code.org Learn computer science at home with tutorials, videos, and projects.

Khan Academy Online courses, lessons, and practice.

The Learning Space Original, educational programming for students in grades 3 through 5 created by Maine teachers.

PBS Learning Media Teaching resources including vides, lesson plans, and games.

Scholastic Learn at Home Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.

Science News for Students Online publication dedicated to providing age-appropriate science news to learners, parents, and educators.

Smithsonian Fun Stuff for Kids Explore and learn with the Smithsonian Institution.

Storyline Online Videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.

Ted Under 20 Talks from scientists, musicians, innovators, activists–all under the age of 20.

Tumble Book Library Children’s e-books, including animated, talking picture books, read-along chapter books, graphic novels, and more.

Tumble Math Math stories combining animation, narration, and sound.

Wonderopolis Intriguing questions explored in a variety of ways. (Created by National Center for Families Learning)

State of Maine

Maine’s COVID-19 Response

211 Maine

211 Maine (https://211maine.org) is a free, confidential information and referral service that connects people of all ages across Maine to local services. 211 Maine is based in Maine and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To reach 211:


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

What to Do if You Are Sick


Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)


NAMI Maine

Mental Health & COVID-19

NAMI Maine Helpline is a safe and confidential mental health service for peers, law enforcement, professionals, friends and family members.    

  • Call (800) 464-5767 & press “1”
  • Email helpline@namimaine.org

World Health Organization

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

COVID-19 Myth Busters


John Hopkins University

Coronavirus Resource Center

COVID-19 Interactive Map


Our World in Data

Coronavirus Disease – Statistics and Research


Looking for ways to help? Visit our COVID-19 Volunteer Opportunities page.