Preserving the past and advancing the future of maps

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Inspiring learning through map education

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What’s new?

Next event Behind Bending Lines: More Maps of the Chamizal Dispute Oct 20, 2021
Latest article A Refuge from the Roar: Yosemite National Park Oct 1, 2021
Gallery tours Take a free interpretive tour of Bending Lines, offered every Monday, Friday, and Saturday
Seminar series Join Kathleen DuVal for a discussion on the less-familiar geographies of the American Revolutionary Era
Today’s hours Tuesday 11 am – 5 pm · More hours

For everyone

We offer a wide spectrum of services and activities for the general public

For K-12 teachers

Our educator resources support teachers in fields ranging from geography and social studies to STEM and world history

For researchers

Our collections open up countless ways of exploring people and places around the world, and we welcome researchers from all walks of life

Digital tools

Explore our collections and discover the world of historical geography from home

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Make a quick search of our main Digital Collections portal. For more, see Searching the Collections.

The truth is in there

Our exhibition Bending Lines: Maps and Data from Distortion to Deception is now available in person at our free gallery at the Central Library in Copley Square.

Information for visitors

Upcoming Events

All events

20
Oct

Behind Bending Lines: More Maps of the Chamizal Dispute

exhibition Bending Lines collections

26
Oct

Kathleen DuVal on Seeing the Revolution From Beyond the Atlantic Coast

seminar American Revolutionary War Era

27
Oct

Reece Jones on White Borders: The History of Race and Immigration in the United States from Chinese Exclusion to the Border Wall

lecture book talk

All events

Articles

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Oct 1, 2021
Rachel Sharer

A Refuge from the Roar: Yosemite National Park

Examining the history and future of America's third national park on the anniversary of its founding

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Sep 19, 2021
Michelle LeBlanc

“X” Marks the Spot: Searching for Pirate Treasure on Cape Cod

For international “Talk like a Pirate Day,” we use maps in our collection to examine the story of Captain Southack and his mandate to recover the wreck of the pirate ship Whydah off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717.

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Sep 17, 2021
Elizabeth Borneman, Lily Xie, and Hua Xi

"We Never Wanted Him Here"

A brief history of protests, takedowns and counter-proposals to the commemoration of Christopher Columbus in the United States

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All articles