Pack for a Purpose
Get up-to-date information about needed supplies for community-based projects supported by accommodations around the globe. Travelers use their luggage to take school, media, and other
Our Multimedia Library
Resources For People Who Love To Travel
Where to?
Search by word or location. Scroll for subjects and types of resources.
Virtually Live Tours
Real-time live tours from sites around Italy to enjoy virtually from home.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
http://hpmmuseum.jp/ This resource is featured in the article: What to do From Home to Get the Most Out of Your Trip to Japan
Tokyo National Museum
https://emuseum.nich.go.jp/top?langId=en&webView= This resource is featured in the article: What to do From Home to Get the Most Out of Your Trip to Japan
Obaachan’s Class
This Youtu.be channel sets common phrases to music, making it fun for kids and adults alike!
Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands
For a real picture of the wild and beautiful scenery of Scotland’s coastline, watch Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands series with Paul Murton, available on Amazon Prime and the BBC in the UK.
Stories of Scotland
This podcast highlights everything from Scotland’s historic sites, to politics and nature, and stories of ghosts and witchcraft.
Sumatra Orangutan Explore
A look at the conservation efforts in the Bukit Lawang area for orangutans and what you can do to help.
Pueblo Food Experience cookbook
A collection of traditional Puebloan recipes compiled by Taos Pueblo resident Roxanne Swentzell, featuring a variety of mouth-watering dishes and gorgeous photography to match.
Surviving Columbus
Produced by PBS New Mexico, Surviving Columbus tells the story of conquest and European colonization from a Native American perspective.
Taos Pueblo – UNESCO World Heritage Site
A brief video documentary about the gorgeous Taos Pueblo UNESCO World Heritage Site in New Mexico, the longest continuously-inhabited settlement in North America.
Puebloan Basketmaking
A video demonstration of traditional Puebloan wicker basketmaking, produced by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Derry Girls
Silly, fun, and honest look at teenage life in Ireland during the Troubles of the early 1990s.
Small Island
Beautiful story of the Windrush generation, newly-minted British citizens immigrating from Jamaica after WWII, encouraged to come by the government, but then marginalized by most white Brits.
Cocaine Cowboys
A documentary looking at the ramifications of the cocaine trade in Florida in the ’80s.
Bubble in the Sun
A look at how the economic boom in Florida could have triggered the Great Depression.
Stuff You Should Know– Conch Republic
A short podcast reflecting on why the Florida Keys unofficially seceded from the United States for one afternoon in 1980.
Best. State. Ever.
A look at all the weird and wild Florida has to offer from a resident of the Sunshine State.
National Geographic Manatees of Florida
A look at the gentle sea cows of Florida and why it’s important to conserve them.
Timeline Game
An easy to learn card game for ages 8+ that helps players learn about world history and how the history of your travel destination fits into it.
Timeline JS
A free, open-source tool that lets users create beautiful interactive timelines to use for travel studies.
Histomap of Civilizations
A timeline of major civilizations over the last 4000 years with an attempt to represent them by relative power.
Google Maps List of Places
A useful way to organize places you want to visit on Google Maps.
mylanguageexchange.com
Online language exchange community that helps you find language exchange partners and penpals.
Reflections of Eden by Birute Galdikas
A scientific journey into the jungles of Borneo exploring the lives of orangutans.
Parts Unknown
Food and cultural focused documentaries on less explored places in the world.
Unfamiliar Fishes
A great book about the Americanization of Hawaii. Essential learning if you intend to visit.
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
A gripping historical fiction novel set is Iceland and inspired by Icelandic Sagas.
Smarthistory
Short, engaging videos from museums and cultural sites around the world. Smarthistory is the most-visited art history resource in the world.
Sounds of the Forest
A collection of forest and woodland sounds from all over the world…choose your listening location from the website’s map.
Aerial America
A video series by the Smithsonian Channel (and now streaming on CBS All Access) that provides beautiful views and educational information about each state.
Drive & Listen
Drive through the streets of 50 cities around the world and listen to local radio or sounds from the street.
Clans of Caledonia
Explore the transition of 19th Century Scotland from an agricultural to an industrial nation in this fun game.
Atlas Obscura
Excellent site for travel inspiration and destination ideas with an interesting community offering a wealth of information about our world.
Flyover Country App
App to use from the window seat of a plane or for road trips or hikes that shows geological, geographical, and meteorological information in addition to flight tracking.
Glacial Lake Missoula and Its Humongous Floods
Fascinating book about Glacial Lake Missoula, the massive Ice Age floods that it created, and their colossal marks on the landscape of the northwest of the US.
Google Arts and Culture
Virtual tours of museums and galleries, and a treasure trove of articles on the arts.
Maps of Our World App
Free app to study and quiz yourself with maps of the world, appropriate for beginners to experts.
Official UNESCO World Heritage Sites Website
The official website of the World Heritage Committee is a great starting point to learn about World Heritage Sites.
Minecraft: Education Edition (History & Culture)
An inspiring resource for Minecraft players to learn more about the architecture and history of their travel destinations. Find lesson plans about building landmarks, cities, and more. There are also some prebuilt historic places to explore and build in.
Street Food: Asia (Episode Yogyakarta)
A foodie-centered docuseries. This episode focuses on traditionally prepared Indonesian dishes and the people that make them.
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
An inspirational account of one woman’s life-changing trip through India, Italy, and Indonesia.
Rabbit-Proof Fence
An Australian film confronting the reality of the Stolen Generation, the Aboriginal children who were removed from their parents by the national government.
Rome: A Virtual Tour of the Ancient City
A free five week course touring the ancient city of Rome using a 3D digital model.
The Story of Australia
Learn about the 60,000 year history of Australia with this six-part documentary series, covering the First Australians to European settlement, the Gold Rushes, Federation, the World Wars, and the prosperous Modern Era.
The Art Assignment
A PBS Digital Studios production hosted by curator Sarah Urist Green that explores art and art history through the lens of things happening today.
Novel Destinations: A Travel Guide to Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen’s Bath to Ernest Hemingway’s Key West by Shannon McKenna Schmidt, Joni Rendon
A guide for bibliophiles to more than 500 literary sites across the United States and Europe.
Roadside Geology of Washington
Very useful field guide, both for a long read in order to understand the geology of the state and also for using in the field to know more about the geological features you are looking at.
Seterra Online
Online mapping resource which features quiz-based games to help teach country and state identification. Games provide scoring which leads to competition to see how well you do compared to others in your class / household.
Quizlet
One of the best tools I’ve found for help in memorizing vocabulary while studying a foreign language. It can be used for anything you are trying to memorize.
PBS- Cathedral, David Macaulay
Documentary using both animation and live action to bring to life David Macaulay’s excellent book Cathedrals to learn about how and why they were made.
World Heritage Sites in Australia
A YouTube documentary series showcasing the World Heritage Sites in Australia, including Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House, and more.
Georgia Strait Alliance
As oceans are threatened by plastic waste and pollution, the Georgia Strait Alliance shares information on ocean health awareness, as well as organise events like beach clean ups.
Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
Information about First Nation community in BC. Online tutorials for traditional arts and crafts and details on events.
You’re Dead to Me
Podcast that uses humor and wit in introducing historical figures with an important story.
Historical Figures Podcast
A podcast celebrating remarkable lives throughout history and around the world.
Bandcamp
Online platform for music artists and their fans. Find new music and gig updates. The website is favoured by most artists as they are directly supported by the fans.
South from Ephesus by Brian Sewell
A true travel literature classic, this book outlines the author’s trip from Ephesus to Side and the experiences he makes along the way.
Strolling through Istanbul by Hilary Sumner-Boyd and John Freely
The classic walking guide to Istanbul by Hilary Summer-Boyd and John Freely, published over 70 years ago, in a revised and updated version.
Rilakkuma and Kaoru
This charming animated series depicts the changing seasons in Japan and important cultural events such as cherry blossom viewing and summer fireworks festivals.
WorldHeritageSite.org
Learn about your travel destinations from the internet’s largest community of World Heritage Site enthusiasts.
Journey to the West – Legends of the Monkey King (animated series)
An animated adaptation of China’s favorite adventure story, Journey to the West (better known in the English speaking world as Monkey, or Adventures of Monkey).
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (2010 TV Series)
A big-budget 2010 production of China’s most beloved and important historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
The Story of China (PBS)
In this PBS documentary, historian Michael Wood travels across China to discover the many cycles of Chinese history, and how it has shaped the modern nation of China.
Hippie in Heels Travel Blog
Perhaps the best India travel blog on the internet, this blog has hundreds of articles on everything related to travel in India, with a special emphasis on the State of Goa.
Naveed Rehman- Urdu Class Online
Naveed is a professional Urdu teacher living in Lahore, Pakistan who offers affordable online Urdu (the national language of Pakistan) lessons.
Africam
Become a wildlife enthusiast by watching these live streams of animals in the African bush. You can see elephants, leopards, lions, crocodiles, impalas and much more!
TripFiction
Easily search this database to find books set in the travel destination of your choice, anywhere in the world.
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us.
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson shares his experience on his walk along the Appalachian Trail from its start in Georgia to its finish in Maine. The terrain includes mountains, streams, lakes -and the occasional parking lot – told from a wry and humorous perspective.
Neither Here, Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson
In Neither Here nor There he brings his unique brand of humor to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson’s wit, research and superb writing scintillates once again in the telling of an incredibly exciting time in American history when multiple events and people helped shape the nation. Featured icons include Charles Lindbergh, Calvin Coolidge, and Babe Ruth, to name a few.
Cascadia
Listen to Cascadia (2019) by Said the Whale (an alternative rock band from Vancouver, Canada), which references locations around North America’s Pacific Northwest and proposes the country of Cascadia.
Roadtrippers
Make the most of your American or Canadian road trip with a vast database of points-of-interest (restaurants, attractions, etc.), snippets of historical and practical information, and an interactive route planner.
Roadside America
Read historical accounts of silly roadside attractions in the United States and Canada; save them to your online account.
Animal Jam
Learn about the animals of our world as you play minigames, attend virtual events, participate in scavenger hunts, and watch videos.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
It takes place in parts of Spain during the annual Running of the Bulls festivals of the north; a timeless tradition of Spanish culture which has changed very little but, yet, oh, so much.
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee
Laurie Lee’s explorer soul took him across the country; from the Galician port city of Vigo, over the Sierra de Guadarrama and into Madrid, and along the Costa del Sol — during a period of rare peace in Europe during those times.
Grape, Olive, Pig: Deep Travels Through Spain’s Food Culture by Matt Goulding
Goulding provides another well-researched look at what he refers to as his ‘adoptive home’ of Spain. He includes elements of its history, culinary scene, and everything in-between.
World Heritage Journey
A pair of Australian travel bloggers on an ambitious journey to document all 1,121 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and produce a brief documentary on each site.
Fluent Forever
Language learning that actually works, re-wiring your brain for hearing, speaking, and thinking in a new language.
Whichbook
Choose books based (among other variables) on the country where the story is set.
The Food Timeline
An enormous compendium of historical recipes and information about the history of food.
What People Wore When
A complete illustrated history of costume from ancient times to the nineteenth century for every level of society.
The Northwest Nature Guide: Where to Go and What to See Month by Month in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia
Month by month nature guide for exploring the Pacific Northwest
Lone Traveller by Anne Mustoe
Anne Mustoe was a retired schoolmistress turned round-the-world solo bicyclist who wrote a number of extraordinary memoirs detailing her travels. She’s a lay historian who plotted her trips around her historical interests.
The Saga Museum
Learn about the history and culture of Iceland on the Saga Museum website.
Galapagos Wildlife: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Animals (Wildlife and Nature Identification)
Useful pocket guide to learn about the wildlife of the Galapagos!
GeologyWriter.com
The website of Seattle based geologist, naturalist, and historian, David B. Williams. Read his articles, blog posts, and books or sign up for one of his interesting tours of Seattle, which he is currently hosting virtually.
Promised Land
Award winning documentary about the Duwamish and Chinook tribes and their fight for the restoration of treaty rights.
Native Land
Website and app that allows us to learn who the indigenous people were/are in a particular area. We can learn more about the territories, treaties and languages of many regions around the world.
Nick on the Rocks
Plan a trip to Washington with Nick on the Rocks by learning about the geology of the state through short videos.
Shakespeare: Print and Performance
A free online class about Shakespeare both in print and online with a focus on the Globe Theater.
Many Faces: Understanding the Complexities of Chinese Culture
Free online course exploring the culture of modern China.
TOTA- Connecting People Through Culture
Not sure where to go on your next trip? Go here! A very inspiring and informative website gathering high quality articles about cultures of our world.
How To Dance A Polka
Short tutorial teaching the Polka so you’ll be ready to kick up your heels on your next trip.
Ticket To Ride
A top board game connecting some of the major cities of Europe, perfect to play before you buy a rail pass of your own! Extensions are available for Africa, Asia, Japan, Italy, Holland, Germany, France,England, the United States, and India.
Civilization VI
A fun game for world management. Adds a bit of history into the fun. Though not as good as Civ V, still great fun. 🙂
Sailing Alone Around the World
World traveling at its finest by the first solo circumnavigator
We Followed Odysseus
Long time circumnavigators Hal and Margaret take us along a sailing voyage following Homer’s The Odyssey.
Why The Greeks Could Hear Plays From the Back Row
Scientific explanation of the acoustics of the amphitheater at Epidavros, and by extension other ancient theaters of the Greco-Roman world.
Ghost of Tsushima
Video game exploring history and culture of medieval Japan in the age of the samurai.
The Durrells In Corfu
Four Season Masterpiece Theater show based on Gerald Durrell’s best selling, My Family And Other Animals, set on the island of Corfu.
The Atlas Obscura: Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid
Explore wondrous locations within the pages of this book. It covers locations, events, and beautiful structures alike around the world that engage the mind and inspire wonder. – Oliver, age 12
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
This is the best selling and authoritative classic on Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology that will help you better understand all of the European culture that follows.
Princess Mononoke
The animation and anime of Japan is at its best with Hayao Miyazaki’s “Princess Mononoke”.
Rosetta Stone
Comprehensive language learning system offering instruction in 25 languages.
The Secret of Kells
Animated film combining Celtic mythology and a fictional account of the history of the Book of Kells.
The Instruments and History of Irish Music
Lecture and performances by American academics and musicians about the history of Irish music.
The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall
An overview of the Medici family and their incredible influence on Florence, Italy, and the world by Christopher Hibbert.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Interactive and engaging video game exploring ancient and classical Greece.
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
Award winning film about the Irish fight for independence in the 1920’s.
Natural History of Puget Sound Country
A comprehensive and broad exploration of the natural history of the Puget Sound region.
