Play-based social studies
Social studies your students will want to explore.
Students learn by playing through a 3D version of their own town. You watch live, then see what they learned.
Your first unit is free: one class, one semester.
▶ See a unit in five minutes Try it as a student
How a class period goes
The field trip that fits in a class period.
A minute to start each class, then the guide takes it from there. Want the whole story, screen by screen? Click through it for Newburyport or Gloucester.
Kids join by tapping
Put the board on the projector. Students open mapscouts.com, tap your class animal and three numbers, then tap their name. No accounts, no passwords, no typing.
A guide leads them through the town
A friendly guide (Scout, the dog they steer, is their guide in every town) sends each student to one place at a time on the map, with compass directions. Every place has a short, sourced story written at a third-grade reading level.
They show what they learned
Map checks ("Which way is the star?") and townspeople who need help ask students to use what they just read. Choices have pictures, so low readers can play too.
You watch it happen live
See who's playing, who's stuck, and where each student is. Pause everyone with "Eyes up!", then see a report of what the class got right, and what to reteach.
What's inside
Guided chapters
Two kinds of unit. Units any class can play, from anywhere, set where the story happened: the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag, the Revolution. And your own town's units, on its map. Each chapter takes about 15 minutes and lists the standards it teaches, mapped to the Massachusetts grade 3 framework today.
Built with classroom teachers
Made for real classrooms
💻 School Chromebooks
Runs in the browser on a Chromebook or computer. Nothing to install, with a lighter mode for older devices.
📖 Written for young readers
Every story and question is checked against a third-grade reading level before it ships, and every answer has a picture, so early and struggling readers can play.
🧭 Learning through play
Students learn by doing: a mission to a real place, a true story there, then a map check or a townsperson who needs what they just learned. Map skills come built in.
📊 Before and after
An 8-question quiz at the start and end of the unit shows what your class learned.
🔒 First name only
You type first names. Students never make an account. No ads, and nothing is sold or shared.
🏡 Families come along
Print a one-page family note with a QR code, so kids can show their family the town at home.
For principals and curriculum directors
What a school leader asks first
A teacher probably sent you this page. Here is the short version of what they are asking to use.
📐 Standards
Your community today and in history, geography and map skills, Native Peoples, the colonial town, and reading informational text. Every chapter lists its codes, mapped to the Massachusetts 2018 grade 3 framework today. See the chapters.
🔒 Student data
A first name the teacher types, and play progress. No student accounts, no email addresses, no ads, no trackers, nothing sold or shared. We sign the Massachusetts Student Privacy Alliance agreement on request; outside Massachusetts, ask us about yours. The privacy note lists every field.
💻 What it needs
A browser on a school Chromebook or computer. Nothing to install, no accounts to manage, and a lighter mode for older devices.
⏱️ Teacher time
About five minutes to set up a class, then a minute to start each lesson. Each chapter takes about 15 minutes. A live view shows who is stuck, and a report shows what to reteach. No weekly prep.
📚 Accuracy
Every story card shows its sources. Every card has a "Something wrong?" link, and a person reads every flag. We say so when we are not sure.
🏛️ Who makes it
Here Now Labs, Inc., with classroom teachers in Newburyport and Gloucester. Write to us with any question, including licensing for your school.
Not in one of our towns yet?
Start today, and bring Map Scouts to your town
Start your free unit with a unit any class can teach, from anywhere. Tell us your school’s town too: we build the next towns where teachers ask, and we’ll email you when yours is explorable, and again when it has lessons.
A parent, principal or someone else? Ask for your town here.
Questions teachers ask
What does it cost?
Every teacher gets one full unit free, with one class, for a semester from the day you press Start. Send your school a funding request (we write it for you, in your name) and you get a second unit free. Schools license the full library for a flat yearly price that covers every teacher in the building. Teachers never pay.
How much class time does it take?
A chapter takes about 15 minutes, so it fits a 30-minute block with time to talk. Setting up a class takes about five minutes once; starting a lesson takes about a minute.
What do students need?
A Chromebook or a computer with a keyboard and a web browser. No accounts, no email addresses, no apps to install. Phones and tablets can explore the towns, but class and lessons need a computer.
Which standards does it cover?
The community today and in history, geography and map skills, Native Peoples, the colonial town, and reading informational text. Every chapter above lists its codes. Today they are mapped to the Massachusetts 2018 History and Social Science Framework, grade 3. The stories are written at a third-grade reading level.
We're not in Massachusetts. Can we use it?
Yes. Any class can play the units on the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag (set in Plymouth) and the Revolution (set in Boston), and explore every town we've built. To get your own town, ask for it: we build where teachers ask.
What data do you keep about students?
A first name you type, and what they did in Map Scouts (places found, answers, time played), so you can see progress. No last names, no accounts, no ads, nothing sold or shared. The privacy note lists every field.
Can I see it before I use it with my class?
Yes. Click through the five-minute walkthrough, try a lesson as a student on a computer, or get your free unit and use "Try it as a student" with your own class.
My town isn't on Map Scouts. What happens if I ask for it?
We build the map first, from the town's own map data, and email you when it's explorable. Lessons come after a class in your town has taught one of our units, so they fit what your students need. We email you again then.
Your first unit is free
One class, a whole semester, any unit you pick. Enter your school email and we’ll send a link, no password.
Know a teacher who'd like this?
Most teachers hear about Map Scouts from another teacher. Send them this page.