David Rumsey Map Center — Attraction in Palo Alto

Hosts one of the best online map collections in the West! The map center is located at Sanford University in the main library. The center is a bit hard to find but a fun search also. You travel up two flights of stairs. The stairwell is beautifully painted with murals of maps. The center itself is mostly an auditorium. There is a wall-sized multi-touch display of Google Earth that features many of the collected maps which are georeferenced and overlaid on the interactive map. This is one of the most exciting features to work with in the room. There are some physical maps and historical artifacts to view. However, the full map collection is accessible online and from my knowledge, not available for viewing at the center. For the best experience, visit when there is a scheduled...

Maphead Heaven. You'll need ID to check into the library as a guest, and it can be tough to find, but find the 4-storey tall domed gallery and then the stairwell decorated with maps. If nothing else, ask to play with Google Earth on the enormous...

Beautiful room in...