Explorers of Time and Place
Like Duolingo, but for Explorers of Time and Place. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Key ideas in Explorers of Time and Place
- Modern objects often use plastic because it is cheap and light.
- Older objects were frequently made of metal or wood before plastic was common.
- Using material clues to distinguish between old and new objects
- Repeated use over many years leaves physical marks like dents or stains.
- Paper changes color and texture as it gets very old.
- Identifying specific wear-and-tear clues that indicate long-term use
- Labels often mention places or companies that do not exist the same way today.
- Written dates or old-fashioned logos are direct proof of when an item was made.
- Detailed pictures take up too much space
- Looking from above turns 3D objects into flat shapes
- Simple symbols make it easier to see the layout
- Colors and shapes in symbols represent real features
- The view from above shows how different places are spaced out and connected.
- The tradeoff between realistic pictures and map symbols for clarity
- Ground-level views are often blocked by walls or trees that hide the path to other places.
- Connecting the ground-level view to the bird's-eye view
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Explorers of Time and Place the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
If you found a very old lunchbox from the past, what material would it most likely be made of?
Get it right to open this lesson and 25 more in the app.
Where Explorers of Time and Place takes you
Go beyond basic facts to discover how people shaped our world and how our surroundings shape us. Learn to piece together the past like a detective and read the secrets of the landscape.
- 1
Investigate Your World
- Clues in the Classroom: Finding History Nearby
- Mapping Your Path: Symbols and Secret Views
- Then and Now: Spotting Changes in Your Street
- The Weather Watch: How Climate Changes Our Day
- 2
The Power of Great Journeys
- Beyond the Horizon: Why People Explore
- Packing for the Unknown: Tools of the Trade
- Comparing Lives: A Child in the Past vs. You
- Island Life: How Water Shapes a Community
- Travel Through Time: How Moving Around Changed
- Leaving a Legacy: How One Person Changes the Future
- 3
Protecting Our Shared Story
- Nature’s Treasures: Why We Care for the Land
- Old Objects, Big Stories: Why Museums Matter
- Our Global Family: Connecting with Faraway Places
3 sections · 13 units · 26 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Explorers of Time and Place is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More History on Tomo
The Mechanics of Greek Myth
Move beyond the basic family tree of the Olympians to understand how the Greeks used myth to explain tragedy, power, and the terrifying inevitability of fate.
Life in the 1950s
Step into the era of chrome-finned cars, neon diners, and the birth of the modern American dream. Explore how a decade of unprecedented prosperity and quiet tension reshaped how we live, work, and play today.
The Anunnaki: Gods of the First Cities
Step back 5,000 years to meet the powerful deities of ancient Sumer and discover how they shaped the world's first civilization.
The Gods of the Nile
Step into the ancient world where gods walked the earth and every sunset was a battle for the universe. Learn to recognize the powerful deities of Egypt and the cosmic balance they fought to protect.
The Friction of Federalism
Explore the central tension of American history: the constant tug-of-war between state sovereignty and national authority that shaped the nation's biggest turning points.
Vlad the Impaler: The Real Dracula
Step behind the vampire myth to discover the brutal, brilliant, and complex ruler of Wallachia who defied empires and redefined psychological warfare.
Start Explorers of Time and Place today.
Download Tomo, search Explorers of Time and Place, and play your first lesson in under a minute.