Humans began writing about 5,000 years ago. Yet, writing is so pervasive that it is often taken for granted. Writing is a “large, important, and multi-dimensional story” as Charles Bazerman writes. This site is dedicated to making more transparent the history and development of writing across time and place. One unexpected avenue toward studying and understanding this story is to visit sites that reveal and celebrate milestones in the history of writing. They are important because they provide artifacts with interpretation so that visitors get a vivid, three-dimensional view of these important high points. No centralized catalog of these sites exists to help a scholar or even the casual tourist. Museums that tell the story of writing can be fascinating: learn about the history of the humble pencil at the Cumberland Pencil Museum near the Grey Knotts graphite mines in the UK; discover how Jean François Champollion decoded the Rosetta Stone to reveal the meaning behind hieroglyphics in his hometown in Figeac, France; see early printing presses in exhibits located in Germany, Hawaii, and Utah.

The subject of writing is encyclopedic: writing and work; letter writing; social media; graffiti; computers; school writing. Necessarily, this site focuses on only a few foundational aspects of writing: the origins of writing; writing systems (alphabets); writing implements; paper; printing presses; and keyboards. These topics are linked via Google Maps to geographical places for historical connections, present-day museums that can be visited, or both. In addition to these customized Google Maps, another way to find museums of any kind—including those mentioned on this site—is by using the web and mobile app Clio, which takes your current location to find what’s near you.