> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.terrastories.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.terrastories.app/explore-terrastories/what-is-explore-terrastories.md).

# What is Explore Terrastories?

**Explore Terrastories** is an extension of the main Terrastories application. It is a tool that community users of Terrastories may opt in to using, in order to share to a selection of their place-based stories with a broader public.

Since the very beginning, because of the sensitive nature of place-based oral histories and all other forms of knowledge tied to land, Terrastories has always considered security and data protection as very important concerns in the ways that the content is accessed, and therefore access had to be protected by way of requiring everyone to log in. 

However, many communities do want to share *some* of their content with a greater public. Explore Terrastories provides them with an easy way to do so, and for an interested public to be able to peruse the stories of a range of communities that have opted in.

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Read more about Explore Terrastories in this article "[Explore Terrastories! Local stories for a wider public](https://terrastories.app/explore-terrastories-local-stories-for-a-wider-public/)" by María Alvarez Malvido.
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<figure><img src="/files/uUjrpHEFpEvKb2UZ67hD" alt=""><figcaption><p>Welcome screen of <strong>Explore Terrastories,</strong> showing the ability to browse and search maps and stories of communities that have opted in to participate.</p></figcaption></figure>

:heart: *The creation of Explore Terrastories was funded via an American Rescue Plan grant by the* [*Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM)*](https://atalm.org/)*. We are grateful for their support.*