5 Best Museums to Visit in Maine
As a child, I thought museums were for boring old people. I guess I’m boring old people now because these days I get excited about a day at the museum. It’s fascinating to dive into history and explore the past through artefacts and exhibits.
There are plenty of museums that highlight Maine’s rich and diverse history and I highly recommend a visit to at least one on your next visit to Maine. Here are a few to get you started.
Norlands Living History Museum, Farm and Archive
290 Norlands Road, Livermore, Maine 04253
Transport yourself back to farm life in the 1800s when you visit Norlands Living History Museum. You’ll learn all about the past by experiencing it in the present as you participate in the everyday farm activities of the 1870s like cooking, feeding farm animals, and going to school in a one-room schoolhouse. It’s an epic experience.
489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
The exhibitions at the Maine Historical Society feature more than twelve centuries of Maine history. Current exhibitions include:
Begin Again: Reckoning with Intolerance in Maine. This exhibit take a hard look at the state’s role social injustice. It invites viewers to evaluate the role policies and the entrenched system over the last 5 centuries have led to social injustice and civil, economic and environrmental unrest. The goal of the exhibit is to help viewers envision a more inclusive, equitable future for all.
Passing the Time: Artwork by World War II German Prisoners There were a number of artists among the German prisoners of war who were remanded to Camp Houlton, an internment camp that the U.S. government established in 1944. This exhibition features their artwork during this tumultuous time in their lives. This exhibit can also be viewed online here.
26 Mt Desert Street / PO Box 286 / Bar Harbor, ME 04609
The Abbe Museum is the only Smithsonian-affiliated museum in Maine and is located in downtown Bar Harbor. Its exhibits focus on the way of life of Maine natives - the Wabanak peoplei.
The Wabanaki or people of the dawn, lived in Maine for thousands of years prior to European colonisation. The Abbe immerses people into the culture of the Wabanaki and corrects the harmful representations of this indigenous group.
The Maine State Museum is currently undergoing major renovations until 2023 but is still worth a mention.
The museum is currently running several online exhibits do have online exhibits running in the meantime. Here are a couple of interesting ones:
Flight to Extinction: This exhibit focuses on telling the story of the now-extinct passenger pigeon.
Women’s Long Road - 100 Years to Vote: This exhibit tells the story of women’s suffrage/right to vote in Maine.
How could I leave this one out? It’s not a museum but it is listed on the National Registry of Historical Places. Crooked Steeple Hall in Winterport, Maine was originally built as a quaint local church complete with a crooked steeple way back in 1850.
Today, the structure still boasts its original woodwork and tin walls but it has been renovated to include modern amenities.
Come visit us. With our open, flexible floor plan, onsite bridal suite, kitchen facilities and afterparty spaces, you can create your wedding or event vision for up to 200 guests.
So you took our advice and planned an epic bridal shower for your bff. Food, music, venue and decor are covered.