List of museums in Maine facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Maine is a beautiful state in the northeastern United States. It's famous for its rocky coastline, delicious lobster, and amazing natural beauty. But did you know Maine also has tons of interesting museums? These special places collect and take care of cool objects. They show off things about history, art, science, and nature. You can find museums about almost anything in Maine! They are great spots to learn new things and explore the past.

Cool Museums to Explore in Maine
Museums That Are No Longer Open
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Cool Museums to Explore in Maine

Maine has many different kinds of museums. Here are some of the most exciting ones you might want to visit!

Art Museums

If you love art, Maine has some fantastic places to see paintings, sculptures, and more.

The Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston has a great collection. It includes many pieces by artists from Maine, like Marsden Hartley.
The Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick shows art from America, Europe, and other parts of the world.
The Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport focuses on modern art.
The Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville is known for its American and contemporary art.
The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland celebrates American art. It also operates the Olson House, which was featured in a famous painting.
The Ogunquit Museum of American Art in Ogunquit is a beautiful spot to see American art, open in the summer.
The Portland Museum of Art in Portland has a wide range of American and European art. It also includes the historic McLellan-Sweat Mansion.
The Rufus Porter Museum in Bridgton is dedicated to the folk artist Rufus Porter.
The Tides Institute and Museum of Art in Eastport combines art with history and architecture.
The University of Maine Museum of Art in Bangor focuses on American art from the mid-20th century.

Children's Museums

These museums are designed especially for kids to learn and play!

The Children's Discovery Museum of Maine in Augusta offers hands-on fun.
The Children's Museum of Maine in Portland is a popular spot for interactive exhibits.
The Coastal Children's Museum in Rockland provides engaging activities for young visitors.
The Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor is another great place for kids to explore and discover.

History Museums

Learn about Maine's past, from local towns to big events.

The 1811 Lincoln County Museum and Old Jail in Wiscasset lets you see an old prison. It's run by the Lincoln County Historical Association.
The Abbot Historical Society Museum in Abbot is in a former Knights of Pythias Hall.
The Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum in Houlton shows off historic kitchens and military items.
The Bangor Museum and Center for History in Bangor covers local history and Civil War artifacts.
The Belfast Museum in Belfast shares local and maritime history.
The Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk focuses on the history and culture of southern Maine.
The Castine Historical Society in Castine is located in the Abbot School.
The Maine Historical Society Museum in Portland has changing exhibits about Maine's history, art, and culture.
The Maine State Museum in Augusta covers the state's history, Native American culture, and natural history.
The Museums of the Bethel Historical Society in Bethel has eight galleries and nine period rooms.
The Old Fort Western in Augusta is an 18th-century log fort with costumed guides.

Maritime Museums

Maine's history is deeply tied to the ocean. These museums celebrate that connection.

The Kennebunkport Maritime Museum in Kennebunkport was once the boathouse of writer Booth Tarkington.
The Barracks Museum in Eastport tells the story of Fort Sullivan and the local fishing industry.
The Fishermen’s Museum at Pemaquid in Bristol has artifacts from the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.
The Great Harbor Maritime Museum in Northeast Harbor is in an old firehouse.
The Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland has a huge collection of lighthouse lenses and artifacts.
The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath includes a historic shipyard with 19th-century buildings.
The Moosehead Marine Museum in Greenville offers cruises on the steamboat Katahdin.
The Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport is a 19th-century village with displays about boats and fishing.
The Sail Power and Steam Museum in Rockland explores maritime history.

Natural History Museums

Discover Maine's amazing plants, animals, and geology.

The Bar Harbor Whale Museum in Bar Harbor focuses on whales and seals found in the Gulf of Maine.
The George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History in Bar Harbor is part of the College of the Atlantic.
The International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland explores animals whose existence is not yet proven.
The Kenneth E. Stoddard Shell Museum in Boothbay has a collection of shells.
The L. C. Bates Museum in Hinckley covers natural history, archaeology, and art.
The Maine State Aquarium in Boothbay Harbor shows local marine life in tanks.
The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel displays state rocks, minerals, gems, and even meteors.
The Northern Maine Museum of Science in Presque Isle covers biology, geology, and more.
The Nylander Museum in Caribou has fossils, rocks, plants, and insects.
The Project Puffin Visitor Center in Rockland features live video of puffins and seabirds.

Transportation and Industry Museums

Explore how people and goods moved around Maine, and how things were made.

The Ashland Logging Museum in Ashland shows logging equipment and a replica log cookroom.
The Boothbay Railway Village in Boothbay has an authentic steam locomotive and antique cars.
The Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor displays tractors, fire trucks, motorcycles, and cabooses.
The Maine Air Museum in Bangor is located at Bangor International Airport.
The Maine Art Glass Butterfly and Insect Museum in Lisbon Falls has mounted butterflies and insects.
The Maine Coast Sardine History Museum in Jonesport tells the story of the sardine canning industry.
The Maine Forest & Logging Museum in Bradley shows the history of forestry.
The Maine Forestry Museum in Rangeley includes vintage logging equipment and chainsaw carvings.
The Maine Granite Industry Museum in Mount Desert displays tools and photos from the granite industry.
The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Portland has old trains and artifacts.
Maine's Paper and Heritage Museum in Livermore Falls celebrates paper-making history.
The Museum L-A in Lewiston focuses on the textile and labor heritage of the area.
The Northern Timber Cruisers Antique Snowmobile Museum in Millinocket has snowmobiles from the 1960s.
The Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head has airplanes, cars, and motorcycles.
The Patten Lumbermen's Museum in Patten explores Maine's logging history.
The Poland Spring Museum and Environmental Education Center in Poland shares the company's history.
The Portland Fire Museum in Portland has historic firefighting vehicles.
Raye's Mustard Mill Museum in Eastport is a working mustard mill.
The Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad in Phillips is a heritage railway.
The Seal Cove Auto Museum in Seal Cove focuses on antique cars from 1895-1917.
The Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport has trolley cars and other mass transit vehicles.
Skyline Farm in North Yarmouth is a living carriage museum.
The Stanley Museum in Kingfield features Stanley Steamer cars.
The Telephone Museum in Ellsworth has working telephones and switchboards.
The Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway Museum in Alna is a heritage railway.

Historic Houses and Villages

Step back in time by visiting homes and villages from the past.

The Acadian Village in Van Buren is an open-air museum with historic buildings.
The Alfred Shaker Museum in Alfred is run by the Friends of the Alfred Shaker Museum.
The Baxter House Museum in Gorham is a historic house.
The Benjamin C. Wilder House in Washburn also has the Aroostook Agricultural Museum.
The Blaine House in Augusta is Maine's Governor's Mansion.
The Blue Hill Historical Society is located at Holt House in Blue Hill.
The Burnham Tavern Museum in Machias is an 18th-century tavern with ties to the American Revolutionary War.
Castle Tucker in Wiscasset is a late 19th-century house.
The Colburn House State Historic Site in Pittston is an 18th-century house linked to the American Revolutionary War.
The Conway Homestead & Cramer Museum in Rockport is an open-air museum with a historic house and blacksmith shop.
The Counting House Museum in South Berwick was once a textile mill office.
The Dry Mills Schoolhouse Museum in Gray is a mid-19th-century one-room schoolhouse.
The Eagle Island State Historic Site is the retirement home of polar explorer Admiral Robert Peary.
The Ellsworth Historical Society Museum in Ellsworth is in a mid-19th-century sheriff's house and jail.
The General Henry Knox Museum in Thomaston is known as Montpelier.
The Hamilton House in South Berwick is a late 19th-century house and garden.
The Holmes-Crafts Homestead in Jay is operated by the Jay Historic Society.
The Jonathan Fisher House in Blue Hill is an early 19th-century homestead.
The Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum in Brunswick is a 19th-century Victorian home.
The Kennebunkport History Center in Kennebunkport includes a town house school and blacksmith shop.
The Lagerstrom House in Woodland is a late 19th-century house.
The Marrett House in Standish is a 19th-century period house.
The McLellan-Sweat Mansion in Portland is a 19th-century house with American paintings.
The Monmouth Museum in Monmouth is an open-air museum showing 19th-century rural life.
The Moosehead Historical Museum in Greenville is in the Victorian Eveleth-Crafts-Sheridan House.
The Museums of Old York in York has nine historic buildings, including the Old York Gaol.
The Narramissic in Bridgton is also known as the Peabody-Fitch Farm.
The Neal Dow Memorial in Portland was the headquarters of the Maine Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
The Nickels-Sortwell House in Wiscasset is a 19th-century house.
The Nordica Homestead in Farmington is the birthplace of opera singer Lillian Nordica.
The Olson House in Cushing was the subject of many artworks by Andrew Wyeth.
The Page Farm & Home Museum in Orono shows home life from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Pettengill Farm in Freeport is an early 1800s farmhouse.
The Redington Museum in Waterville is a 19th-century house with collections of furniture and toys.
The Rockwell Kent Cottage and Studio on Monhegan Island was the home of artist Rockwell Kent.
The Ruggles House in Columbia Falls is a 19th-century house with original furnishings.
The Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester includes a Shaker Museum.
The Sarah Orne Jewett House in South Berwick features 18th-century architecture.
The Sayward-Wheeler House in York Harbor is an 18th-century period house.
The Skolfield-Whittier House in Brunswick is a 19th-century Victorian home.
The Skowhegan History House in Skowhegan shares local history.
The Stanwood Homestead in Ellsworth was the home of ornithologist Cordelia Stanwood.
The Tate House Museum in Portland is a mid-18th-century period house.
The Victoria Mansion in Portland is a beautiful late 19th-century Victorian mansion.
The Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland was the home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
The Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore is a living history museum with a 19th-century mansion and farm.
White Columns in Kennebunkport is an 1853 Greek Revival house museum.
The Wilhelm Reich Museum in Rangeley was the home of scientist Wilhelm Reich.
The Willowbrook Museum Village in Newfield is a restored country village.
The Woodlawn Museum in Ellsworth shows collections from the Black family from 1802 to 1928.

Native American Museums

Learn about the rich history and culture of Maine's first peoples.

The Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor focuses on the history, culture, and crafts of the Wabanaki people. It has two locations.
The Hudson Museum in Orono, part of the University of Maine, has cultural art and artifacts, especially from Native American and South American groups.
The Penobscot Nation Museum in Old Town is on Indian Island. It shares the cultural heritage of the Penobscot and Wabanaki people.
Nowetah's American Indian Museum and Gift Store in New Portland has over 600 old Maine Indian baskets.
The Waponahki Tribal Museum at Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation has tools, baskets, and historic photos from Maine Native people.

Other Unique Museums

Maine has some truly one-of-a-kind museums!

The Bryant Stove & Music Museum in Thorndike has antique stoves, toy cars, and music boxes.
The Fawcett's Antique Toy & Art Museum in Waldoboro has antique toys and original comic art.
The Maine Ski and Snowboard Museum in Carrabassett Valley displays ski and snowboard equipment.
The Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan includes a museum with items from the life of Senator Margaret Chase Smith.
The Museum of African Culture in Portland shows tribal art from Sub-Saharan Africa.
The National Museum of the Morgan Horse in New Gloucester tells the history of the Morgan horse.
The Rangeley Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum in Rangeley covers outdoor sports like fly fishing and boating.
The Umbrella Cover Museum in Peaks Island has over 600 umbrella covers!
The Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor features wooden bird carvings.

Museums That Are No Longer Open

Sometimes museums close down. Here are a few that used to be open in Maine:

Downeast Heritage Museum in Calais, closed in 2008.
Johnson Hall Museum in Wells, its items were sold in 2015.
Jones Museum of Glass and Ceramic in Sebago.
Mainely Critters Wildlife Museum in Dixfield, destroyed by fire in 2000.
Museum of Lighthouse History in Wells, its lighthouse collection moved to the Maine Lighthouse Museum.
Musical Wonder House in Wiscasset, closed in 2014.
Portland Harbor Museum in Portland, joined with the Maine Maritime Museum in 2010.
Rier Sardine Museum in Lubec.
Shore Village Museum in Rockland, its lighthouse collection also moved to the Maine Lighthouse Museum.
Webb Museum of Vintage Fashion in Island Falls.
Wells Auto Museum in Wells, closed in 2013.