Augusta – Maine State Museum’s Grand Reopening October 24

The Maine State Museum will host its first phase Grand Reopening Celebration on Saturday, October 24. Doors will open at 10:00 am with Maine humorist Gary Crocker, a welcome by museum director Bernard Fishman, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce. The ribbon-cutting will be followed by a full day of fanfare and activities including vendors and musical acts, the L.L. Bean Bootmobile, and special guests.
After a multi-year closure due to major renovations in its home in Maine’s Cultural Building, the museum will open its main and fourth floors to the public with new educational and exhibit spaces: Beyond the Postcard: Stories of the Maine Experience, Vector: A Whale’s Life in the Gulf of Maine, and the Lunder Education Center. The fourth floor will also reopen with the new exhibit, Maine Quilts: 250 Years of Comfort & Community, and the popular returning exhibit, At Home in Maine, which will include new objects and upgrades. Beloved exhibits Made in Maine and 12,000 Years in Maine will be returning in future phases.
Museum director Bernard Fishman states, “This is really a monumental time in our 190-year history. For the first time in decades, we were able to dig deep into our collections to show objects that have never been on display and make long-dreamt of exhibits and spaces become reality. Our new 4,130-square-foot whale gallery boasts the only display in the world of two humpback whales of this size and age, and our new Lunder Education Center is the first purpose-built education space for our visitors. We hope that our approach of infusing new technologies with museum collections and new stories will resonate with visitors in new ways.”
Fishman invites the public to come and see the changes and revisit the familiar exhibits. And to encourage visitors, Fishman announced, “We want to make the museum as accessible as possible by offering free admission through the end of the year.”