Maine Archives and Museums P.O. Box 46 Cumberland Center, ME 04021 (207) 400-6965 [email protected]
NEWS RELEASE For immediate release
Date: February 8, 2013
Contact: Jane Bianco, MAM Board Member (207) 596-6457 x 104 [email protected]
MAINE’S MUSEUMS OFFER ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES FOR FEBRUARY VACATION WEEK!
Looking for something fun to do while the kids are out of school? Look no further—Maine’s museums are offering an array of programs and events throughout the week and throughout the state!
Take a look at some of the many affordable, accessible events planned for the week of Presidents' Day (February 16-24) by member organizations of Maine Archives and Museums (www.mainemuseums.org). Contact locations individually for more information or to register for programs.
Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor A full week of vacation-week programs! All programs are free and open to the public and held at the Abbe Museum, 26 Mount Desert Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609. FMI: (207) 288-3519 / [email protected] or www.abbemuseum.org
Monday, February 18, 10 – 11 a.m.: Join Museum Educator George Neptune in an activity that teaches participants Passamaquoddy animal names. Participants will take part in a matching game, after which they can pick their favorite animal to color.
Tuesday, February 19, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.: The Museum will offer a Winter Tracking Workshop as part of a series of programs accompanying the Abbe’s new feature exhibit Wabanaki Guides. Led by Passamaquoddy Guide Matthew Dana II, this workshop will start at the Abbe Museum Downtown and end at the Acadia National Park Visitor Center. Participants are encouraged to bring a bag lunch. This program is nearly full, and reservations are required. Please contact George Neptune to reserve a spot. [email protected] or 288-3519.
Wednesday, February 20: The Abbe will offer two weaving programs. Join George Neptune from 10 a.m. to noon to weave a Wabanaki-inspired paper star, or come from 1 to 3 p.m. to weave a bookmark. Both workshops teach skills that are the first steps towards weaving a basket.
Thursday, February 21, noon to 1:00 p.m: This is the second installation in the Abbe’s three-part 2013 Brown Bag Lunch Series. Designed to accompany the Wabanaki Guides exhibit, this adult-oriented program will feature Penobscot Guide Francis “Kean” Tomer, as he shares his experiences of guiding in the Moosehead Lake Region during the 1930s and 40s.
Friday, February 22, 10 a.m. to noon: The Abbe will wrap up a week of fun with a final workshop from Neptune, this time on birchbark baskets. Join George Neptune as he demonstrates how to fold and stitch your own birchbark-inspired basket.
Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, Bowdoin College, Brunswick “Horns, Hooves, Flippers and Fins” Family Day celebration February 23, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Families can learn all about the amazing Arctic animals featured in the museum’s current exhibit, Animal Allies, through a variety of fun, imaginative crafts. Be prepared to bring home some great crafty masterpieces! Family Day is free and open to the public, and will run from 10:00a.m. until 12:30 p.m.. FMI: [email protected] 207-725-3416.
Pejepscot Historical Society, Brunswick Civil War Exhibit, Children’s Activities, & Presentation Thursday, February 21, 2–4 p.m. Pejepscot Historical Society’s “Brunswick and the Civil War” exhibit is now open at 159 Park Row, Brunswick. Wed-Fri 10 am – 4 pm; free admission. On February 21 from 2–4 p.m., PHS will offer a special program for children: a discussion of the importance and meaning of maps, at the time of the Civil War and today, followed by a map-making project. Also February 21 at 7 p.m., at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick: TIME film critic Mary Pols and Bowdoin professor Patrick Rael on “The Civil War and the Movies.” $3 admission. For more information, please call 207.729.6606 or visit www.pejepscothistorical.org.
Vaughan Homestead, Hallowell Show and Tell: Family Game Day Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - 10:00am to 11:00am Join The Vaughan Homestead for an hour of Show & Tell featuring games from the mid 1800's. Bring your own favorite game to share! Appropriate for ages 5 and up. FREE. The event will take place at the Hubbard Free Library, 115 Second St., Hallowell. FMI, contact Bob Fagan @ 622-6582 or Tracy Weber @ 622-9831, or visit www.vaughanhomestead.org.
L.C. Bates Museum, Hinckley Special Presidents' Day Tours Daily, February 19 to 23 at 1 p.m. During February vacation week, the L.C. Bates Museum will offer guided tours of the presidential plaster busts in the museum gallery, followed by a Presidential Scavenger Hunt and craft or art project. Learn the stories and accomplishments of the presidents represented in our gallery. Free with museum admission. The L.C.Bates Museum is located 5 miles north of I 95 exit 133 on Rt. 201 halfway between Skowhegan and Fairfield. FMI: 207-238-4250 / [email protected].
Museum L-A, Lewiston “What Shall I Wear to Work Today?" at Museum L-A February 20, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. In conjunction with the The Way We Worked traveling exhibition from The Smithsonian, Museum L-A will present a vacation program for 7-11 year-olds answering the question: “Why do people wear special clothes to work?” Participants will tour the exhibit, investigate uniforms and work clothes from occupations in the Lewiston-Auburn region, and design uniform or clothing for a job that they can envision in their own future. $8 per child, pre-registration is required. Museum L-A is located at 35 Canal Street in the Bates Mill Complex, Lewiston. FMI: 207-333-3881 or [email protected]
Washburn-Norlands Living History Center, Livermore Cabin Fever Reliever: Living History Day at Norlands Saturday, February 23, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Stop by for some old-time fun. Activities provided by interpreters in period clothing portraying people of the 1800's Norlands' neighborhood. Meet the schoolmarm in the one-room schoolhouse. Take a tour of the 1867 Washburn mansion. Participate in old-fashioned chores and games in the farmer's cottage, such as washing and churning butter, making a journal, and exploring how to use mystery artifacts. Something delicious will be cooking on the woodstove. $5 general admission. The Washburn-Norlands Living History Center is located at 290 Norlands Road in Livermore, Maine. FMI: 207-897-4366 / [email protected] / www.norlands.org.
Newport Cultural Center, Newport Family Book Talk with author and illustrator Chris Van Dusen Saturday, February 16, 11 a.m. Author and illustrator Chris Van Dusen will be at the Newport Cultural Center to talk with kids and read from his work. The author of the Mr. Magee and Mercy Watson series, Van Dusen also wrote and illustrated The Circus Ship, a fun story based on a real event that took place in the 1800s, when a circus ship sank in the Atlantic near Boston and the animals were rescued by the crew and onlookers. FREE. 154 Main Street, Newport. FMI: (207) 368-2193 / www.newportculturalcenter.org.
Cumberland Historical Society/Skyline Farms, North Yarmouth Evening tour and reception Thursday, February 21, 7 p.m. Skyline’s collection of carriages and buggies is a true Maine jewel. Refreshments will be provided before and after the program by the Cumberland Historical Society. The program is free and open to the public, but donations are always gratefully accepted. Our reception room is warm but the museum is unheated—so dress warmly! Sklyine Farms is located at 95 The Lane in North Yarmouth. For further information, contact Carolyn Small at 829-4423, 415-4589, or by email at [email protected].
Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, Portland Vacation Week Train Rides February 16-24, rides on the hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The MNGRR museum is closed much of the Winter, but we will be open during Maine’s School Vacation Week in February! Join us for a Winter train ride along scenic Casco Bay and activities inside the museum. The MNGRR is located at 58 Fore Street, Portland. For more information call (207)828-0814 or [email protected].
Art-Filled School Vacation Week at Farnsworth, Rockland For more information or to sign up, please call Kelly Finlay in the Education Department at 207- 596-0949 or visit www.farnsworthmuseum.org/education. Activities take place at the Gamble Education Center, located on the corner of Grace and Union Street in Rockland.
Art Camp Monday February 18 through Friday, February 22, 9 a.m. to noon. Children ages 5 to 8 years old are invited to join art instructor Trelawney O’Brien and other creative kids this winter school break for an Art Camp at the Farnsworth’s Gamble Education Center. Some of the activities will include: making masks, making handmade birdfeeders, building snow sculptures, dying t-shirts, collaging, sculpting clay, and marbling paper. We will inspire and learn from each other while also making wonderful art projects to take home! The School Vacation Week Art Camp is open to 10 students. The cost is $120 members, $150 nonmembers; scholarships are available.
Altered Map Art Workshop Monday, February 18 through Friday, February 22, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. High school students are invited this February vacation week to create art that re- interprets and incorporates maps with instructor Alexis Iammarino. Join us for a weeklong workshop which will combine exercises in mapping, writing, and visual art to guide participants in creating beautiful altered maps as a personal expression. Techniques used to alter and/or create maps will include gouache, watercolor and acrylic paints, and an array of mixed media collage. The Altered Maps workshop is open to 15 students. The cost is $85 members, $103 nonmembers.
Photo Workshop for High School Students: Made & Found Monday, February 18 through Friday, February 22, from 1 to 4 p.m. In this weeklong intensive participants will work with found images and objects in combination with digital pictures we make during the week to create entirely new images. The newly created images will involve both the handmade and photo-imagery created via editing software. Digital cameras and iMacs will be used in the photo lab at the Gamble Education Center .This workshop will be taught by mentor artist Deanna Witman, and is open to 15 students. The cost is $60 members, $75 for nonmembers.
Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport Quilt Show and Tell Saturday, February 16, 2 p.m. Bring in any old quilts you own to share with other quilt enthusiasts! The Maine State Quilt Study Group members will provide analysis of the quilt, including the history of the patterns, fabrics and techniques used. Participants are invited to share their stories about the quilt. At Penobscot Marine Museum's Main Street Gallery, 40 East Main Street, Searsport. Admission free. Call 207-548-2529 for more information.
Easy Log Cabin Block Workshop (Faith Garrold, teacher) Saturday, February 23, 9 a.m. - noon Learn to make a Log Cabin quilt square! Participants need to bring 3 pieces of cotton fabric in colors they love- fat quarters 18”X 22” work well; needle, thread and scissors. We will provide the template and pattern for those who would like to continue and make a larger project. Bring 3 pieces of cotton fabric. At Penobscot Marine Museum's Stephen Phillips Memorial Library, 11 Church Street, Searsport. $30 non-members, $25 members. Register online at http://logcabinblock.eventbrite.com or call 207-548-2529.
Lincoln County Historical Association, Wiscasset “Anatomy of an Old Chimney” lecture and demonstration by mason and restoration expert Richard Irons Sunday, February 24, 2 p.m. This lecture is part of the Lincoln County Historical Association’s annual series of talks by local historians and artisans, held in the Communications (or “911”) Building behind the Lincoln County Court House in Wiscasset. Suggested donation is $5.00. For more information and for the full schedule of the lecture series through March, please visit www.lincolncountyhistory.org.
About Maine Archives and Museums: Maine Archives and Museums is the non-profit association that supports and promotes Maine’s collecting institutions. Our mission is to develop and foster a network of citizens and institutions in Maine who identify, collect, interpret, and/or provide access to materials relating to history, living collections, and culture. Membership in MAM is open to institutions, businesses, and individuals. To become a member, visit www.mainemuseums.org
You can always find links to our member organizations’ events on our website at http://www.mainemuseums.org/eventspublic