The Maine State Museum

Hello to all who read this blog/journal. It is a documentation of ten visits to sites of historical significance in Maine for a history of Maine course I am taking at USM. My goal is to make my visits as diverse as possible and to always supply an abundance of pictures. Welcome to my blog cabin. -Sam

Entry #1:
The Maine State Museum, Augusta Me.
Visited: Friday, September 25th, 2009 1:00pm.

A. My first site visit was to the Maine State Museum while on a trip to Augusta for my internship at the Historic Preservation Commission. The museum is adjacent to the capitol building, close enough so that they share a parking lot. It is Conveniently within the same building as the state library and archives called The State Cultural Building. It was extremely easy to find given the proximity to the prominent State capitol.

There were several people bustling in and out of the archives and library and I wasn't sure what to expect for the museum, not having been there since elementary school. As it turns out the museum was quiet and empty with one employee working the desk, which was ideal for pictures and undisturbed wandering. I paid an extremely reasonable two dollars to get in and was given a map and enthusiastically told of the various exhibits and their corresponding floors.

The lighting was dim inside which allowed the exhibits to have their own interesting lighting which provided a realistic look. On the first level there were displays of various Maine industries, including canning, fishing, lobstering, farming, apple picking, and many others. There was a careful attention to detail in each of the exhibits and many of them had real pieces of Maine history within them. The sardine exhibit had a large framed piece including numerous cans from Maine's canning past. Hanging on one wall there were scale models of the vast variety of ocean creatures that have supplied the catch for maine fisherman for centuries. I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of detail that went into each display of Maine's past and present industries.

There was also an entire section dedicated to wildlife in Maine. The displays set up behind glass that included many different ecosystems that have supported life throughout Maine history. These were also illuminated wonderfully to provide a realistic feel.
B. Reflection and Historical Significance


Sam Shupe
Libby Bischof
HTY360
September 28, 2009

Reflection and Historical Significance

The Maine State History museum is a wonderful resource provided by the state of Maine to foster knowledge and information in a visual and often hands-on manner. It has a great significance to the history of Maine through its immense body of knowledge contained through the exhibits and its employees who work there. It is extremely important to Maine and the preservation of history because it allows Mainers from all walks of life, young and old to see for themselves the events, people, and places that have given the state its current identity. Since being founded in 1971, it has been a wonderful resource for all who care to know. I strongly encourage a visit.

On the front page of their website the director of the museum, Joseph R. Phillips, states its purposes quite perfectly. He says, “The Maine State Museum provides an excellent overview for the first time visitors and a place for life-long residents to refresh their memories.” I had not been to the museum since I was in elementary school and was curious as to what I would remember and what would seem new. As it turns out I remembered most all of the permanent exhibits such as the cannery, fishing and most of the wildlife displays. The set up and arrangement of the props and models is created in a way that stays with you and this is a very important feature of a museum that aims to cater to a wide audience.

Many people, especially younger children, may wander through the museum without ever reading a single word, just as I did when I visited in my younger years, and it is not a bad way to experience the museum at all. It is extremely engrossing and you can learn through observation how quarries, fishing, ice, farming, mills, and many other industries that have helped shape modern day Maine hundreds of years ago. The museum also accommodates the natural features of Maine. There are beautiful wildlife displays to help you get a strong grasp on the plants and animals that make up the ecosystems in Maine. You can see beavers, moose, and eagles and nearly every kind of fish that has ever swam the gulf of Maine, all without reading a word.

The museum is an important, well maintained and fully equipped resource that allows individuals to create their own an experience with Maine history that can be achieved by simply wandering around with an open mind. It is significantly important to Maine and its history in that it provides a comprehensive visual guide to what makes Maine unique and what has helped shape its identity.


The Maine State Museum. http://www.maine.gov/museum/index.html. Retrieved September 28, 2009.