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Explore
Discover 12,000 years of Maine’s natural wonders, cultural artifacts, and human stories.
Current Exhibits and Events
Lunder Education Center
The museum’s first dedicated educational space for families and school groups provides opportunities to see objects up close, interactive installations, digital displays, and special exhibits that feature the museum’s wide variety of biological, historical, and archaeological items.
Collections
Meet Maine at the Maine State Museum, where history and natural wonders come alive through carefully curated collections that span thousands of years. As the official guardian of Maine’s natural specimens and cultural artifacts, the museum serves as both protector and storyteller, transforming remarkable collections into captivating exhibits and educational programs.
Maine State Museum holds more than 800,000 objects in its collections.
Recent News, Videos, and Stories
What’s Been Going On at the Museum?
Gearing up for the first phase of our Grand Reopening on October 24, 2026! MEET MAINE HERE Get ready to experience a reimagined Maine State Museum, with more than 19,000 square feet of new exhibits, displays, and gathering spaces. A sparkling, dynamic, engaging, and more comfortable Maine State Museum is about to be unveiled…Stay tuned […]
Parlor Set With Deep Maine Connections Returns Home
In early 2025, the Maine State Museum received a donation of a remarkable parlor set with an even more remarkable family story.
Gone But Not Forgotten
Maine State Museum Leads New Research on the Extinct Sea Mink In April 2025, Maine State Museum curator of natural science Dr. Paula Work and former Maine State Museum staff members Bruce Bourque and Robert Lewis published a groundbreaking study in the Journal of Quaternary Research that illuminates some mysteries of the now-extinct sea mink. […]