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Category: Staff Happenings
Countdown to Reopening, News, Staff Happenings, Uncategorized
We’re Hiring!
The Maine State Museum Education Division is hiring for a full-time Museum Education Program Specialist II. The Maine State Museum, located in Maine’s capital city of Augusta, serves as a vital cultural resource for students, scholars, lifelong learners, and anyone curious about the state’s past, present, and future. The Maine State Museum has roots […]
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Countdown to Reopening, News, Objects, Artifacts, & Specimens, Staff Happenings
EgNo 3654 Makes a Dramatic Entrance
The museum’s display of whale skeletal remains took on dramatic new dimensions in November this year with the installation of jawbones and a flipper from a North Atlantic right whale. The selective representation of EgNo 3654’s bones is meant to add a new dimension to the whale gallery. EgNo 3654’s jawbones create a dramatic passthrough […]
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Countdown to Reopening, Staff Happenings
Fall Event Photos
See photos from the Maine State Museum’s fall 2025 events.
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Countdown to Reopening, News, Staff Happenings
What’s Been Going On at the Museum?
Gearing up for the first phase of our Grand Reopening on October 24, 2026! Are you missing the Maine State Museum? You are not alone. Many have expressed frustration that the museum has been closed for so long. The reasons for this long timeline? The renovation of the Cultural Building, the 55- year-old structure that […]
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Objects, Artifacts, & Specimens, Staff Happenings, Videos
Mystery Tusk: Searching for Elephants in the Maine Woods
Gary Hoyle, author and former Natural History Curator at the Maine State Museum, discussed his book, Mystery Tusk: Searching for Elephants in the Maine Woods, at the Friends of the Maine State Museum annual meeting on October 19, 2023. His illustrated talk described one of his great achievements for the museum: the 1993 excavation of […]
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News, Objects, Artifacts, & Specimens, Staff Happenings
Great Coat, Great Discoveries
Members of the public frequently contact museum staff with inquiries about items in the collection. Often, the resulting research leads to the discovery of new, exciting information. This is just what happened last spring when an individual contacted museum curator Angela Goebel-Bain to ask about measurements of a Civil War great coat that was donated […]
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Objects, Artifacts, & Specimens, Staff Happenings, Videos
Humpback Whale Skeleton-Maine State Museum Exhibit
These two humpback whale skeletons are currently being cleaned and prepared for exhibit by Whales and Nails, a company located in Seal Cove, Maine. The Skill and knowledge behind Whales and Nails is Dan DenDanto. A senior scientist with Allied Whale at the College of the Atlantic, Dan has been cleaning, restoring, and articulating whale […]
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News, Objects, Artifacts, & Specimens, Staff Happenings, Videos
Mo Rocca, Samantha Smith, and the Maine State Museum
In December 2022, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Mo Rocca came to Maine to learn about Samantha Smith. Curator Laurie LaBar describes the behind-the-scenes work that goes into preparing for a research trip. Watch the video below to learn more!
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Objects, Artifacts, & Specimens, Staff Happenings, Videos
Behind the Scenes-Education Center Bird Case
Planning work continues for the newly renovated museum space. In this video, exhibit designer Brewster Buttfield shares his vision for the display cases in the new education center. Brewster is working closely with education staff to capture the spirit and unique attributes of Maine’s bird population. They will choose highlights from the hundreds of bird […]
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Objects, Artifacts, & Specimens, Staff Happenings, Videos
MSM Freezer for Conservation
The Maine State Museum is up and running with an important, though at first glance surprising, new collections care tool – a walk-in freezer, with over 750 cubic feet of space and the ability to reach temperatures below -10 degrees Fahrenheit. The freezer has found its home in the museum’s natural science collection storage space. […]
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