Museum Hours & Other Facts
Exhibits closed at this time. Open May through the third Sunday in October. Come visit us in 2010.
- Museum Hours
- Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm
Admissions
Admission tickets are sold at our Museum Store on Main Street. Upon arrival, please proceed to the Admissions desk for your daily sticker.
- Ticket Prices
- Adult $8.00
Children (7 yrs-15 yrs) $3.00
Children (6 yrs & under) FREE
PMM Members FREE
Family Rate (2 parents + children under 18 yrs in same household) $18.00
Group Rate $5.oo per person for parties larger than 10 people.
School Groups and Summer Camps Please call ahead for pricing and reservations. Contact Betty Schopmeyer for details: (207) 548-2529, ext.206.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the mission of the Penobscot Marine Museum?
The mission of the Penobscot Marine Museum is to preserve, interpret and celebrate the maritime culture of the Penobscot Bay Region and beyond through collections, education, and community engagement.
- What is the museum like?
Our campus has more than a dozen buildings, five of which house public exhibits and collections. All but one of the buildings date from the first half of the 19th century, to authentically recreate the look and feel of a seaport village from the Great Age of Sail. (See the campus map for details on each building.) All of the exhibit buildings are rather closely spaced, and it's a lovely place to stroll around. You can have your picnic lunch on the grounds, or simply cross the street for good restaurant fare or snacks.
- What are the highlights of your collection?
Small Craft. Working and recreational boats from the early 20th century include a Beals Island lobster boat; a North Haven dinghy; a Lincolnville wherry; a Herreshoff 12 ½; peapods; dories; canoes; marine engines and lots more.
Marine Art. We have a world-class collection of 19th century marine art featuring Thomas and James Buttersworth, Robert Salmon, and Antonio Jacobsen; ship portraits and port paintings from around the world; ships' figureheads; dioramas and shadowboxes.
Furniture, crafts and domestic furnishings. In addition to domestic manufactures of the 19th century, many Searsport homes were furnished with a wealth of fascinating objects from the Orient, brought back by local sea captains. Our fully-furnished sea captain's house shows how a 19th century home might have looked, with objects ranging from grandfather clocks and cuff crimpers to "larding needles" (to insert more fat into meat), hooked rugs, traveling desks, Chinese sewing boxes, oil portraits, and a piano with mother-of-pearl keys.
Tools. Artifacts of economic labor abound in the Working The Bay exhibit. You'll see the tools used by Penobscot Bay's loggers, farmers, ice harvesters, ship builders and mariners.
Ship Models. You'll see builder's half-hull models; large-scale fully-rigged plank-on frame models; exquisite miniatures; a French prisoner's model made of bone; presentation models; a working steam-powered tug model and more.
Scrimshaw. Our collection includes both inscribed and rare painted whales' teeth; baleen and walrus ivory objects; and related craft pieces.
Photography. Over 100,000 items, including collections from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company and Atlantic Fisherman; and work by photographers Carroll Thayer Berry, Charles R. Coombs and Joanna Colcord.
Special Exhibits. Every season there are special and temporary exhibits that feature rarely-seen gems from our collections and items on loan. See the Home Page and Calendar of Events for details.
Permanent Exhibits. The campus map includes descriptions of our permanent exhibits.
- Are there special activities for children?
"Yard in the Yard". A real ship's wheel, capstan, and a scale model mast from a square-rigged ship. Children burn energy while learning how ships were steered, sails and rigging handled, and anchors raised.
Peapod. Housed in our education center, this children's space is for imaginative play. Accessories, toys, clothing and tools to recreate and imagine lives from the 19th century. Be a sailor, a shop owner, a parent of 150 years ago, or even a child! (From July 6 through July 31, Peapod is open weekends only.)
Marine Science Lab. Enter Skate, our make-believe research submersible to gather marine samples, then examine and identify different species of fish.
Crafts. Creative craft activities are available in Fowler-True-Ross House and the Marine Science Lab.
In addition. With guidance from a loving adult, many children find our "grown-up" exhibits fascinating especially the boats.
- Are you handicapped-accessible?
Most of our exhibits are wheelchair-accessible, but because of the nature of 19th-century buildings, a few are not accessible on the 2nd floor.
- Does the museum have a gift shop?
The Museum Store is co-located with our Admissions desk in the Museum on Main Street. Remember your visit with a nice selection of gifts, books, art, cards, t-shirts, caps and videos. Online shoppers please visit ShopForMuseums.com, where your purchase will benefit the Penobscot Marine Museum.
- Does the museum have a restaurant?
No, but there are several good places to eat right in the neighborhood. There are lobster pounds nearby where the lobster is always fresh. And Belfast, 10 minutes away, has a wide variety of restaurants. Take a look at our local tourism links for more information.
- How about lodging?
Several finely-restored sea captains' houses operate as Bed and Breakfast inns in Searsport, and there are several motels nearby. See local tourism links.
- What is the history of the Penobscot Marine Museum?
Maine's oldest maritime museum was founded in 1936 by descendants of Searsport sea captains. The original building was our Old Town Hall, built in 1845 and given to the Museum by the town to display our initial collection. Within the decade, we had outgrown this building, and we now encompass a total of 13 buildings, eight of which are on the National Historic Register.