Have You Seen the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine?
The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine has been on our list for quite some time. Luckily, a rainy day came upon us and my children drew this as their activity for the day. We packed our lunches and our kids, and drove two hours in the pouring rain for a day trip to this museum. Read on to find out everything you ever needed to know about a visit!
The Children’s Museum of Maine spans three floors. The bottom floor houses a coat rack, bathrooms, eating area and Maddy’s Theatre. The second floor is home to dramatic play, a children’s art gallery and maker space. On the third floor, you’ll find the water and light play area, Natural Science exhibit, and a open space they have titled “STEM.” The museum has a lot of small corridors, making it necessary to peek around to ensure you don’t miss something. I love that the map points out both quiet spaces and noisy ones in the event you have a sensory-sensitive kiddo.
Illumination. I’m going to say this was their favorite because the light table was something we hadn’t seen before, and it was also [relatively] quiet. Especially compared to the water play area next door. My kids were able to get space at a station and play uninterrupted for at least fifteen minutes. In addition to the light table, there were places for making shadows, a DIY animation station, and a massive light bright.
MOM’S FAVORITE
I’m a tie between the children’s art gallery and the Natural Science exhibit. The children’s art gallery showcased large paintings from children’s books on display. We hadn’t seen a kid-friendly art exhibit at any previous children’s museum we’d been to, and we’ve been incorporating art studies in our homeschool lately. It was nice to give the kids the opportunity to experience an art exhibit without having to be quiet. Quite naturally, a Makerspace was located next to the art exhibit, which allowed children to immediately implement their creative ideas. The Natural Science exhibit reminded me a lot of Squam Lakes Science Center. The museum did a really fantastic job of curating that exhibit and included all manner of marine life from painted turtles to sea anemones.
DAD’S FAVORITE
“The water tables were pretty cool.” The water tables, while crowded, were epic. There were loads of smocks available (even with the insane number of children present). These water tables were something of a cross between Boston Children’s Museum and Acton Discovery Museum. The size was very respectable (like BCM), but the interactivity was more in line with Acton.
LEAST FAVORITE
Lordy. Unless your child is at least five DO NOT allow them into the climbing structure next to the eating area on the lower floor. My children were rightfully terrified to go in after watching *multiple* children get stuck in there and panic to find their way out. This exhibit is not easily accessible for adults to perform emergency rescues, it’s high in the air, and the pathways are narrow. I watched many older children helping the terrified younger ones try to escape what looks like a caged tower and whew. I’m sure it did not help my digestion. On the flip side, it does restore my faith in humanity that children are developing empathy even if Millennials totally suck at it themselves.
BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS
FOOD
There is no cafeteria at The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine. Additionally, there do not appear to be any restaurants nearby. The museum is, however, very packed-lunch friendly. Immediately upon entry, there is a seating area to the right. It is separated from the entry by a rather large climbing wall which terrified multiple children while we were there. The area wasn’t filthy, but I didn’t see anyone managing the area. I’d recommend bringing some sanitizing wipes for the table and washing hands well before eating (Isopropanol doesn’t kill norovirus).
WATER
There are both water fountains and water bottle refilling stations located on each floor of the museum, as you’re approaching the bathrooms. The water fountains have stools, so you won’t have to do the awkward lift / hold / push here. We like to carry our own water bottles and use the refilling stations because 1. it feels more sanitary and 2. we can take our water bottles in the car on the way home. You do what feels right for you.
BATHROOM
There are male and female bathrooms on each floor of the museum. Family / All Person bathrooms are located on the second and third floors. You may have to look around a minute for those. The bathrooms upstairs seemed cleaner than those downstairs. Presumably, they get less use simply due to their obscure location in the abovementioned corridors. With a strong background in microbiology, the downstairs bathroom is not somewhere I’d prefer to change my baby. There was visible debris on the hinges of the changing table. Definitely take something to lay down, but make sure you have a secondary container to put that something in so it doesn’t contaminate anything else. The other changing tables throughout the facility appeared more sanitary. The bathrooms themselves were clean and up-to-date.
WAYS TO SAVE
Unlike other museums we’ve visited, the Children’s Museum of Maine seems to have less ways to save on a visit. We utilized a 50% discount through reciprocal admission with another children’s museum. The Museum also offers a scholarship to apply for membership. You can find out more about that here.
TRENDSETTER TAKEAWAY
EMPLOYEES
Employees can make or break an experience. I am happy to report that the employees at The Children’s Museum of Maine were a delight to interact with. While we didn’t see employees roaming around to manage the facility, the ones we did encounter (front desk, Makerspace) were helpful and kind. They appeared to enjoy their jobs, and did not seem overwhelmed by the general insanity that were transpiring.
FACILITY
I was very excited to check this place out. It had rave reviews from my neighbor, and we’d never been to Portland. While there were some exhibits that blew me away, the overall experience was complete sensory overload. One of the things that appeared to cause the chaos was the general layout and flow of the facility. That isn’t the fault of the museum by any stretch of the imagination. The building itself does not absorb crowds well and is shaped in a big rectangle separated by hallways. Because the exhibits are separated by somewhat sterile hallways, people tend to congregate around one exhibit or area, instead of flowing from one to the next. The flow feels choppy and doesn’t lend itself well to comfortable exploration. Again, not any fault of the museum itself.
We’ve been to many children’s museums with back-to-back knock-out exhibits. At the Children’s Museum + Theatre of Maine, some of the exhibits reminded me of sad kindergarten classrooms. For example, next door to the Natural Sciences exhibit is a small area labeled “STEM.” There were a few tables and small area for pretend veterinary play (all super important!). But the room itself seemed lacking and the exhibit didn’t have enough going on to fully engross the kids and prevent squabbles over sharing. After visiting the knock-out right next to it, it was a bit of a let down. I’d love to see them add something else to that area, starting with some sort of mural on the walls.
Another example of general flow issues are apparent on the second floor. The elevator (and stairs) dump patrons right out into the dramatic play section. It seems people get stuck there instead of flowing toward the art gallery and associated makerspace. That’s a shame, because the Makerspace people were very lovely! It might be that the Makerspace needs to be moved upstairs, and something more alluring goes in its place on the second floor.
Would I go back? Probably. I definitely wouldn’t make a special trip to visit it again. If we were in the area and had some free time on a WEEKDAY, it’s a high probability we’d swing through! As with anything, what not be a good fit for my family may be an awesome fit for yours. It’s certainly worth checking out, especially if your family doesn’t get easily overwhelmed by architectural issues!
Leave a Reply