Onsite Programs & Group Visits
Onsite Dino program in the Ranger Station.
Booking a Visit to the Museum
ReservationsGroup reservations must be confirmed with a Museum & Theatre staff person at least 24 hours in advance. Please begin by clicking the appropriate link below to submit your group reservation request. A staff member will contact you to confirm your visit and process payment.
Click here to complete an online request form for a Group Visit.
Click here to complete an online request form for a Group Visit with an Educational Program.
∗FMI call 207-828-1234 x232 or email
Schedule
Schedule a two-hour visit on Tuesday through Friday (9am-5pm).
Group Size
Groups of 10 or more are eligible for group admission rates.
Groups with 60 or fewer children may book an educational program for an additional fee.
Rates
$6 per person for a two hour visit to explore the Museum & Theatre on your own!
$7 per person for a two hour visit with a 45 minute educational program: visit includes time to explore the Museum & Theatre on your own.
Two adults per 10 students are admitted free. Payment can be made on the day of the visit. Checks, credit cards and purchase orders are accepted.
Special Offer!
Receive $0.50 off each admission when your group visits in September, October, January or February.
During our educational programs, our educators share a variety of scientific and cultural resources with your group, encouraging hands-on learning, discovery and engagement. 45-minute programs are available to groups of 60 people or fewer (unless otherwise noted). Stay and play at the Museum & Theatre after your program to complete your two hour visit.
We frequently revise our school programs to ensure a high quality experience for students and educators. If you have booked a program in the past and you want to be sure that specific features are still included, please discuss your expectations with our staff at the time of booking.
Booking a Theatre Performance
Group SizeGroups of 10 or more are eligible for group ticket rates.
Groups up to 65 total adults and children may book a theatre performance.
Rates
Advance payment is required for theatre productions.
$7 per person for a 45 minute performance
$13 per person for a 45 minute performance plus play time: visit includes an hour to explore the Museum & Theatre on your own.
Available Shows
Theatre Performance: Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie
Follow friends Hattie Campbell and Pepper Lewis as they travel with their parents from Missouri to Oregon along the Oregon Trail in 1847. This historic, two-character play celebrates the fragility of life and the resilience of the human spirit. Recommended for ages 6 and up.
Download a printable flyer with information about this production.
∗MLR: Aesthetics & Criticism
Book a Theatre Show
The Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine offers five main stage productions in the 2011-2012 season. Book a private performance for your group, or buy a block of tickets for a scheduled show at the group rate.
∗MLR: Aesthetics & Criticism
Educational Programs available at the
Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine:
Animal Adaptations and CommunicationsLearn how a variety of animals communicate and adapt to their environment while investigating artifacts like porcupine quills, fur samples and moose antlers. Explore animal evidence through scat and track replicas.
∗MLR: Biodiversity, Ecosystems
Beaver Adaptations
Explore beaver artifacts including fur, feet, skull and tail. "Become" a beaver by dressing up with specific equipment demonstrating how beavers adapt to aquatic life.
∗MLR: Constancy & Change, Ecosystems
Birds in Flight
Learn bird songs, explore bird beaks, skulls and egg replicas and discover the challenges of migration and flight.
∗MLR: Biodiversity, Evolution, Models
Camera Obscura Show
Investigate light, optics, human sight and the invention of photography inside this rare exhibit. Reflections from the sun project real-time images of Portland, Casco Bay, and sometimes Mt. Washington using this periscopic optical tool.
∗MLR: History & Nature of Science, Matter & Energy, Scientific Inquiry
Celebrate Asia
Explore the cultural traditions and daily lives of multiple families in Asia. Choose either Japan, Cambodia or China to learn how a featured family from that country celebrates the New Year. Kit rental includes all three countries.
Maximum: 40 students (two groups of 20)
∗MLR: Individual, Cultural, International & Global Connections in Geography
Children in Japan
Learn about growing up in Japan! Play popular games such as Wanage and Bee-dama, celebrate Children's Day with colorful streamers and try writing in Japanese. You might discover surprising similarities between your life and the life of a child in Japan!
∗MLR: Individual, Cultural, International & Global Connections in Geography
Dinosaurs
Journey through prehistoric eras and learn about dinosaur characteristics and adaptations through life-size bone, scat, scale and egg replicas.
∗MLR: Evolution
The Five Senses
Explore the human body's five senses through sensory and problem-solving activities. Challenge your senses to find out who in your group is a "super-taster!"
∗MLR: Skills & Traits of Scientific Inquiry
The Kids on the Block©
Meet our troupe of life-size educational puppets with real stories just like real kids! © The Kids on the Block is a nation-wide program using Bunraku puppetry as a way to break down boundaries and accept individual differences. Our troupe consists of middle school and high school volunteers and nine puppets.
∗MLR: Interpersonal Skills, Aesthetics & Criticism
Marine Mammals
Discover the whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals that inhabit the Gulf of Maine and explore their many adaptations. Investigate artifacts including baleen and bones and experiment with a "blubber mitt."
∗MLR: Biodiversity, Models, Scale
Ocean Exploration
Touch a variety of live marine creatures and seaweed from Casco Bay while learning about tide pools and invertebrate adaptations. Learn about the ocean's different zones through an interactive, dramatic presentation. Explore the ocean depths with your imagination as you pretend to be an ocean creature promoting its aquatic habitat.
∗MLR: Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Movement, Character Improvisation
Owl Adaptations
Explore owl skulls, talons, eggs and more to learn about owls from Maine and away. Take part in games illustrating how these raptors survive and thrive in the food web.
Optional add on: dissect owl pellets, the undigested matter owls regurgitate after feeding, to learn about owl diets! (Add 20 minutes and $3 per student).
∗MLR: Biodiversity, Ecosystems
Reptiles & Amphibians
Explore the similarities and differences between reptiles and amphibians. Learn frog songs, inspect turtle shells, discover a salamander's sense of hearing and more.
∗MLR: Biodiversity, Ecosystems
Rock Cycle
Learn about sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks through an up close inspection of our collection, and recreate the rock cycle using everyday materials.
∗MLR: Matter & Energy, Constancy & Change
Simple Machines
Explore the physics of six simple machines through hands-on models and real examples. Learn how machines make "work" easier in daily life.
∗MLR: Design, Force & Motion, Models
StarLab
This planetarium presents the wonders of the night sky. The domed StarLab allows students to explore the constellations and learn stories and facts behind the stars. Choose between Greek, Dine/Navajo or Chinese.
Maximum: 40 students (two groups of 20)
∗MLR: Stars, Night Sky
The Story of Istar
Meet Istar, a humpback whale from the Atlantic Ocean. Go inside a 45 foot, life-size replica of Istar and explore artifacts to learn about humpback whales and the story of this ocean mammal.
Maximum: 40 students (two groups of 20)
∗MLR: Models, Scale, Biodiversity
Take the Stage
Use theatre in the classroom to inspire confidence, teamwork and problem solving skills! We will guide students through the play-making process with familiar stories and improvisational theatre games. Choose from one of our familiar stories (The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears or Caps for Sale) or send us a story from your curriculum to have the program tailored to you!
∗MLR: Movement, Character, Improvisation
We Are Maine: Telling Our Stories
Take a trip across the state and travel the world. Maine children share their traditions and stories that tie them to cultures around the globe. Choose from one of our featured children to explore and learn how culture is reflected in food, celebrations and the games we play.
Maximum: 40 students (two groups of 20)
∗MLR: Individual, Cultural, International & Global Connections in Geography
Where Science Meets Art
Explore and examine the world through art and science. Choose from one of three topics: perspective and optics, color and chemistry or patterns and designs found in nature.
Maximum: 40 students (two groups of 20)
∗MLR: Science, Technology & Society, Elements of Art & Principles of Design, The Arts & History & World Cultures
Winter Survival
There is more to winter than hibernation! Learn about habitats and special adaptations that creatures use to survive the long winter season in Maine, and explore many different fur samples from Maine animals.
∗MLR: Adaptations, Seasons, Local Environments
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