Get Outside!
Multiple exhibits and a garden classroom are located within a large, fenced outdoor area accessible to all CMTM visitors. Each component has been designed to encourage discovery and exploration of the natural world.
Outdoor Adventure made possible by a generous gift from L.L. Bean
Where?
Outside Fenced Area
Access Info
• The ground is a combination of paved pathways, woodchips, and pavers. Woodchip areas meet the ADA minimum requirements for accessibility.
Journey
Climb, slide, and imagine on this extra large climbing structure made from natural Maine cedar. With ample room for kids to play alone or side-by-side, this play structure inspires imagination and adventure in children of all ages.
Generously donated by CedarWorks
Grow
Learn about concepts such as biology and food systems through hands-on exploration in this garden classroom designed to invite learning and delight the senses!
The Teaching Garden at The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine strives to connect children to the earth, to native plants in the land we call Maine, and to the heart of our food systems. From plant biology and the importance of pollinators, to the feel of the dirt between your fingers, each experience in the space is an opportunity for growth. Explore concrete components of larger systems such as sustainability and the carbon cycle and uncover the heart of science through observation and inquiry.
Stop by to discover for yourself what lies just below the surface.
Generously Sponsored by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare
Teaching Garden
In 2021 we are honoring the plants that were here before all else, native and indigenous species to connect ourselves to our plates. In addition, we are preparing a Star Root Garden full of mysteries beneath the soil. Here is a list of species being considered for the raised garden beds:
Low bush blueberries
Pussy willow
American Honeysuckle
Barren Strawberry, Waldsteinia fragarioides
Bluets, Houstonia caerulea
Hairy Beardtongue, Penstemon hirsutus
Three toothed cinquefoil, Sibbaldiopsis tridentata
Grass, Little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium
Grass, Purple lovegrass, Eragrostis spectabilis
Plaintain-leaved pussytoes, Antennaria plantaginifolia
Blue-eyed grass, Sisyrinchium spp.
Violets, Viola pedata
Red columbine, Aquilegia canadensis
Flox, Phlox bifida & P. subulata
Bellwort, Uvularia grandiflora & U. sessifolia
Golden star, Chrysogonum virginianum
Wild sarsaparilla, Aralia nudicaulis
Sundrops, Oenothera fruiticosa
Wood aster, blue Symphyotrichum cordifolium
Golden Alexanders Zizia aptera, Z.aurea
White turtlehead Chelone glabra
Northeastern beardtongue Penstemon hirsutus
Aster, New England Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Grass, Wild oats Chasmanthium latifolium
Jacob’s ladder Polemonium reptans*
Spotted cranesbill Geranium maculatum
Shooting star Dodecatheon meadia*
Joe-pye weed Eutrochium dubium (4-5 ft.), E. maculatum (4-5 ft.), E. fistulosum (7-8 ft.)
Groundnut Apios americana
Trumpet honeysuckle
