About the Maine State Museum
The Maine State Museum calls itself one of the nation's oldest state museums, with roots that reach back to the 1830s. Its modern form dates from the 1960s, when the Maine legislature made the museum a permanent institution and voters approved a bond issue to build the Cultural Building in Augusta, a structure the museum shares with the Maine State Archives and the Maine State Library. The museum operates as an independent state agency funded by the State of Maine, federal grants, private donations and the Friends of the Maine State Museum, with policy set by a governor-appointed Maine State Museum Commission. The museum's own account of its survival is titled, fittingly, "The Museum That Would Not Die."
The collections run to more than 800,000 objects and cover roughly 12,000 years of natural and cultural history. Four floors of exhibits move from Ice Age mastodons and the state's geology and wildlife through Wabanaki and other Native artifacts to Maine's maritime heritage, its working mills and water-powered industry, and domestic life in the long-running "At Home in Maine" display, whose "Family Ties" section has been refreshed for the reopening. The Lunder Education Center gives school groups and families a dedicated space to handle objects and explore interactive displays. Online exhibits available now include "Traveling through Maine 200 Years Ago" and the Maine Labor Mural.
The Cultural Building, now 55 years old, has been closed for a down-to-the-bones renovation that proved far more complex than planned: new building codes, energy efficiency, a stable interior climate for the collections, better accessibility and replaced finishes and systems. The museum has announced that the first phase of its Grand Reopening will take place on October 24, 2026, unveiling more than 19,000 square feet of new exhibits and gathering spaces.
Collections and Research Services
The museum is an object collection rather than a manuscript archive, so it is the place to see artifacts, not to pull family files. Its history and science collections can be browsed through the online collections section of the website, and the museum accepts offers of objects through its "Donate Objects" process. For genealogists the real advantage of a visit is the building itself: the Maine State Archives and the Maine State Library sit under the same roof, which puts vital records, land records and the state's library holdings a few steps from the galleries. Our guide to free family history research explains how to prepare before you arrive, and finding old photos of a house or neighborhood covers how museum image collections like this one can help.
Planning Your Visit
The museum is at 230 State Street in Augusta, directly across the parking lot from the Maine State House and within reach of I-95, Route 202 and Route 201. Once reopened, the posted hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Mondays and state holidays. Admission is free for everyone from October 24 through December 31, 2026; the published 2027 prices are $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and youth, free for children six and under, veterans and members, with a $10 family maximum. Parking is free in the lots around the museum, though it tightens during legislative sessions, roughly January through April or June. In the meantime, visitors can take self-guided tours of the State House on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and book Blaine House tours at least two weeks in advance through the museum. Check mainestatemuseum.org or call (207) 287-2301 for the latest reopening details.
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