Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine
Activities: Museums, children’s museums, children’s theater, interactive exhibits. Family-friendly, great for a day trip.
Region: Portland & Casco Bay
After 25 years of growing its visitors and educational offerings, the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine is in a spacious 30,000-square-foot building on Thompson’s Point in Portland. Devoted to children’s continued development and learning, they focus on the whole child and play-based experiences in:
- STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)
- Arts and culture
- Performing and visual arts
- Early childhood education
The entire family will enjoy the museum’s engaging and imaginative offerings, including a state-of-the-art 89-seat theater; a 10,000-square-foot science center; an arts workshop and makerspace studio; and numerous exhibits geared toward infants, toddlers and children in their teens. The museum is committed to making its facilities and programs accessible and safe for all members of the community.
See, Touch and Explore
Kids, lead the way! Every exhibit is designed to be explored by kids through dramatic role play, hands-on experiences, navigating immersive environments and taking safe risks. There are three floors and an Outdoor Adventure area to explore. Maine is featured prominently in the museum as well. The exhibit “From the Mountains to the Sea” gets kids up close and personal with Maine freshwater species like sunfish, water bugs, frogs and turtles, while Beautiful Blackbird features an award-winning local author.
Learn
In addition to the educational exhibits, the museum offers events, workshops and programs that will spark a child’s curiosity and imagination. Ever slept in a museum? You can do that at one of their overnight offerings. To grow little ones’ confidence, there’s a Theatre Summer Camp that will have kids finding their inner thespians.
See a Show
It’s called a Children’s Museum & Theatre for good reason. Maddy’s Theatre is the oldest continuously operating children’s theater in the nation and has found its place at the Children’s Museum to showcase the magic of live performance to kids of all ages. The theater strives to reflect Maine’s diversity through its staff, actors, design team, participants, audience and story.
Ready to plan your trip? Make sure you purchase tickets in advance and review the museum’s schedule.
Additional Tips
- Coming from points south? The Downeaster Amtrak station is just steps from the museum. Make the day extra special by riding the train!
- Speaking of special, there are two nearby treats for parents. Not only does Rwanda Bean make a great cup of coffee, but its Fifty Percent for Farmers program gives back to the farms that harvest the coffee crops. For craft beer lovers, be sure to stop in at Bissell Brothers to take home one of Maine’s most popular brews. Their kitchen is open on weekends.
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