Modeled to accommodate both traditional and non-traditional learning styles, Maine Maritime Museum’s education programs emphasize hands-on cooperative learning which meets the State of Maine Learning Results criteria.
Allow us to customize your field trip to the Museum with a Student Tour, a Maritime Heritage School Program, or even a narrated boat ride on the historic Kennebec River.
Maritime Heritage School Programs
These 90-minute programs are available for all ages and curriculums and comply with Maine State Learning Results. Our programs can help your students learn about history, science, geography, economics, world affairs, the environment and mathematics. Cost is $5 per student or a minimum of $100.
- Lobstering on the Maine Coast
Lobstering is the single most important fishery in the State of Maine. Students explore the role of the fisherman in Maine, the techniques he employed, and the species he desired. An exploration of the L.L. Bean Lobstering Building is made, as well as an introduction to the anatomy, life cycle, and the catching of lobsters.
- Bounties of the Sea
Fishing has been a vital part of life in Maine for centuries. In this program students learn about various fishing techniques used throughout the ages, the species that became important, and the impact fishermen had on the region. The program concludes with the Grand Banks Fisheries Game where students test their luck and skills on the fishing grounds and examine the impact of the industry on our natural resources.
- Life at Sea
In this program students explore the daily lives of sailors aboard ships during the Age of Sail including how the sailors worked with shipmates, what responsibilities the captain bore, and an examination of the contents of a sailor’s sea chest. Students will also have the opportunity to sample the staple foods of the sailor and the medicines used to combat scurvy.
Student sailors join a Maine-built vessel on an imaginary voyage spanning the globe. Using historic papers, photographs, letters, and charts from the Museum’s collections, the class follows the progress of the ship as she carries cargoes from one port to another. Students will also explore one of these ports in depth, experiencing a game, craft, or other activity from that place. Call (207) 443-1316 ext. 339 for more information on available ports of call.
- Ocean Commerce
For centuries merchant sailors have transported valuable cargoes locally and around the world. Explore the concepts of cargo loading and its effect upon ship stability, then have fun buying low and selling high in the active trading game Cargo Run.
- Building a Wooden Ship
Wooden shipbuilding and Maine are synonymous. In this 90-minute hands-on tour of the Percy & Small Shipyard, students explore the materials, tools, and processes of wooden shipbuilding on the site where they were actually performed. The Percy & Small Shipyard worked on the current site from 1896 - 1920, and is the last intact site in the country where large wooden sailing vessels were built. (Much of the program is outside so we only offer this tour from April to October.)
- Student Tour
Have one of our docents guide your class through the historic Percy & Small Shipyard, birthplace of some of America’s largest wooden vessels. The techniques of design and building a wooden sailing vessel are revealed as the students tour original historic shipyard buildings. This 45-minute tour is offered at $4 per student.
Explore the Museum after Class
At the conclusion of a tour or program, classes are welcome to explore the Museum and grounds on a self-guided basis.
These one-hour programs allow you to bring Maine’s maritime heritage right into your classroom. Program offerings include Life at Sea and Bounties of the Sea, described above. A Museum educator will engage and inform your class with our sailor’s sea chest or the Grand Banks Fishing Game adapted for classroom use. Cost is $120 per class.