In-Person Field Trips
Penobscot Marine Museum is happy to welcome in-person field trips with child groups of 10 or more. Submit a field trip request. If you are a homeschool family, consider scheduling a family field trip.
Penobscot Marine Museum brings Maine’s maritime culture to life on a 3-acre campus in the seacoast village of Searsport. Exhibits throughout the campus tell unique stories of ship captains and their families, the industries of Penobscot Bay, global maritime trade, and today’s fisheries.
Plan ahead – Check out our Penobscot Marine Museum (PMM) Campus Map. PMM is a campus museum with many buildings and two public streets.
We will give your entire group a brief welcome. Then, you will divide into smaller groups. Please choose your groups before arriving, with at least one chaperone in each group. We recommend touring in groups of no larger than 10. Click here for more information on what to expect.
A visit to PMM involves walking between buildings and some exhibits in unheated spaces. Please dress for the weather.
Field Trip Fees
Standard Field Trip: FREE*
One teacher/chaperone per 8 students and one-on-one aids are free, additional adults are $5/person
Nonschool Field Trip/Group Tour Fees
Children: $5/person. One-on-one aids are free, additional adults are $5/person.
*Friends of the Penobscot Marine Museum have generously supported a limited number of field trips for this school year. Their contributions have subsidized the regular fee of $5/student.
**During scheduled events and outside regular museum hours (including times outside the hours listed above and when PMM is closed to the public), child groups must pay the $5 group fee and schedule at least 2 weeks in advance, subject to availability.
Youth Outreach Programs
Remote or In-Person
PMM staff can meet with you over Zoom or Google Meet, or we can come to you! Most programs can be adapted to any age group.
Outreach Program Fees:
- Remote — FREE!
- In-Person — $50 + mileage
Program Options
Programs listed below include a 20-30 minute program and a suggested activity.
Working the Bay
Students will explore how Penobscot Bay’s natural resources contributed to a vibrant and diverse local economy. Students will discover the tools used in the 19th-century timber, stone, and ice industries and conduct an ice experiment.
Lobsters!
Using clips from exhibit visits and historical photos, students will discover the history of lobstering in Maine. This program also touches on lobster biology, conservation, and lobstering today.
Life at Sea
In the second half of the 1800s, many Searsport and Maine residents went to sea! Students will hear stories about children at sea, zoom in on intriguing photographs, and find out about what a sailor’s life was like.
Life at Sea — for early learners
Mr. Ropes, a puppet character based on an actual cat who sailed on board the MABEL I. MEYERS from Boston to Buenos Aires, will talk about what life was like at sea. The program will also include photographs. Recommended for pre-K to 1st grade.
Town Meeting
Students use local primary sources such as petitions, letters, and receipts to discover what problems townspeople were working to solve around 1870. After talking about Town Meeting, students play out a real life scenario of a town meeting from around 1870, creating a budget for the town and trying to solve four issues that town members have brought up.
Port Paintings
Just like we take pictures of our adventures today, 19th-century sea captains commissioned paintings of their ships in foreign ports. Students will see examples of port paintings in a program that combines art, history, and a little geography!
Historic Toys & Games
Students will consider what they might do for fun in the days before electricity and plastic. Then they will try 19th-century games, play with wooden toys, and make their own paper toy. Fun! (Best in person)
Artifact Close-up
Do we have an artifact in the PMM collection that relates to what you’re teaching in class? Let’s examine it up close! (No suggested activity)
Group Tours
Groups of all sizes are welcome to visit the museum! Group tours usually start with an orientation by museum staff followed by time to visit the rest of the museum at your own pace. Interpretive staff are available in several locations to share information and answer questions.
Group tours are available during our regular season, Memorial Day weekend through the third weekend in October. During the rest of the year or during hours outside of regular museum hours, access to some museum buildings may be limited. Off-season visits will usually be entirely staff-guided.
Group visits outside of regular museum hours or off-season should be scheduled at least two weeks in advance, subject to availability.
Group Admission Rates
For groups of 10 or more adults: $10/per person.
Cash, credit, or check is accepted. A combined single payment from your group is preferred.