I’ve listed all the participating museums and their hours here. Don’t forget to bring your membership card with you. Now enjoy your adventure!

Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor (10am-4pm)

Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, Portland (that’s us!) (10am-5pm)

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay (9am-5pm)

Maine Discovery Museum, Bangor (9:30am-5pm)

Maine Maritime Museum, Bath (9:30am-5pm)

Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit (10am-5pm)

Owls Head Transportation Museum, Owls Head (10am-5pm)

Portland Museum of Art, Portland (10am-5pm)

Victoria Mansion, Portland (10am-4pm)

Nathan Walker is one of the artists whose work is currently showing in our stair tower gallery. The paintings on display are from his work as an illustrator and include works that were featured in Highlights Magazine and the new children’s book

Chris: What is the difference between an Illustrator and an artist?

Nathan: Well, an illustrator is an artist. And an artist can be an illustrator. They are often both, one and the same. The main difference between an artist and an illustrator is that an illustrator works with a client, somebody who has hired them to make a specific piece of art. For example, an illustrator will be hired by a greeting card company to make a funny picture of a frog eating birthday cake to use on a birthday card. Being an illustrator means you have to work with certain limitations and requirements on your artwork, while an artist can make whatever they choose.

Chris: What is your medium?

Nathan: My medium tends to be paint. I like to work with acrylic paint every chance I get. However, sometimes I use the computer to color my images, especially if I need to make my illustrations really quickly. But I always start with a pencil drawing first.

Chris: What inspired you to create your own children’s book?

Nathan: I have always loved reading picture books, even as an adult. So I thought it would be a lot of fun and very rewarding to make my own book so other people could enjoy it.

Chris: What interested you about working at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine?

Nathan: I love the Children’s Museum! It’s such a fun place to visit – there are so many cool things to see and do, and I wanted to be part of that!

Chris: What motivates you to keep making art?

Nathan: I have always loved to make art, and I’m sure I always will. It’s something that I never get tired of doing. But I often get motivation to make new artwork when I see other people making art. When I go to a museum, or a gallery, or even when I see an animated movie or someone’s artwork online, it’s really exciting to me and it makes me want to make something for myself!

Chris: Do you, by any chance, have a curly mustache?

Nathan: It’s funny you should ask…I used to have a curly mustache. In fact I had the curliest mustache in all fifty states. I actually won many contests and prestigious awards for not only the amount of curls in my mustache, but also for the size of the curls! It was so curly that people would travel from all around the world just to catch a glimpse of it! They would tell stories of my mustache back in their own countries about the man from New Hampshire with the curliest mustache. In fact, I’ve even heard that astronauts in space once caught a glimpse of my mustache when they were outside washing their space shuttle. Unfortunately, one day I decided that I wanted to go surfing way up in Alaska. So I took off my mustache and laid it down on the beach, just to keep it dry – you can imagine how long it takes to blow dry a giant curly mustache. Well, when I got done surfing, I came back to shore and discovered my mustache was missing. I looked for it for several years, but I was never able to discern its location. And to this very day, I still have no idea where it ended up. Although, I did recently hear from a fisherman who said that he had spotted a big blue whale swimming off the coast of New Zealand with a rather large and bushy set of eyebrows!

Nathan’s artwork will be on display in our stairwell gallery through April 3, 2012; her work appears alongside the illustrations of Rebecca Q Yankes in the exhibition Drawn Together.

Rebecca Q Yankes is a freelance illustrator and artist who currently has work up in our stair tower gallery. The work she is exhibiting highlights her interest in natural science. Recently I asked her about her process and what inspires her, and learned that the creative process is as much analytical as it is aesthetic.

Chris: What is your medium?

Rebecca: I work in a lot of mediums. When I was a kid, I was all about colored pencils and acrylic paints, which I still use a lot of now. When I was in art school, I did a lot with pencils and gouache (a sort of obscure paint that can act like both acrylics and watercolors). Currently I do a lot of digital art, acrylic paintings, and ballpoint pen drawings.  I try to experiment with all sorts of mediums and see how they each allow me to make different types of art. There’s definitely a lot of play in my work!

Chris: What are the themes in your art?

Rebecca: When it comes to my digital art, I really focus on animals. I’ve always been an animal person, and I’m really fascinated by the natural world. When I was little, I’d always slow my family down when we were out taking walks, because I was curious about every little rock and leaf I found on the sidewalk! I still feel that way when I’m outside. There are just so many great animals to keep learning about. Every time I see a new type of animal that I hadn’t seen before, I think about making it into a piece of art. You should see me at the zoo…I take lots of pictures, make sketches, write down every name of every creature, then go home or to the library and do tons of research to find out more about every animal!

Chris: When did you start making art?

Rebecca: I’ve been making art for my whole life. It started with drawings–lots of drawings! My parents have kept every sketchbook I filled when I was a kid. The oldest sketchbooks are full of drawings of my family, our pets, my imaginary monster friends, and things around the home. When I was around ten, I started to make paintings and draw things that I found outside. And the rest is history! I still draw every day. I don’t think I’ll ever stop drawing. Even though I paint a lot, my paintings always start out as drawings.

Chris: What is your favorite color?

Rebecca: On its own? Bright orange, like an orange bell pepper. But there are lots of colors and combinations that I’m also in love with…Chinese lacquer red, grey and daffodil yellow, kingfisher teal, eggplant purple and sky blue…there is just so much color out there to love! Color makes life beautiful.

Chris: What are the great influences on your art?

Rebecca: My digital animals are really heavily influenced by a lot of traditional arts I’ve seen from other cultures around the world. I spent some time studying in Japan, and you can really see the Asian influence in a lot of the smooth, calligraphic lines that I use (especially in the Tiger, Crane, and Dragon). I’m also really inspired by the incredible sculptures of Western Africa, the masks of the Yupik and Inuit Eskimos, and the decorative art of the Pacific Northwestern native Americans. The digital animals rely on my realist training, but they are absolutely inspired by other cultures’ interpretations of animal life. I never made animals like the ones in “Drawn Together” until one of my teachers introduced me to traditional arts from around the world.

Chris: What interests you about working with the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine?

Rebecca: The Children’s Museum has a really incredible atmosphere. It places an enormous emphasis on learning through play, which is important to me, because I feel that studying can be a form of play for the rest of your life as long as you get into it early. That’s how I always got good grades! The museum also encourages kids to get out there and express themselves through theater, which is a really valuable experience. Knowing how to present yourself, how to speak up, and how to be confident in front of a crowd is the type of skill set that stays with you for your whole life. The people who run the museum also really like to introduce kids to art and the many forms it can take, and I’m honored to be one of the artists who could ultimately have a positive impact on a young person through the museum.

Chris: What motivates you to keep making art?

Rebecca: There are lots of things that motivate me to make art. Making art allows me to deeply investigate and understand things that captivate me. In turn, after the art is finished, I have something to show to others and get them interested too. I have a big interest in communicating and sharing with others through art. I love the opportunity to teach and to learn. Then there’s the art community as a whole. Seeing art by other people is so inspiring! I had a teacher once who said that good art makes its viewers see the world in a new way…I think that’s true. Every artist has a different style and a different interpretation of what he or she sees. Looking at the way one artist draws a hand or paints a flower can change the way you look at hands and flowers. I love that. It’s so fascinating. The art community keeps me inspired and motivated!

Rebecca’s artwork will be on display in our stairwell gallery through April 3, 2012; her work appears alongside the illustrations of Nathan Walker in the exhibition Drawn Together.

About Ryan:

BS Wildlife Science, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) (Syracuse, NY)
MPS Natural Resource and Recreation Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) (Syracuse, NY)
From the time he was a young boy in his native state of New York (the upstate part!), Ryan has been captivated by the outdoors and all things science. Ryan has a variety of experience working with youth in science-related programs as a volunteer educator for the NYS Parks Department and as a science educator with his college. He sees science education as a way to engage youth in their natural surroundings and aims to make science something fun and enjoyable.

About Ryan’s Camps (in his own words):

I’ve always been interested in the pioneer lifestyle especially the ruggedness, creativity and resourcefulness associated with it and thought doing a camp about it would be super fun. In Pioneer Camp, we’ll use our hands to craft fun toys of the time and I’ll get my guitar out to pick some old time pioneer tunes, among other activities.

I am really excited for Backyard Naturalist Camp! Summer is an awesome time to be outside, plus I love sharing my excitement for nature and assortment of facts and tidbits with others. We will explore our backyard museum ecosystem and think about how we can all enhance our own backyards to attract more wildlife.

Talk to Ryan:

Curious about Ryan’s camps? Contact Ryan at 828-1234 x229 or email him at ryan@kitetails.org.

If you don’t have any questions and are ready to register, you can do it online here or call Shana at 828-1234 x232.

About Reba:

BA Theatre Arts, Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA)
MA Theatre Education, Emerson College (Boston, MA) (expected 2013)
Reba spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco, where she facilitated a clowning troupe and helped them teach theatre workshops for youth all over the south-west region of the country. Aside from directing five mainstage productions per year at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, Reba is an active member of Portland’s thriving theatre community. Reba uses theatre to teach anything and anything to teach theatre, loves making art with young actors, and loves watching young people find their spark!

About Reba’s Camps (in her own words):

I was teaching a Teensy Weensy acting class for 3-to-5-year-olds last fall when a 4-year-old actress with a glint in her eye leaned over and whispered, “Peter Pan’s my boyfriend” in my ear.  Without hesitation, I told her that I knew Captain Hook personally and that he’s much nicer than he seems in the book or movies. In Camp Never Neverland, I’m looking forward to reading selections of Peter Pan to my campers, role playing Wendy Darling telling stories to the lost boys.  After that, we’ll act it out, with a museum full of exhibits at our disposal, including a pirate ship outside! The story of Peter Pan has inspired so many children to make believe and pretend that they can fly or go to Neverland, it’s the perfect theme for a drama-based summer camp.

When I was about six years old, I discovered the game of Clue.  I had my mother’s old boardgame from the 1960s.   I loved the intrigue and the mystery, but I would only play with people that were willing to play their characters.  (Apparently, even as a little girl I was a theatre director!) Professor Plum had to be a little nerdy, Mrs. Peacock was very nice and spoke like Ms. Piggy, Miss Scarlet was… Miss Scarlet. By the winter I was seven, playing Clue required dress up clothes and every corner of our house. I think playing Clue inspired me to try out for my first play! As a theatre teacher and educator, I’ve discovered many improvisational theatre games that have to do with playing parts and solving a mystery.  These games quickly become a favorite of young actors in our mainstage productions, which is why I created Detective Camp.  Every day we’ll be finding clues, playing characters and solving mysteries all over the museum! (Please don’t worry about the theme – our culprits will be stick to small misdemeanors and petty crimes.  There will be no murder in our detective camp this summer!)

Talk to Reba:

Curious about Reba’s camps? Contact Reba at 828-1234 x247 or email her at reba@kitetails.org.

If you don’t have any questions and are ready to register, you can do it online here or call Shana at 828-1234 x232.

About Jamie:

BFA Painting, Maryland Institute, College of Art (Baltimore, MD)
MA Cultural Sustainability, Goucher College (Towson, MD) (expected 2013)
Combining her love of world cultures, community and sustainable food is one of Jamie’s favorite things about working at the Children’s Museum & Theatre. In her career as an educator, Jamie incorporates the lens of an artist into facilitating creative, play-based learning across disciplines. Previously she has worked as an educator privately and at various organizations, including Interlochen Center for the Arts. She is also an exhibiting artist.

About Jamie’s Camps (in her own words):

February in Maine might mean snow days and single digit temperatures, but at the Museum & Theatre it means: summer camp planning! For the last few weeks, I’ve been sitting at my desk, daydreaming about balmy July mornings and all kinds of hands-on activities to explore with campers. I’m particularly excited about this year, as I’m running two brand-new camps with a really interdisciplinary spin – something we love to encourage around here. I mean, why focus on one subject when you can learn about lots of things at once?

My first camp, running July 9^th-13^th, is called Art, Numbers & Nature. As someone who’s always found the great outdoors a source of inspiration for both my artistic and intellectual contemplations, I’m looking forward to getting my campers fired up about things like the golden ratio, geometric dimensions of honeycomb, and the way tree branches grow. Even though we’re located in an urban setting, there’s way more than enough around us to explore scientific, mathematical, and artistic concepts through things as small as leaves in our backyard garden – or as large as the clouds we can see out the window. Children are naturals at finding connections between the unexpected, and that’s just what I’m going to encourage in this camp. Can you imagine the art projects that’ll ensue?

My second camp is also interdisciplinary, but is really going to appeal to those who love the big screen. Mini Moviemakers, running July 30^th-August 3^rd, will give campers a chance to see for themselves how movies are made – by giving them a chance to make their own movies. We’ll explore aesthetic concepts like composition, lighting, sound and color while also discussing plotlines of a story, conceptualizing sequences, and discovering the mathematics of editing. Not to mention the flutter of excitement when your artistic product is viewed by the world for the first time! On the last day of camp we’ll have a special movie screening for family members. This will be a hoot, as you can imagine. We’ll make sure to supply the popcorn.

So – it may be eleven degrees outside, but it’s never too soon to start thinking about summer. If you’ve got questions about my camps, please send me an email – I’d love to hear from you!

Talk to Jamie:

Curious about Jamie’s camps? Contact Jamie at 828-1234 x241 or email her at jamie@kitetails.org.

If you don’t have any questions and are ready to register, you can do it online here or call Shana at 828-1234 x232.

BFA Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI)
A schooled painter and active member of Portland’s art community, Louisa instills a sense of aesthetics and creativity into all of her work as an educator. Her previous education work spans the country and includes the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco as well as work with at-risk youth in California, New Hampshire and Maine. Louisa’s deep curiosity about the world – from modern art to rocks and gems – informs her interdisciplinary approach to education with children of all ages.

About Louisa’s Camps (in her own words):

In my years of facilitating art with kids I’ve noticed the thing that can frustrate and hold us back from making really fantastic 3-d structures is a lack of creative connections or ways to make things ‘stick.’ In Magical Builders camp we’re going to focus on the non-glue connections that will open up a myriad of possibilities for future artistic building. One of the biggest challenges I faced during art school was building a cardboard chair using one 48” x 80″ inch sheet of cardboard and no adhesive. Since that assignment, I’ve been fascinated with alternative connections and am excited to share some of my findings with the campers. The project I look forward to most will entail some very large cardboard structures.

Art doesn’t need to be a quiet and introspective activity that’s fate is hanging on a wall or refrigerator; it can actually be quite the opposite. In Messy Masterpieces camp, I’m excited to harness campers’ physical energy with some really great process-based art. I feel privileged to work in a facility that can handle a mess and functions to provide children with an outlet to use their energy, work as a team and create a unique piece of art.

Talk to Louisa:

Curious about Louisa’s camps? Contact Louisa at 828-1234 x227 or email her at louisa@kitetails.org.

If you don’t have any questions and are ready to register, you can do it online here or call Shana at 828-1234 x232.

Noah hard at work in his lab.

Every weekend during the school year, and most days in the summer, we are joined by high school students who want to teach science. Known as “Youth Rangers,” these high school students are a variety of ages and backgrounds, but all have a common interest: teaching science to children. One of our Youth Rangers loves teaching about dinosaurs, while another likes to focus on marine mammals. They all lead Star Shows and Tide Pool Touch Tanks, and they do a great job! 

If you’re familiar with these science-teaching youth, you might have noticed the absence of Youth Ranger Noah during your summer visits. Where is Noah? Noah has been away for a fellowship at the Mount Desert Island Biological Lab, doing molecular biology experiments and gene expression identification. He is working with the little skate “Leucoraja erinacea.”

But it’s not just scientific inquiry that has kept Noah busy – he’s also been continuing to teach by leading family science nights about the reproduction of skates inside Mermaid’s Purses. We look forward to his return at the end of August and to hearing about the findings from his fellowship work!

Hi, I'm Becky!

Hello, I’m Becky Gall, one of the Greenhouse Education Interns here at the Museum. During the fall and spring, I’m a student at the University of Maine, Orono, studying Human Nutrition and Dietetics. I’m lucky to be part of such a great team this summer, working outside sharing what I know about nutrition and gardening with you and your children. I’m writing to give you an insider’s perspective of what’s happening inside and outside of the Greenhouse (located in the Shipyard).

Currently, Corrine (the other Greenhouse Intern) and I have been keeping ourselves busy by maintaining, harvesting, planting, and composting. If you have visited the Greenhouse recently, you may have had the chance to taste some of our ripe strawberries, touch the pea pods, and design your own vegetable garden drawing.

Inside of the Greenhouse right now, the cucumber plants are flowering, the melons are flourishing, the peas pods are maturing, the tomato plants and other plants are looking good. Outside of the Greenhouse, the beets are starting to uproot and the broccoli heads are beginning to crown.

Art inspired by our vegetable garden.

This summer, I encourage you and your kids to come explore and ask us questions to get a better understanding of food. Corrine and I look forward to meeting you as we venture through the lifecycle of fruits, vegetables, spices, and herbs. I hope that you will participate in many of the Museum’s Greenhouse activities.

Janet's book will be available June 6.

As my friends and family can attest, I’m a bit nuts about museums. Day trips and vacations are never complete without discovering a new museum or two. One of the things I love about working in public relations here at the Museum & Theatre is giving tours – when I guide someone through our exhibits, I find that I get to rediscover it for myself, too! Over a year ago, I met writer Janet Mendelsohn, who was working on a book about museums in Maine. Janet had visited us before to write this neat article for the Boston Globe about our Camera Obscura, but this was the first time she explored the Museum & Theatre from top to bottom, asking insightful questions and observing our visitors at play. She went on to do that with dozens of other museums and has now published the resulting book, Maine Museums: Art, Oddities & Artifacts. I wanted to learn more about her journey through Maine and get tips on which museums to hit on my next day trip, so I asked Janet to share some of her findings with us.

Lucy:   What made you decide to write about museums in Maine?

Janet:  When I travel, I visit museums—Boston, New York, Paris, Madrid,

Janet Mendelsohn (photo by Stu Rosner)

 Atlanta, Washington. While obviously there are great collections in all those cities, my favorites are in Maine. People here feel and express a more powerful connection to both this place and the past. The stories they choose to tell through fine and folk art, history and memorabilia, from logging equipment to scrimshaw, is the story of Maine and the nation and it’s most often told on a personal level. In local history museums, we hear from mill girls and women struggling to hold on to their homes when their young husbands went off to fight in the Civil War. Here at the Children’s Museum, kids can ‘try on’ what it’s like to be a farmer or to work on cars. Moreover, Maine’s museum directors, curators, staff and volunteers are excited about what they do. They’re happy to answer questions, even if you don’t have a reporter’s notebook in your hand. It was a fun project.    

Lucy: For many people, being a travel writer sounds like a dream job! How did you find success in this field? 

Janet:  I wish I could say I’m one of those lucky journalists who get to travel the globe and someone else picks up the bill. I’m not. But as a freelancer, when I travel I can often interest an editor in a related story and get paid for writing it, which is what I love to do most. My first freelance piece about Maine, about 12 years ago, was for Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, a wonderful magazine. I had gone to the Isles of Shoals, off Kittery and Portsmouth, to visit the recreation of Celia Thaxter’s Island Garden. It’s so remote and simple but magical, with old fashioned flowers like those she described in her book. I tried to capture that sense of distance, real and historical. I guess it worked because I’ve been writing for Maine Boats ever since.

Lucy: Clearly you have a love for museums (and, given my occupation, so do I!). What do you say to someone who thinks that museums are old-fashioned or stuffy? How would you convince the contemporary consumer of the relevance of museums in our current, high-speed culture?

Janet: Another reason I wrote the book is to help kids and adults discover

Nowetah's American Indian Museum in New Portland displays Native American arts and crafts of all the Americas. Photo by Janet Mendelsohn.

 that museums today are fun. In this economy, they can’t survive if they don’t get creative about using new technology, installing multimedia exhibits, and planning events that engage people (including parents!) with shorter attention spans. We’re all so attached to our cell phones. Video games keep setting the bar higher for visual effects. Plus many of us have less money to spend on travel and entertainment, so it had better be worthwhile if they’re going to get us in the door. Museums in Maine are now lending visitors iPads and installing high tech kiosks to enhance what we see and do in the galleries. Many have terrific summer and vacation week programs for children and adults, special events like logging competitions and military reenactments. As for relevance?  Until you see a great painting or the craftsmanship of a Native American basket up close, you can’t appreciate its beauty. Until you’re face-to-face with textile looms, whaling gear or ice harvesting tools, you can’t appreciate what those jobs were like.   

Lucy: The “oddities” part of the title makes me very curious! What did you discover on your journey through Maine that was most surprising – your “oddest oddity,” shall we say?

Janet:  I’d have to say the Umbrella Cover Museum on Peaks Island, although the Bigfoot specimens at the International Cryptozoology Museum are right up there. But they’re not the only ones. [Note: the Criptozoology Museum is just a few blocks west of us on Congress Street! -Lucy]

Would-be sea captains and sailors find plenty of hands-on activities at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport. Photo courtesy of Penobscot Marine Museum.

Lucy: Are there any hidden gems for families – spots parents could take children that seem to be under the radar?

Janet:  Maine Maritime Museums in Bath has a one-weekend family boatbuilding workshop, a pirate ship to climb all over and lighthouse and nature cruises on the Kennebec. Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport has a hands-on marine science lab and the “Peapod” where kids can dress up in 19^th century clothing, play with ships models and learn to tie knots. The Wendell Gilley Museum of wood carving, on Mount Desert Island, has art, natural history and wildlife protection programs, including carving lessons for ages 11 and up.  

Lucy: Which destination was your personal favorite? Was there one place you connected with more than any other?

Janet: You want me to choose? The Portland Museum of Art and the Farnsworth Art Museum are national caliber, the Colby and Bowdoin college art collections probably are, too. The Saco Museum brought history alive for me with its personal stories. The Osher Map Library collection is full of exquisite rare art that served a practical purpose. Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village was especially interesting. It’s the only active Shaker community left in the world. I could go on and on.

Lucy: Are you already thinking about your next writing adventure? What topic would you like to explore next?

Janet:  I recently visited Louisa May Alcott’s home, Orchard House, where she wrote Little Women. I keep thinking about how I felt standing beside the little desk in her bedroom where she wrote the book. It’s telling me something but I’m not yet sure what.

Want to win a signed copy of Janet’s book? Visit our Facebook page and keep an eye out for the question we post on June 7. Answer it and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a signed copy of Maine Museums: Art, Oddities & Artifacts (Countryman Press).