AUGUSTA – The Maine State Museum in Augusta opens a major new exhibit, “At Home in Maine,” on Nov. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free admission for all. The exhibit is the largest created by the museum in more than 20 years.

“At Home in Maine” features domestic artifacts from every corner of the state, with over a thousand items from the museum’s collection, many on exhibit for the first time. The stories of Mainers at home throughout history come alive amid dozens of historical photographs, colorful, imaginative displays and room settings depicting places where Maine families and friends gathered, worked and lived.

“At the museum, we’ve presented Maine’s work life, natural science and prehistoric past,” said chief history curator Laurie LaBar. “But this exhibit is the first time we’ve presented stories and objects telling how people have lived in the last couple hundred years in Maine. It’s important enough that we’ve dedicated much of the museum’s fourth floor, over 5,600 square feet, to telling the story of home life in Maine.”

“At Home in Maine” shows a cross-section of life from the 1800s to the 1960s. Through sights, sounds and interactive displays, visitors of all ages will discover the nearly-forgotten summer kitchen, hear traditional Maine music, watch home movies in the ’60s era living room, glimpse treasured possessions, see housekeeping’s evolving technology, appreciate indoor plumbing and learn about the many other, sometimes unique ways that home life in the past has shaped today’s Maine.

“The evolving nature of this exhibit is certainly part of what makes it so special,” said Joseph R. Phillips, director of the Maine State Museum. “Not only is it a celebration of our shared stories of home, but it is still developing and there will be much more to come.”

Admission is free on the opening day, Saturday, Nov. 22. The day’s activities will feature many ongoing events that will celebrate the new exhibit, including live performances of dance, music and storytelling, reflecting a variety of Maine cultures; home-related craft demonstrations of spinning, quilting and embroidery; demonstration of furniture making, coopering and violin making.

For more information, contact the museum at 287-2301 or visit the museum’s Web site, mainestatemuseum.org.


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