last updated: August 2024
The Maine State Museum is undergoing a total renovation. A central exhibit in the new Education Center will be an enormous case of birds that are common in Maine. We're creating a digital label for museum visitors to easily identify the birds in the case and learn a little about each one. Launch date: Summer 2025
Another exhibit in the Maine State Museum is called "Meet Maine Here" and presents museum goers with things that are unique to Maine. One of these is the Lombard Hauler -- invented in Maine and instrumental in developing Maine's lumber industry. "Be An Inventor" invites visitors to try and solve some of the challenges faced by the hauler's inventor, Alvin Lombard. Launch date: Summer 2025
The "Virtual Lombard Hauler" recreates the hauler via 3-D modeling software so that museum visitors can digitally manipulate the enormous machine and closely explore how it works. Launch date: Summer 2025
This growing database already includes over 2,000 African American-related entries found in 18th century documents from Western Massachusetts. The majority of the sources are from Deerfield, Massachusetts where, by the mid-18th century, 38% of households included enslaved people. The earliest record dates to 1695.
