Field Trips, Child Group Tours, and Outreach Programs at the Penobscot Marine Museum

2025 field trips can be scheduled May 13-October 11. If you would like a field trip outside those dates, please contact Jeana directly at jganskop@pmm-maine.org

2026 field trips can be scheduled starting May 12, 2026.

Admission Fees
Child groups of 10 or more are eligible for the child group rate of $5/child.
One-on-one aids are free. Other adults are $5/person.

Click here for more information about what to expect!

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 (Click here). 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.

A visit to PMM involves walking between buildings and some exhibits in unheated spaces. Please dress for the weather.

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. (Note, there are no live lobsters in this program or at PMM)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 2nd 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 - (Best in person) 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!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!

After you've answered these questions, we'll be in touch soon! We're looking forward to your visit.

Field Trip Fees:
Students: FREE*

1 teacher/chaperone per 8 students and one-on-one aids are free, additional adults are $5/person

Field Trip outside of regular museum hours**: $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

Penobscot Marine Museum
2 Church Street
Searsport, Maine 04974
207-548-2529

education@pmm-maine.org