Maine State Museum December Roundup

Museum Roundup

News & Updates from the Maine State Museum

December 2022

The Latest...

Testing a New Switchboard Game in Augusta

We need you to play a game! The Maine State Museum is testing a model of an interactive activity that will be featured in the new education center when the museum reopens.

Join us on December 6th, 7th, and 8th from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm at Augusta’s Maine State Library.

Click here for info and registration.

"Stories from the Collection" featured in Gardiner Adult Ed Classes

Join curator Zach Selley for “A Maine Bounty – Agriculture in Image” on December 6th from 6:30 - 8:00 pm. This program features a tour of agriculture and food in Maine through a historic lantern slide presentation and talk.

This is the final installment of the Maine State Museum’s “Stories from the Collection” series this fall and winter through Gardiner Adult Education. Find more information and register here.

Museum Staff Visit Brunswick Neighbors

Group of people posed in a room with windows.

The staff of the Maine State Museum traveled to Brunswick this fall for a staff development day and visits to the Bowdoin College Museum of Art and the Peary-Macmillan Arctic Museum. Museum staff received a special tour that looked at the intersection of Maine history and art. Staff also discussed the challenges of planning a new museum facility. Thank you to colleagues at these Bowdoin College museums for sharing their expertise.

Join Us for the Augusta Winter Carnival, 1923!

The 1920s saw the rise of winter carnivals across Maine as a fun and festive way to enjoy the cold snowy months. These community events promoted winter activities, showcased the newest winter sports, and brought together grammar, secondary, and college students for friendly competitions.

The 1923 Augusta Winter Carnival included a grand carnival parade along Water Street; the coronation of the Winter Carnival King and Queen on the steps of the State House; and a grand closing carnival ball held at City Hall, promoted as “the greatest event of its kind in Augusta social life.”

Outdoor activities centered around Ganeston Park and included ice events such as trick skating, racing, and hockey, as well as ski jumping and skijoring, the newest Maine sport in which a person raced on skis while being pulled by a fast horse.

Crowd of people in winter clothing watch a ski jump.

Photographs from a recent donation to the Maine State Museum show candid snapshots of the 1923 winter carnival including the unusual windmill-themed ski jump with a Ferris wheel ride attached.

Popular through the 1920s, winter carnivals waned as the 1930s depression era set in. The Maine Memory Network also has images and resources from the 1923 Augusta Winter Carnival, as well as others around the state.

A New Friend

The Friends of the Maine State Museum welcomes Danielle Lane as its new development coordinator. Danielle is from Augusta and is an administrative professional and mother of three. She is a graduate of Cony High School and the University of Maine, and has over a decade of experience working with non-profits and political campaigns to broaden membership and solicit donations.

Danielle is a lifelong fan of the Maine State Museum with her particular favorites having been the Gemstones and Back to Nature exhibits. She is excited for the opportunity to work with the Friends of the Maine State Museum as they support the re-opening of the museum.

MAINE STATE MUSEUM www.mainestatemuseum.org

Support the Maine State Museum