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Coastal Children's Museum - a hands-on, interactive museum for exploring and learning through creative play and adult interaction

The Coastal Children's Museum is a hands-on, interactive museum. The Coastal Children’s Museum began as a museum without walls in 1985, and was formerly named The Midcoast Children’s Museum. Bringing exciting programs to schools and community venues, the museum has been offering children and families in local area communities education and entertainment for over 20 years. The museum's mission is to provide children and families the opportunity to explore, discover and learn, through play about the natural world, the arts and sciences and the diversity of Maine’s coastal region.

The Coastal Children’s Museum offers an inclusive, relaxed and supportive environment for the positive interaction of children and adults. The museum offers light and airy spaces with comfortable, quiet places as well as room for movement and noise. Families and caregivers will enjoy the discoveries of children through hands-on and interactive explorations and exhibits. The museum strives to be a resource of inspirational materials and ideas for teachers, home schoolers and the community at large.

The museum works to promote a set of core values through education, entertainment and creative play. These are: (1) each Child and parent (caregiver) deserves respect; (2) families are the first educators; (3) learning occurs through play; (4) the community is our biggest resource; and (5) the museum is a good citizen and thus responsible to the world and the environment.

In addition to puzzles, games, and labyrinths, the museum's exhibits include the following:

Under the Sea - (crawl through the lobster trap; find the seals, school of fish, lobster, etc, on the mural)  Look up and what else do you see?

Book Nook - Read a book while in The Chicken of the Sea Boat., or while sitting on a cat or dog or rug.

Arty Party Space - Do one or all of the art activities available on our art table or create your own project. This space can also be rented for a birthday party.

Wood Workshop - Learn to use tools here. Drill holes, hammer nails, use sandpaper. Design your own boat or plane.

Puppet Stage - Entertain your family with your own play.

Tubes & Tracks - Design your own pathways to put a variety of balls through. But becareful, they may get away from you.

Loom - Weave your part with interesting colors and materials.

Touch Tank - See all the sea critters in the Touch Tank. Can you find the sea stars, green crabs, hermit crabs, sponges, anemones, lobsters, whelks, mussels, scallops and tube worms? We even have some fish. Can you find the pollack? You can even touch some of them. Just ask us at the office to help you.

Learn About Maine Islands - Match the shapes with the islands. Read about them. Can you answer the questions without looking? Ask the office about the Learn About Maine Islands Learning Kits. Two weeks worth of developed lessons with all the materials included based on Kelly Brigg`s book, Island Alphabet. Good for K-3.

Sharpies General Store - Have fun shopping or serving pizza, sandwiches, fruit and vegetables.

Visit the museum's Life Cycles exhibit and see if you can order the cards correctly. Extra challenge. Do the six sided puzzle and jump aboard and sail away on the Lady Bug.

For more information about the Coastal Children’s Museum, call 975-2530 or visit www.coastalchildrensmuseum.org.