Imagine holding a bone tool made over 5,000 years ago, running your hands through the fur of a bear, or examining the finely made decorations on a 3,000 year old clay pottery shard. The Abbe Museum specializes in the use of objects and student guided exploration to create memorable experiences to enhance student learning about the Wabanaki tribes of Maine, past and present.
In 2001, the Maine state legislature passed a law requiring all teachers in Maine, kindergarten through graduation, to incorporate Wabanaki Studies into Social Studies content. In 2007, this unfunded mandate was integrated into the social studies Parameters for Essential Instruction (PEI).
Abbe Museum educators are well versed in this mandate, and have created a slate of school programs that will meet the PEIs in Social Studies, as well as English Language Arts, Science and Technology, and Visual and Performing Arts.
The programs are interactive and fun, objects-based and hands-on. Programs at the Abbe include free time in the exhibits, as well as focused time with one of our educators. Each program is designed to stand alone, or to be taken in succession to build on student knowledge over time. All programs can be adjusted for a variety of age groups, and special programs can be arranged by request.
School programs at the Abbe offer students the opportunity to learn from the exhibits, as well as with objects. School programs are available year-round at the Abbe’s downtown Bar Harbor location, and seasonally at our trailside location in Acadia National Park.
• $5 per student
• Includes a 1-hour hands-on and/or interactive program and a 1-hour museum tour.
• We ask that you provide at least one chaperone for every 10 students. Chaperones are free.
• We can accommodate up to 50 students at one time; larger groups can be arranged with staggered start times.
• We ask that you make reservations for school programs at least two weeks in advance.
• There may be additional charges for custom programs.
If you cannot bring your class to the Abbe Museum, we can come to you. Museum educators can deliver most of our programs in the classroom, and we have developed additional programs that can be presented to larger groups such as school assemblies.
$50 per hour of programming, plus round-trip mileage. There may be additional charges for custom programs.
If the program is multi-day, or a full day at more than 2 hours travel time from the Abbe Museum, per diem and overnight lodging may be charged, at rates agreed upon in advance.
Mount Desert Island schools: Mileage not applicable.
For more information, contact Jen Heindel, Museum Educator at (207)288-3519 or email@example.com.
• $3 per student grades 6-12, free for students grades K-5, adults with group $4, at least one chaperone for every 5 children required for discounted rate, May-October
• During November through April, during regular open hours (Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10 am – 4 pm), there is no admission charge, but we ask that you have at least one chaperone for every 5 children