Penobscot Marine Museum

06/22/2026

Fourth of July week is almost here! Make plans to visit Penobscot Marine Museum and discover all that Searsport has to offer. From exhibits and family-friendly experiences to local shops and coastal charm, it's the perfect addition to your holiday week.

✔️ Visit the Museum Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm
✔️ Wednesday, July 1 at 5:30pm: Stories of the Sea
✔️ Thursday, July 2 at 10am: Curator Tour
✔️ Friday, July 3 at dusk: Searsport’s Fireworks at Mosman Park
✔️ Saturday, July 4 starting at 11am: Parade on Route 1 in Searsport

06/20/2026

Celebrate the start of summer with us on Sears Island tomorrow!

Friends of Sears Island’s Summer Solstice by the Sea Celebration will be held tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, June 21, from 12:00pm to 3:00pm on Sears Island. Join us for a festive community picnic to kick off the first official day of summer!

Here are the important details to know:

-You can come and go anytime between 12-3pm. Beach games will take place at 1pm, with the sun parade and solstice readings following shortly after- roughly from 1:45-2:15pm, so if you'd like to be a part of that, be sure you're there during that time!

-Food and drink from Portable Pie Place and Stone Fox Farm Creamery will be available for purchase. You are also welcome to bring your own picnic lunch. Please remember this is a carry in/ carry out event, and no grills or open fires are permitted on Sears Island. Bring a picnic blanket or chairs for sitting.

-Throughout the whole event, the following activities will be available: free face painting, sidewalk chalk, hula hoops, giant bubbles, a sunflower planting station, a sardine streamer craft with the Penobscot Marine Museum, fairy house building in the woods and on the beach, and "The Circus Ship" StoryWalk will be available if you'd like to take a walk on the Homestead Trail. We will be playing summery music (dancing is encouraged!), and Sundog Solar will also be joining us with a truck and information about their services.

-We will have some premade noisemakers, streamer wands, and paper lanterns for waving while we march down the causeway for the sun processional. We also invite you to bring your own festive homemade things to wave, a decorated bike or mini float on a wagon, and to dress up! Think flower crowns, butterfly and fairy wings, costumes, tropical shirts, anything that says SUMMER to you!!

-Parking will be along the causeway; please park only on the paved road, and avoid parking on the dirt road lane of the causeway.

-This event is free and open to all, but a suggested donation of $5 per person or $10 per family will support Friends of Sears Island’s education and conservation programs.

-Bring warm layers- the weather is often breezy and cooler on the island, so we recommend bringing extra clothing and maybe a rain coat or umbrella to be prepared.

PLEASE NOTE: We are keeping a close eye on the weather and if a cancellation is necessary we will share a notification by 9:00am tomorrow morning via email and social media. For any last minute updates, check:

Facebook: Friends of Sears Island
Instagram:

We hope to see you tomorrow on Sears Island!

06/18/2026

While baseball traces its roots to British bat-and-ball games, Americans reshaped it into something uniquely their own, establishing the modern rules in the mid-19th century. These vintage photographs offer a fascinating glimpse into the sport's early days—and they're a lot of fun to browse, too.

-An unlucky batter “swings at butterflies” during a pickup game in Union, ME, c. 1955; Kosti Ruohomaa Collection
-A little league catcher warms up, Belfast, ME, July 1989; Peggy McKenna Collection
-Orrett Robinson at bat for Warren High School, Warren, ME, c. 1905; Warren HS Collection
-A young catcher poses in front of a batting cage, Bangor, ME, 2010; Ed Martin Collection
-A little league player clocks the ball, Maine location unknown, c. 1980; Red Boutilier Collection
-WWII veteran Bernard Berger studied engineering at NYU through the GI Bill, and although a knee injury kept him from playing on the varsity team, he still played pickup games with pals on campus. NYC, 1944; Kosti Ruohomaa Collection
-Quick reflexes help this batter dodge a bad pitch, location unknown, c. 1910; Sedgwick Brooklin Collection
-Most of the players at this Stonington, ME game are likely fishermen. c. 1985; Jeff Dworsky Collection
-A woman player warms up near the backstop. Location unknown, c. 1910; Sedgwick Brooklin Collection
-A local boy takes a rip during a game at Montville Field Days, c. 1985; Peggy McKenna Collection

06/17/2026

People often think we're a museum about Searsport. While Searsport is our home, our story is much bigger. The Penobscot Marine Museum shares the history and culture of Maine's coastal communities, exploring the people, industries, traditions, and everyday lives that have been shaped by the sea. Every photograph, artifact, and exhibit helps tell a piece of Maine's coastal story.

06/16/2026

251 years ago, the British and Machias rebels engaged in one of the early naval battles of the American Revolution. The rebels captured the HMS MARGARETTA, which accompanied two British ships supplying the besieged troops in Boston. To commemorate the battle in Machias, locals passed down pieces of the MARGARETTA to their descendants and in 1913 re-enacted the capture of the MARGARETTA as part of pageant celebrating the founding of Machias. Machias Historical Society Collection photograph, LB2019.16.428 and piece of ballast, 1979.78.1.

06/13/2026

Join PMM’s Digital Collections Curator Matt Wheeler for this presentation.

https://www.facebook.com/share/17ckSStEw2/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Join us at Millinocket Memorial Library on Saturday, June 27th from 3-4PM for a presentation from the Penobscot Marine Museum featuring historic early 1900's postcards of the Katahdin Region! The presentation will include scenes from Medway, East Millinocket, Millinocket, Baxter Park and Katahdin Iron Works - come see what our communities looked like a little over a century ago! The Millinocket Historical Society and the Medway Historical Society will also table at this event and display some of their collections. Don't miss this great opportunity to connect with our region's history and heritage.