Maine Discovery Museum
About
The Maine Discovery Museum opened in 2001 in a former department store building in downtown Bangor, bringing hands-on learning experiences to Maine's second-largest city. Covering 21,000 square feet across three floors, it is the largest children's museum in the state and the largest north of Boston, serving young learners from across central and northern Maine as well as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The museum's Nature Trails exhibit recreates a Maine forest, wetland, and mountain environment, with live plants, rock formations, stream tables, and a weather station that children can operate. Visitors can explore the changing seasons of Maine's landscape and observe the adaptations of native wildlife through specimens and interpretive displays. The Body Journey exhibit uses oversized anatomy models and interactive stations to teach children about human biology and health. The museum's arts programming is unusually strong for a children's museum: the Arts and Expressions gallery provides rotating studio spaces where children create with a wide variety of materials, and programming is designed to develop creative thinking alongside technical skills. The Town Square exhibit simulates a Maine community with a working post office, grocery store, and town hall where children engage in community role-play. The museum participates in both the ASTC Passport Program and the ACM reciprocal network, making it accessible to members of science centers and children's museums across the country. The Museums for All program provides $5 admission for SNAP EBT cardholders.
Subject Areas
Best For
Hours of Operation
Hours change seasonally — verify before visiting.
Admission
Paid admission$14/person; Child (under 2) free; Members free. Museums for All: $5/person with SNAP EBT card.
ASTC Travel Passport Program
Members of the Association of Science and Technology Centers' Travel Passport Program offer free or discounted admission to members of other participating institutions. Over 300 science centers worldwide participate.
Learn more →47 other places in our directory accept this membership:
Museum of Science
Boston, MA
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Cambridge, MA
EcoTarium
Worcester, MA
Connecticut Science Center
Hartford, CT
Yale Peabody Museum
New Haven, CT
Stepping Stones Museum for Children
Norwalk, CT
ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
Burlington, VT
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
Concord, NH
The Franklin Institute
Philadelphia, PA
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
Delaware Museum of Nature and Science
Wilmington, DE
New York Hall of Science
Queens, NY
Maryland Science Center
Baltimore, MD
Liberty Science Center
Jersey City, NJ
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Houston, TX
Adventure Science Center
Nashville, TN
Science Museum of Minnesota
St. Paul, MN
COSI
Columbus, OH
Saint Louis Science Center
St. Louis, MO
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Denver, CO
Museum of the Rockies
Bozeman, MT
Pacific Science Center
Seattle, WA
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Portland, OR
California Academy of Sciences
San Francisco, CA
Science Museum of Virginia
Richmond, VA
Exploreum Science Center
Mobile, AL
Perot Museum of Nature and Science
Dallas, TX
Discovery Place Science
Charlotte, NC
Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
Chicago, IL
Milwaukee Public Museum
Milwaukee, WI
Indiana State Museum
Indianapolis, IN
Arizona Science Center
Phoenix, AZ
Exploratorium
San Francisco, CA
Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
Miami, FL
McWane Science Center
Birmingham, AL
Museum of Life and Science
Durham, NC
Science Center of Iowa
Des Moines, IA
The Tech Interactive
San Jose, CA
Witte Museum
San Antonio, TX
Orlando Science Center
Orlando, FL
Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati, OH
Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum
Denver, CO
Space Center Houston
Houston, TX
Louisiana Children's Museum
New Orleans, LA
Great Lakes Science Center
Cleveland, OH
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Chicago, IL
Virginia Museum of Natural History
Martinsville, VA
ACM Reciprocal Network
The Association of Children's Museums Reciprocal Network allows members of participating children's museums to receive free or reduced admission at other network museums.
Learn more →14 other places in our directory accept this membership:
Boston Children's Museum
Boston, MA
EcoTarium
Worcester, MA
Stepping Stones Museum for Children
Norwalk, CT
Providence Children's Museum
Providence, RI
Please Touch Museum
Philadelphia, PA
Delaware Children's Museum
Wilmington, DE
New York Hall of Science
Queens, NY
Brooklyn Children's Museum
Brooklyn, NY
Staten Island Children's Museum
Staten Island, NY
COSI
Columbus, OH
DISCOVERY Children's Museum
Las Vegas, NV
Chabot Space & Science Center
Oakland, CA
Louisiana Children's Museum
New Orleans, LA
Magic House, St. Louis Children's Museum
Kirkwood, MO