Our Mission
At the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, we set the stage for every child to imagine and learn through play.
You Belong
Every child belongs at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine.
Our Values
Belonging
Everyone belongs at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine. We believe each person has value and worth; we celebrate what makes each of us unique and what binds us together as a strong community.
Play
We embrace the power of play to build resilience, spark creativity, and ignite a child’s imagination. Play inspires our work, our physical spaces, our storytelling, and our learning experiences.
Community
We center community in all we do. We strive to be an inclusive partner and resource in order to build strong, lasting relationships.
Curiosity
We believe curiosity inspires children to explore, build empathy, and connect with others. Learning fueled by curiosity leads to a deeper understanding of self and the world around us.
Trust
We provide safe, inclusive experiences and spaces to ensure that the community’s trust is earned and upheld in all that we do.
Strategic Plan
In the fall of 2022, the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine (CMTM) embarked on a year-and-a-half-long journey to realign our mission, values, and priorities with our new building and begin to paint the picture of who we want to be for ourselves, our visitors, and the community — today and tomorrow. The entire CMTM board and staff devoted themselves to two retreats as well as hundreds of hours of discussion and work groups to contemplate and define our priorities and plan for the future. We also sought community feedback through focus groups comprised of children, caregivers, corporate and foundational partners, educators, advisory councils, and community leaders. Additionally, a community-wide survey garnered more than 400 responses.
Drawing upon insights from all these stakeholders and guided by our strategic planning team at Reflector Lab, our partners in this process, CMTM crafted a revised mission statement, values, and strategic plan to steer our path for the next three years and beyond.
With a blueprint for our future, CMTM is committed to ensuring that every child, irrespective of their abilities or financial circumstances, can visit, play, and experience love, recognition, and celebration within our institution’s embrace.