A Mini Virtual Festival of Original Plays by Young Maine Playwrights in October
The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine is offering a Mini Virtual Play Festival featuring original plays that were written by young Maine playwrights during the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine’s 10-Day Playwriting Challenge. The Festival will take place over three evenings and the plays will be read by alumni of the Children’s Theatre of Maine, alumni of the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, and by adult actors in the community. These playwrights range from 8 to 13 years in age and we couldn’t be prouder of them. Come enjoy their work!
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Museum & Theatre Relocates Honey Bees for Winter, Prepares Them for Move to Thompson’s Point
Last week, Exhibits Associate Terra Fletcher and Master Beekeeper Davida Sky removed our beehive from Discovery Woods on the second floor. The Museum & Theatre bees have now joined Davida's hives, so they can stay happy and healthy this winter. Early next year, Davida will bring the bees to the new Museum & Theatre building at Thompson’s Point. They will live in our third floor IDEXX Learning Hub in an upgraded observation hive.
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Construction Update on Our Future Home at Thompson's Point
The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine’s new home on Thompson’s Point is still under construction, but is quickly coming together under the steady guidance of a phenomenal project management team. We offer immeasurable gratitude to all those whose wonderful gifts and support have made it all possible. To date, the Imagine Campaign has raised a staggering $13.3 million – $700,000 remaining to reach our goal of $14 million!! Over two hundred donors – individuals, corporations, foundations and federal and local government funding entities – have come together to build this joyful place for all children and families.
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Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine Receives Gift from The Lunder Foundation
Board Member and Chair of Imagine Capital Campaign Barbee Gilman announced that the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine has received a $500,000 gift from The Lunder Foundation to name an arts workshop and culture exhibit space as “The Lunder Arts and Culture Gallery.” This collaborative space will house arts programming—facilitated by educators, visiting artists, and community partners—that will support the Museum & Theatre’s overall diversity, equity, access, and inclusion initiatives. The gift is in the form of a challenge match to inspire the greater community to give and to complete the remaining $1m of the $14m Imagine Campaign to build a 30,000 square foot new facility at Thompson’s Point that is slated to open in spring of 2021.
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Casting Call for Bicentennial Edition of WCTM Newscast By Kids for Kids
To recognize the State of Maine’s 200th birthday, we have planned four more episodes of WCTM Newscast By Kids For Kids. These four new episodes will celebrate Maine history through several different topics: Environmental Sustainability, Maine before 1820, Towns and Cities, and Arts and Culture.
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Is the Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine Open?
As Maine finds creative ways to adapt to the pandemic, members and friends are asking, "Is the Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine open?" The short answer is that our 142 Free Street facility in Portland, Maine is closed to the public currently; the long answer is that our programs and staff remain lively in the community. Here's how.
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Building a Better Future: Construction Update for Museum & Theatre at Thompson's Point
The Museum & Theatre’s new home is a beautiful example of a community’s collective endeavor to build a better future and ensure that all of our children and families have an inspiring and safe space to play and learn. We could not be more grateful to all of our wonderful donors and construction team for their unwavering generosity and partnership. Remember that moment after the press conference In February when we stepped up to the steel beam, signed our name, and thought about how that beam would become part of the new roof some day? This has already become reality.
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Indigo Arts Alliance Launches the Beautiful Blackbird Children's Book Festival
Indigo Arts Alliance, an organization committed to cultivating the artistic development of artists of African descent, launches the Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival— in homes across the state. The event was created to honor legendary children’s author and illustrator Ashley Bryan whose award-winning picture book Beautiful Blackbird is a celebration of Blackness. Indigo, in partnership with I’m Your Neighbor Books and the Diverse BookFinder, will use the festival to celebrate children’s books and their creators from across the African diaspora.
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Kids News Program Launches at Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine
The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine has premiered a kids news program that is by kids and for kids in Maine. Published on the Museum & Theatre’s youtube channel, WCTM Newscast: By Kids For Kids features 8-15 year-olds as the news anchors, reporters, and often as the protagonists of news stories. The premiere episode covers news about Animal Refuge League adoptions, a Girl Scout troop’s research on the history of women’s suffrage, and a mysterious poll that encourages neighbors to vote on the street with rocks.
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