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Program Highlights
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Here's a sampling of the exciting events coming up this quarter.
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Ooey, Gooey, Messy Slimy Day
Saturday, 5/11
10:30am-4:30pm
Think there's just one kind of slime? Think again! We'll use common and not-so-common ingredients to make ten different types of gooey slime. Be ready to get messy!
Free with admission. Clay Workshop:
Making Mini-Food (R$)
Saturday, 6/1 @3:30pmWhether you use them for a dollhouse, and action-figure accessory, or just for fun, there's something special about things that are tiny! We'll use polymer clay (you might know it as Fimo) to make miniature foods. Ages 6 & up $9 visitors, $8 members; admission not included.
Summer Hours Begin
Monday, 5/27
Starting on Memorial Day, we'll be open to the public on Mondays from 10am-5pm.
Swedish Midsommar
Sunday, 6/23
2:30pm
Let's celebrate sunshine, life, and the special time of year in Northern Sweden when the sun stays out all night! Savor strawberries and cream and dance around the majstong (flower pole). Free with admission
Summer Camp: Wearable Art (R$)
Mon-Fri, 6/24-6/28
9am-12pm
Ages 6-8. Louisa will lead campers through a week of creative couture. By week's end, they'll have a fabulous collection of hand-made attire and accessories - and the skills to keep creating at home! $130/members, $160/visitors Space is limited - click here to register online now. Cooking Class: Easy Little Bread ($) Sunday, 6/30 2:30pm Bread's great when it's fresh out of the oven - and even greater when you made it yourself! Sign up for this quick cooking class and walk away with a tasty, simple recipe for homemade bread. $3/child |
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Special
Thanks
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Business
Annual Appeal Donors:
July 1, 2012 through
April 30, 2013
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Allen Signs with Impact
Ameriprise Financial
Amica Mutual Insurance Company
Bath Savings Institution
BerryDunn
Coffee By Design
Cook Educational Resources, Inc.
Curtis Thaxter Stevens Broder & Micoleau LLC
Cyrus Hagge Development
Disability RMS
Diversified Communications
E.S. Boulos Company
Evonik Cyro, LLC
Fairchild Semiconductor
Friendly's
H.M. Payson & Co.
Hall Internet Marketing
Handyman Equipment Rental
InterMed PA
Johnson & Jordan, Inc.
Newmarket International, Inc.
North Atlantic Properties
Pond Cove Millwork
Pond Cove Paint & Supply Co.
Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution
Seaman Corporation
Shaw's Supermarkets
Sheldon Slate Products Co., Inc.
Texas Instruments
The Mortgage Office
Town & Country Federal Credit Union
Verrill Dana, LLP
The VIA Agency
WEX, Inc.
Wright-Ryan Construction
Xpress Copy
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SPOTLIGHT ON:
AUTISM AWARENESS 
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Show and Tell Gallery:
Children on the spectrum share their talents
"It felt good when I saw a perfect stranger admiring my portrait."
- David, age 15
Four-time Show and Tell Gallery participantIn April 2010, the Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine created an art show featuring the work of a dozen kids and teens on the autism spectrum. Now in its fourth year, the Show and Tell Gallery features nearly 40 artists and has earned special recognition from the Maine Autism Alliance.
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NEWS IN BRIEF
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Rosanne is never afraid to dig right in to a new program! On Sunday, she led a Great Worm Harvest in our compost bins.
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Education
Since she arrived at the Museum & Theatre as a greenhouse intern last spring, Rosanne Alexandre-Leach has become a familiar face to our members and visitors, caring for our backyard plants, contributing to our blog, and coming up with creative educational programs. She joined our staff as a Visitor Guide in June of 2012, and we are thrilled to announce that she has recently stepped into the role of Science Educator. Keep an eye out for some of the new educational programs she's bringing to the schedule, including her fun (and a little icky!) Grossology series. She'll also be leading two summer camps: Young Inventors for ages 6-8 and Dinos Rock for ages 4-6.
Speaking of summer camps, they're filling up fast! Two of our eight week-long camps are sold out, and slots are filling quickly for the rest of the summer. The camp season kicks off with Louisa's Wearable Art, starting June 24th. Visit our Camps page for info and registration for all summer camps.  | |
With guidance from Miss Tammis and plenty of encouragement to explore, Tuneful Tots make beautiful music! Photo by Lisa Freeman
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Starting on May 21st, our popular Portland Conservatory of Music workshops move to Tuesdays. Taught by Tammis Donovan, Tuneful Tots (ages 1-3) and Rhythm Rangers (ages 4-5) are four-week workshops that introduce young children to the rhythm and help them build basic musical skills. Want to learn more? Drop in to a Tuneful Tots workshop on May 11th or May 18th - individual classes are just $20 each!
We've just announced our 2012-2013 Theatre Season! Up first: Charlotte's Web, a Maine classic that we've wanted to bring to our stage for a long time. Young actors ages 8 to 17 are invited to audition on May 30th. (Want to boost your audition confidence? Attend the audition workshop on May 22nd.) The next show, Hansel and Gretel, won't open until the fall, but work on the show is already underway! With support from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust, we're using a collaborative playmaking process to create the script for Hansel and Gretel.
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Thanks to Mr. Tran and his homeroom students for volunteering their time in the shipyard. It looks great!
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Director Brittany Cook is documenting the process on our blog, and it's a fun behind-the-scenes peek at how a play is created - click here to read her posts!
Exhibits
Sunny days are here again, and that means the Shipyard is in season! Last week, volunteers from Waynflete made a well-timed visit to our backyard, putting a bright new coat of paint on our ship and the picnic tables. Stop in on a sunny day and admire their handiwork!
Development
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Auction chair Michelle Philbrook (right) and a committee of nearly two dozen volunteers helped make this event a success.
Photo by Stephen Quirk
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On Friday night, more than 300 community members gathered at Ocean Gateway to attend our Annual Auction. Local and national businesses and artisans donated more than 500 items to the auction, and attendees bid enthusiastically, snapping up everything from restaurant gift certificates to handcrafted jewelry to a 10-foot st
and-up paddle board! This event - the Museum & Theatre's largest fundraiser - brings in much-needed revenue to support our educational exhibits, programs and theatre productions. Our generous bidders also purchased nearly 80 scholarship memberships for families in need - an auction record! If you or someone you know c ould benefit from a scholarship membership, click here for application information.
We've already set the date for the year's next major fundraiser. Our
Annual Golf Tournament will be held on Monday, September 23rd at Nonesuch River Golf Club. This casual tournament welcomes all levels of play - so start working on your swing and we'll see you in September!
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CALENDARS
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Our printable calendars are an asset to any family fridge or bulletin board. Print them at home (click each image below) or pick up the current month's calendar on your next visit.
Our events schedule is subject to change. For the most current schedule, as well as online event registration and ticketing, visit our calendar of events page or follow us on Facebook to get the latest updates. |
SURVEY: HOURS
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When does your family like to visit the Museum & Theatre? Would extended hours help your family visit more often? Let us know in this quick survey.
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FEATURE ARTICLE
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Show and Tell Gallery:
Children on the Spectrum Share Their Talents
(Continued from top. Read intro here.)
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Dragon sculptures by artist Keegan Companion seem to wriggle along the walls!
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It feels like a sudden transformation, though in fact it takes hours to hang and months to collect. One afternoon, you descend a concrete-walled staircase; the next morning, you're ascending the stairs amid a whimsical, colorful art collection that seems to almost jump off the walls. Pipe cleaner dragons are nestled amid nuanced self-portraits, shelves full of clay miniatures, meticulous maps of train stations and painstaking recreations of impressionist classics. Each year since its inception, the Show and Tell Gallery has grown, bringing in an ever-broader range of work that dazzles the eye, even before you know anything about the artists behind it. The show becomes all the more impressive when you learn its story: every work in the gallery was created by a child or teen with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum.
The first Show and Tell Gallery (then called the Autistic HeART Show) opened in 2010, but the Museum & Theatre's work with children on the autism spectrum began years earlier. With funding from the Maine Charity Foundation, the Museum held its first private playtimes for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in 2006. In the years since, with local and national support, we've held dozens of these private playtimes, allowing families to enjoy uninhibited play when the Museum is closed to the public and giving them opportunities to connect with each other. The families who visit us have helped us understand their needs, and in recent years we've added space modifications (like lower lighting) and options to reduce stimuli and make the experience more comfortable for children with ASD.
Educator Louisa Donelson joined the Museum & Theatre staff in 2008 and took the reins of the autism programming in 2010, when she connected with leaders in Maine's autism community to solicit art for the first Autistic HeART Show. Two years later, she added a series of instructional art workshops for children with ASD.
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David and his family at the opening of the 2011 art show (his second).
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"Some children on the spectrum struggle with communication and may not speak to peers or teachers about their achievements," says Donelson. "The Show and Tell Gallery gives them an opportunity to take pride in their work. Their teachers, families and even classmates come to see it. It helps the whole community recognize how much kids on the spectrum are capable of, and how many Maine families are affected by spectrum disorders."
"Awesome! To see that I did that," says David Scenna, 15, describing the feeling of seeing his work on the gallery wall. "I also like to see the other kids' work. It's so cool."
David's mother Lillian notes that David has always had an eye for art. At age four, he noticed a spider web and called it "spider art." In the years since, he's expressed himself by making art projects from household items. "We go through a lot of curtain rods and duct tape," says Lillian.
David has been a part of the gallery each year since the inaugural show in 2010, when his family doctor suggested submitting work.
"It's indescribable to be able to publicly showcase and celebrate David's artistic abilities," says Lillian. "It gives him a chance to experience a sense of pride and accomplishment."
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Louisa Donelson (bottom center) accepts the Step Up! for Autism Award at the State House on April 3rd, Autism Awareness Day.
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"First and foremost they are children. Autism is secondary," says Heidi Bowden, Executive Director of Maine Autism Alliance. "We know that people are aware of autism. Now on to understanding and acceptance."
The Maine Autism Alliance was founded to support, empower and celebrate individuals on the spectrum. This year, the Alliance established the Step Up! for Autism Awards to recognize agencies, groups, educators and individuals who are making a positive impact on the lives of people with autism. The Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine was one of the honorees at the State House on Wednesday, April 3rd. "The Children's Museum & Theatre's work is a perfect example of meeting the needs of children with autism in a way that is simple, but as important as any therapy," said Bowden. "Experiencing play and activities alongside their peers."
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Artist Olivia Frankl and her mother at the opening of the 2013 gallery.
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On the evening of Thursday, April 18th, nearly 90 people - artists, family members, teachers and supporters - crowded into the Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine's front stairwell to admire the fourth annual Show and Tell Gallery. With artists coming from as far as Caribou and Limestone, many were excited not just to see their art on the walls, but to make a visit to downtown Portland and check out the Museum. "Pretty sweet digs," observed one young artist as he made his way through the lobby to the gallery.
As the number of people affected by autism grows (diagnoses of spectrum disorders increased 72% between 2007 and 2012), the resources available to those impacted must also grow and evolve, meeting the changing needs of this diverse community. As an institution, we will continue to not only provide special programs for ASD children, but to apply what we've learned from this population as we develop inclusive daily programming that inspires children - all children - to imagine, discover and learn through play.
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