Maine State Museum March Roundup

Museum Roundup

News & Updates from the Maine State Museum

March 2022

We're Not Hibernating

Even though the museum is closed, staff are working diligently in collaborations, collections research, education programming, and listening to you about the future of the Maine State Museum. Read on!

The Latest...

Join the Listening Tour!

We want to hear from you! We’re collecting feedback from people across the state to learn what they want to see from MSM.

In addition to a series of virtual conversations in communities across the state, you can join the tour by filling out this online survey.

Your responses will guide the museum’s work in the coming years – exhibit topics, collections, public programs, and educational offerings.

Learn more

Embrace the Cold with Some Ice Box History

MSM's educators explore the history behind one of the more chilling aspects of Maine's history - refrigeration!

By the mid 1800s the ice box was commonly found in middle class American homes. Improvements in ice boxes caused a dramatic rise in ice use.

Around 1900, ice harvesting was the second biggest industry in Maine, right behind granite!

Collaboration Brings Rare Penobscot Beadwork Home

Three exquisite pieces of Penobscot beadwork – a matching set of a collar and two cuffs – recently came home to the Penobscot Nation after over 100 years in private collections. Now in the permanent collection of the Penobscot Nation Museum, the pieces were purchased at auction in Canada through a cooperative effort by the Penobscot Nation, Maine State Museum, and Maine Historical Society.

According to Laurie LaBar, who led the Maine State Museum’s efforts in the collaboration, collar and cuff sets were part of traditional regalia worn by Penobscot chiefs at important ceremonies. Beginning in the mid-1800s, touring groups of Native American performers also wore beaded collars and cuffs.

The recently purchased set likely dates from the late 1800s. Featuring floral and leaf motifs on a red wool background, the set’s complex and richly varied beadwork shows strong connections to Penobscot tradition.

Research is ongoing to learn more about the maker and wearers of this rare collar and cuff set. Its safekeeping is now secure, thanks to a shared commitment to preserve the past of the Penobscot people.

Local Artist On a National Stage

(left) Strawberry basket made by Geo Soctomah Neptune (MSM 2018.30.1) and (right) Geo Soctomah Neptune

You may have recognized a familiar face on the Netflix series “Getting Curious” with Jonathan Van Ness!

Geo Soctomah Neptune (they/them) is a Passamaquoddy Two-Spirit, nationally acclaimed master basket maker, activist, storyteller, model, and educator from Indian Township, Maine.

Geo is featured in an episode filmed at the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City. It features several non-binary artists and activists.

Their incredible talent can be seen in this basket from the Maine State Museum’s collections. Neptune learned this artistic tradition from their grandmother, renowned artist Molly Neptune Parker.