"At Home" exhibit opens at Maine State Museum

The "At Home in Maine" exhibit now open to the public at the Maine State Museum is the culmination of many years of collecting followed by almost as many of planning. According to Chief Curator Laurie Le Bar, the museum had become known as "Maine's attic" because, since its inception, it has had a policy of actively acquiring things from Maine's homes. "Before we even knew a show would come out of it," she says, things from Maine homes were in the collection and available to researchers for study, but now "the public can see them as well." Le Bar traces the teamwork that resulted in the show back to Ed Churchill, former chief history curator, who "played with the idea in different forms for 10 years before we really got serious about it," she says. There followed a period of about six years in which the show was in full planning mode. "Once we did get serious, the question was 'how do you narrow everything down?'" With enough items to fill another 5600 square feet, there was "lots of weeding out." Construction was a difficult challenge. First a cement wall had to be taken out; then asbestos removed and insulation put in. Only then could they start building. Museum work requires special fire reduction codes, low lighting to protect artifacts, and paint with low off-gassing. The exhibits have to accommodate ongoing display adjustments. The usable wall space received an extra layer of pine under sheet rock so that it could be restructured if something changed. Le Bar says the show will remain open to the public for decades. The museum's policy on acquisitions has changed. A thing has to be made in Maine. "Now we are full and we only accept items that have a family history," or a "provenance. "If you know who got it and where, we're interested." The museum is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, and is closed Sunday. It is located in the state capitol complex off the Augusta rotary. Check out the video for a sampling of what's in the show.