Updated: February 2026
Over the past couple of years, we have had the privilege of being able to check out the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine. This is a great option for families who want to take in some great lessons on the maritime heritage and culture of this region!
Maine Maritime Museum Overview:
The Maine Maritime Museum is located in Bath, Maine and is about a 40 minute drive from Portland or about a 45 minute drive from the Augusta area. It is located on about 20 acres of land just past Bath Iron Works and you can visit 15 different structures on the property that are full of permanent and rotating exhibits.
Note: Most of the structures on the property close for the winter. If coming in the winter, plan to explore the main building and one outbuilding. These seasonal closures do not impact any of the children exhibits located the main building.
The Museum is open daily from 9:30am to 5pm except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Google Map directions are accurate and once you are in the town of Bath, there is excellent signage directing you to the Museum’s location. There is general parking as well as parking further down the property for larger vehicles or perfect if you are towing an RV.
Service animals are welcome on the premises but pets and supports animals are restricted to the South End of the campus and not permitted in any of the buildings. Dogs must be leashed, and please clean up after your pet.
Prior to even heading into the Museum’s primary building, there is a wonderful exhibit on the sidewalk that shows how vast and far the Kennebec River travels through the state of Maine. My daughter and I had a great conversation about fresh water and she enjoyed following the river from Moosehead Lake to the Sea and back to the Lake!
Once inside, there are several exhibits that we found to be very child-friendly. They include:
Into the Lantern; A Lighthouse Experience: This exhibit is able to recreate Portland Headlight using a makeshift lighthouse and visual technology. My daughter was fascinated by how real the exhibit felt.
The Tugboat exhibit: This exhibit is where children can pretend they are the captain of the boat. This exhibit gives off a more quiet pretend play v. children’s museum vibe.
The Chris Van Dusen exhibit: If you are looking to step into any book that Chris Van Dusen has authored, than this exhibit is for you! With artifacts from his early illustrations to a “Circus Ship” itself, there is a bunch of areas for your child to explore here.
And our personal favorite is the rotating exhibit wing. In years past it has been:
The SeaChange: Darkness and Light in the Gulf of Maine. A very interesting and neat eco-arts exhibit with a crafting space.
Upta Camp: A history in the rise of Maine’s sporting history and leisure camp traditions complete with a “cabin” in the exhibit for children to let their imaginations run wild.
And currently, it is an exhibit called “Re/Sounding” that explores re-measuring our institutional understandings of our maritime history with Indigenous and Black perspectives. The interactive part of this exhibit is geared more for adults than the 10 and under crowd. My daughter’s feedback is that this is not as “fun” as the previous ones.
There are PLENTY of maritime heritage and culture items to look at and read about in the main building of the Museum. However, we didn’t check everything out because… even 7 year olds have their limit on listening and looking at artifacts! If you love looking at artifacts and reading about the history, in order to take in all that the museum has to offer, I would suggest bringing an extra adult for easier tag teaming; or come back solo as your admission ticket is good for another visit back (as long it’s within 7 days of initial purchase)!
In the summer, once outside, there are an additional 14 structures to visit! Be sure to grab a campus map so you can make sure you don’t miss any sites on the property!
Sample Itinerary:
Here is how we traversed the property:
Part One:
After visiting the main building, we went outside for some more exploring. The first thing my daughter was interested in was the Ship Launching Demonstration down by the river. Afterwards, we hung out at the Pirate Ship Playground and checked out the Lobstering and the Maine Coast building and exhibits. There are also convenient bathrooms near the playground as well.
Part Two:
One Hour River Cruise with a BYO lunch.
*Read about the River Cruise under the splurge options down below!
If you choose to forego the River Cruise but would like to eat lunch on the campus. They have plenty of beautiful picnic tables under some amazing trees that provide excellent cover from the sun. They do offer some seasonal food on site provided by Flight Deck Brewing.
You can bring outside food in to eat at the picnic tables. My recommendations for lunch spots include: Wild Oats, Sisters Gourmet Deli, Solo Pane, and Cafe Creme for a local caffeine spot.
Part Three:
Once off the River Cruise boat, we finished up by visiting the caulker’s shed, mould loft, blacksmith shop, paint shop, mill and joinery, the Donnell House, the boat shop, and small craft exhibits.
In all, we spent 4 hours at the Museum with 1 hour being on the River Cruise. I will definitely say that this adventure works for those kiddos that are a bit older, 5 years and up, or those who are very young and content to sleep through it all in a Baby Bjorn. 🙂
If you were to ask my daughter about her favorite things from our visit here, she would say: boat ride, ship launching demonstration, and the Chris Van Dusen exhibit.
Accessibility and Accommodations:
It is very obvious that they want to make the museum available for ALL. While I will do my best to highlight my favorite features, I strongly suggest checking out their website for more information!
The campus has a mix of paved and gravel sidewalks along with large grassy portions. Any kind of stroller will have no problem traversing the campus. While you will not have any issues in the main building of the Museum with your stroller, some of the historic buildings on the campus will be slightly harder to navigate given the uneven floors and stairs to upper level features.
Golf cart services can be arranged at Guest Services should you need that too.
The Museum also offers Sensory Friendly Hours about once a month where they modify the lighting and volume levels as well as provide additional signage throughout the high-level audio-visual areas to create a more inclusive and accessible experience.
They also offer sensory bags for both adults and children with headphones, fidgets, and additional items. They are FREE and available at the front desk at any time.
Note: The sensory bags are part of the Museum’s ongoing certification work with Kulture City. Kulture City works with businesses and organizations to train staff on sensory inclusion, sensory bags, and app integration.
Costs for Museum:
Adults: $20 (off-season, $14)
Seniors: $18 (off-season, $12)
Children 17 years and younger: FREE
Members: FREE (if you plan to visit more than 3 times, it might be worth looking into a membership).
Budget Friendly Options:
Check to see if you and your family could benefit from any of the below options:
- Blue Star Museums: FREE admission for active military and their families.
- Museums for All: FREE admissions for up to four adults for those receiving SNAP benefits.
- New Hampshire Public Radio MemberCard Holders: 2 for 1 admission, one time per year.
- Counsel of American Maritime Museum Member: FREE admission
- North American Reciprocal Museum Association Member: FREE admission
- And be sure to check out your LOCAL LIBRARY. Many libraries offered free admission to the Maine Maritime Museum.
The Splurge Option:
The splurge option here is taking advantage of one of the numerous boat cruises they have! The cruise will take you by Bath Irons Works and to banks of the City of Ships (Bath) and then down the river to the two most popular lighthouses on the Kennebec river: Doubling Point Light and the Kennebec Range Lights. They offer 1-hour and 3-hour cruises and with little ones in tow, a 1-hour is perfection!
This cruise was definitely a hit with my daughter. She still talks about this cruise and we did this almost 3 years ago! We are planning to go again this summer!
While I was interested to learn about the history of this part of the river, my daughter was enjoying seeing the eagles, osprey, and jumping fish. By the end of the cruise, my daughter snuggled up in my arms and was lulled into a relaxing state that only a slow boat cruise can do!
The cost for a ticket on a 1 hour cruise will be:
Adults: $20
Children 6-17 years old: $21
Children under 6: $6
*If you use any of the discounts above, you will just pay for the boat ticket. You must purchase admission to the museum to buy a boat ticket.*
Accessibility Note: If choosing a boat cruise, the floating docks can be reached via the accessible ramp. Strollers will be limited to the main cabin, and on-board restrooms are not wheelchair accessible.
Also, the stairs to the top deck are very steep and while not as challenging to get up, I would advise waiting to be the last ones down to alleviate any stress of holding up the line to help a little one down. 🙂
The Bathroom Low Down:
There are three convenient inside bathroom locations during your visit to the Maine Maritime Museum
- In the Main Campus Building. These are sex separated bathrooms. In the bathrooms you will find infant changing situations.
- By the Playground: There are two all gender/single user bathrooms in a building just up from the playground. There are stairs heading up to the bathrooms so taking a stroller to these bathrooms may be problematic. Both bathrooms are very large and have infant changing stations in them as well.
- You will see showers in both bathrooms. At first I couldn’t make sense of why but if you are coming to the Museum by boat and are docking overnight, you have access to these facilities for showering and laundry services.
- On the Cruising Boat: There is one all gender/single user bathroom aboard this boat. It is NOT handicap accessible and while it works, it’s a tight squeeze.
Bathroom Situation Rating: A-
With 3 separate indoor bathroom locations, you will be sure to be close to one if you need it!
In Summary:
The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine offers an engaging experience focused on the region’s maritime heritage, ideal for families.
Spanning 20 acres, the museum features 15 structures with diverse exhibits, including child-friendly attractions like a lighthouse and a tugboat exhibits as well as an entire exhibit highlighting Maine author and illustrator, Chris Van Dusen.
Seasonal closures limit access in winter, but the main building remains open year-round. In the summer months, visitors can enjoy scenic river cruises (which was THE highlight for my daughter).
The museum is accessible and provides sensory-friendly hours and resources. Bathrooms are conveniently located and easy to navigate for those with young children.
Admission fees vary. PLEASE check to see if your local library offers FREE passes to the library. If not, check out the other programs above to see if you qualify for free/discounted passes. A visit with children typically lasts anywhere between 1-4 hours, depending on the season, and this museum is ideal for children ages five and up.
Have you been? Please share your experiences in the comments below.
And….If you want the latest episode of The Wandering Chickadee to land in your email, be sure to add your address below!
~Natalie
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