Abbe Museum

Learn The Native Americans History

While your in Bar Harbor, you'll definitely want to take time to stop in the Abbe Museum. It's an intriguing museum dedicated exclusively to the Native Americans history and heritage of Maine.

Native Americans have lived in this area for thousands of years. Today Maine's four Indian tribes—Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot—are known collectively as the Wabanaki.

The mission of the Abbe Museum is to help promote better appreciation and understanding of the Native Americans in Maine, including their archaeology, history, and their culture past and present.

Native American Artifacts

The collection of more than 50,000 Native American artifacts consists primarily of stone and bone tools, and ceramics. There is also a flute made from the bone of a swan that is estimated to be 2,000 years old.

You'll see relics spanning 10,000 years!

It's really quite fascinating and you'll most likely learn things that you probably never knew before.

See All The Exhibits

There are several exhibitions at the museum.

One of the wonderful exhibitions at the museum is the "Look Twice: The Waponahki in Image and Verse" exhibition. This is a beautiful exhibition that includes examinations of photographs through use of poetry by Mikhu Paul-Anderson

An exhibition coming early in 2010, is the "exhibitions without walls” that will start people out at the museum and then take them out on walking tours, using a “Wabanaki Trail” map to see places and landmarks on Mount Desert Island that are of cultural and historic significance.

There are two locations for the Museum.

The Sieur de Monts Spring location is open from May to October, and has a beautiful woodland setting with paths and trails running through it.

The downtown location is the newer one. It's open year round and is very easy to get to. Located right in the center of Bar Harbor, across from the village green.

Both museums are $3 and $6 for adults, and $2 for children between the ages of 6-15.

Of course you'll want to check out both of these unique museums, but if you only had time for one...I'd recommend the Abbe Museum in downtown Bar Harbor.

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