A child happily chatters as she “grooms” a toy dog, while another skips through the hallway with handcuffs pretending to be a law enforcement officer in search of a “suspect.”
In this little neighborhood are a grocery store, medical offices, a school, a garden, a fashion boutique and more, all designed to let small hands explore and young minds expand.
This is the Children’s Museum of Aroostook County, the only installation of its kind in northern Maine. With a $10,000 grant, a lot of elbow grease and a supportive community, a handful of volunteers created what they hope will grow into the region’s counterpart to the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor. Their goals: to nurture kids’ imaginations and give families a destination that doesn’t require traveling south to enjoy.
“It seems like every thriving community around the country has a children’s museum or a learning center like this, and for residents of Aroostook County it involves going 200 or 300 miles away to Bangor,” board member Elise Browning said. “That’s why we really felt there was a need to do this here.”
Inspiration also came from North Charleston, South Carolina. Browning was there years ago when the community had a high crime rate and rundown houses. On a recent trip back, the positive changes were astounding: improved housing, a large playground, wholesome family activities.
When that happened, families came, she said. She knew Aroostook County needed a children’s attraction that would reap similar results.
The nonprofit Children’s Museum of Aroostook County group formed this past winter and opened a temporary pop-up space at the Northeastland Hotel in Presque Isle. Board members launched a fundraising effort, but decided it would cost too much to purchase a building and opted instead to go into the Aroostook Centre Mall.
The 9,000-square-foot space, a former clothing store, opened at the end of May with help from a $10,000 Maine Community Foundation grant, Browning said. That grant and local contributions have been the only capital. All the rest has been achieved with in-kind donations and volunteer labor.
Lumber companies gave building materials, medical providers provided some tools of the trade, industries sent uniforms and displays, and building trades students from Presque Isle High School and Northern Maine Community College lent some extra hands.
“We’re being a bridge between education and industry,” Browning said. “So what we’re doing is [giving] them play opportunities so that students can experience and experiment with the tools of life.”
Besides giving kids fun things to do, she and the board want the museum to introduce them to the careers and opportunities available in The County. It’s important that children see school as a stepping-stone to the future, she said.
The Maine Discovery Museum similarly focuses on education, especially science, technology, engineering and math. The site opened in 2001 and draws about 60,000 people a year, Executive Director Kate Dickerson said.
Another 15,000 each year participate in activities like the Maine Science Fest and Maine Invention Convention, and staff reached more than 1,000 kids this summer around the state with an outreach program called Science for ME, she said.
She hopes to collaborate with the Aroostook facility.
“Elise is great. I think it’s fantastic what she and her partners up there have put together,” Dickerson said. “We’re always on the lookout as to how we can get our outreach team up there.”
On a recent day at the museum, Shay Carriero of Presque Isle and her daughter, Payton, 2, were exploring.
“This is amazing and she’s having a ball,” Carriero said.
The newest area has likenesses of farm animals and rescue pets. There’s a table where kids can groom or care for the stuffed animals. Soon, there’ll be more veterinary tools and related activities, Browning said.
A snowmobile, non-operational and made safe for young explorers, sits against seasonal backgrounds. Maps of local snowmobile trails are coming, along with something weather-related from the National Weather Service, she said.
Displays include a boutique where kids can dress up, a stage area, hard hats and uniforms, a miniature french fry processing plant, a police desk, a grocery store where they can shop or man the store, a restaurant, a vegetable garden, a doctor’s office with X-ray viewing activities, a schoolroom and a dentist’s chair.
There are free play areas, bookshelves and a LEGO block building space. Seating areas are arranged so guardians can participate or just be present.
Besides herself and museum director Danielle Steele, seven other board members and volunteers staff the facility, Browning said.
Now the hard work begins: sustaining the project. Any person, business or organization can create spaces there, she said.
Like Maine Discovery Museum, the Children’s Museum of Aroostook County intends to pursue grant opportunities, donations and fundraisers, and add revenue from admissions and memberships.
Admission is $8 for young people and $6 for adults. Hours are 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Toddler time is offered from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Fridays.
The main task now is to spread the word that the museum is here, Browning said.
“The Children’s Museum of Aroostook County is so different, because we include the vocational interest which other museums don’t do so much because they’re in cities,” she said. “Our big call to action is come see it, come experience it, and if you like it, support it.”
