The past year has been very exciting at the The George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History.  We have made strides in improving our collections, launched new programs, displayed some incredible exhibits and continue to be the center of a thriving summer program.

Collections
To boost our collections, the museum recently received a grant for $18,600 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that will help the museum undertake its most critical conservation activities.  The grant will enable the museum to focus on three areas of conservation: designing and implementing a long-term environmental monitoring process for its galleries and its collection storage space, implementing procedures to stabilize specimens currently threatened with environmental degradation, and developing an undergraduate course in collections care and preservation.

This grant is the initial phase of a multi-phase preservation strategy to preserve and protect the museum's permanent exhibits and collections in accordance with current best practices guidelines established by the American Association of Museums.  To do so, the museum will retain the services of conservation consultant Ronald Harvey, a noted museum conservator based in Lincolnville. Harvey will oversee and evaluate all aspects of the environmental survey and collections stabilization components of the museum. He will also conduct all training workshops and co-teach a COA class on collections care and preservation with COA professor Dr. Stephen Ressel.

New Community Programs
This year we have also increased the local community's awareness of the museum through several new programs that seek to engage members of the island community with the campus and museum.  The Nature of Halloween drew a big crowd with over 300 visitors who enjoyed meeting live owls, bats, raven, raccoon, and wolf and learning about the natural history of these halloweenish creatures.

Other holiday programs included an excursion to cranberry bogs and adjoining woodlands in search of Wild Turkeys just in time for Thanksgiving and a Winter Solstice potluck program where visitors enjoyed learning about solstice traditions from ancient Celts.  We also offer story time for children from the local community every Wednesday.

Exhibits
We have been fortunate to have some very powerful exhibits over the past year, a few of the highlights include:

The Ingenious Mr. Peale, designed and installed by COA alumna Rebecca Melius '01, has been on exhibit featuring original silhouettes cut at Peale's Museum in Philadelphia, as well as original lithographs by Peale's son, Titian.  Peale was a renowned artist, educator, inventor and founder of the first popular Natural History Museum in America.

Class of 2005 graduate Sarah Drummond's magnificent Senior Project has been exhibited for several months.  It is a multimedia exhibit entitled Parallel Worlds:  Four Seabirds of Great Duck Island.  Her lovely watercolors compliment her description of the scientific research occurring on Great Duck, and time-lapse video lets visitors peek inside a Leach's Storm Petrel nest burrow. The watercolor painting at right was part of Sarah's exhibit.

Sounds of Mount Desert Island was a popular audio exhibit featuring recordings of waves, rivers, people, wildlife: the sounds of life recorded on our spectacular island by Aaron Lewis '05.

Summer Field Studies

Young children of alumni have started to come to COA, as participants in Summer Field Studies, the museum's ecology day camp program.   While exploring in tidepools, hiking mountain trails, or canoeing in local ponds, Summer Field Studies participants take a closer look at the natural environment, build new friendships and have fun.  The staff of this program is largely made up of  COA students and recent alumni. 

We are preparing for our twenty-second season of this popular summer activity.  This winter we have been planning some new sessions, including a collaboration with Acadia Climbing School (Heather Murray '95) which will have teens learning about geology and rock climbing, a marine science session that will get participants on the water in COA's day sailers, and a session to coincide with the "Plants of  Lewis and Clark” exhibit that will be in the museum this summer. We  also shifted from a paper brochure to making all the registration materials available on line.  Check it out at http://www.coa.edu/html/summerfieldstudies.htm.  Staff hiring is also underway.

After the positive response to last year's opportunities for adults and children to spend a day together at Summer Field Studies, we are offering three one-day sessions for children and their parents or other caregivers.  Clearly we would welcome alumni to come work and play with us this summer.  For more information contact us at the museum 288-2944 extension 323 or by email sfs@coa.edu.

Museum Hours of operation
During winter, the museum is open Monday-Saturday from 10:00am- 5:00pm.  In mid June we will be open seven days a week.

Interested in becoming a Charter Member of the museum??

The Dorr Museum's ongoing programs include:
• Storytime for pre-schoolers
• Brown Bag Series of lunch-time natural history presentations
• Summer Field Studies, a marvelous nature day camp for kids
• Sunday Family Fun - activities for families
• Natural History programs and classes for adults and families
• The Nature of Halloween and other seasonal festivals

By becoming a member, you will receive notification of upcoming events, get priority registration, and you…trade;ll have the satisfaction of supporting your local, year-round natural history museum. 
Membership is very affordable; $25/individual or $35/family per year.

Membership Benefits
• Unlimited entrance to the Dorr Museum of Natural History for you and your family
• 5 family guest passes to the Dorr Museum for your visitors
• Notification of all upcoming programs
• Priority registration for Dorr Museum events
• A quarterly e-newsletter - e-news saves valuable resources: trees, fuel and money
• e-Nature Notes - Phenology, or what's happening in the wild
• Discounts on selected programs and classes
• Discounts on items for sale in the museum
• Invitation to the Annual Members'; Behind the Scenes Night

Bonus Charter Member Benefit
• Charter Members of the Dorr Museum will receive a gift membership to give to a friend.

Possible Future Events as Membership Grows
• Art & Science Series    
• Insect Fear Film Festival
• Maple Sugaring Weekend
• Digital Nature Photography Classes

To become a charter member you can contact Lynn Havsall at lhavsall@coa.edu or 207-288-5015 x240.