Maine Maritime Museum — Attraction in Bath

I've struggled with the thought of reviewing this museum simply because I don't find the subject matter interesting enough, which isn't the museum's fault. Every corner of this place is immersive, educational, relevant, and thorough. We were a little disappointed in the historical boat collection - for some reason, we thought there would be a little more substance and story behind the boats featured. Something else we found disappointing was the lighthouse light. You can walk right up to it but you can't go inside. You would think in a controlled environment with such an emphasis on immersion that you could be permitted to go inside the light, especially since its located just off the watchful eye of the attendants and curators, numerous in the lobby. Shrug. Since most visitors to the Maine coast will see lobster boats and the fishermen working, you might be interested to see the lobstering section of the museum. The wall of buouys is a work of art in itself. Even if you dont go downstairs, go in the stairwell and check out the random lobster ephemera. It's like they knew these things belonged here, somewhere, and didnt know where to display them, so they stuck them in a stairwell. So in this stairwell, you have clippings of Lobsterman (the superhero) comic book, lobster tail corset patterns, and all sorts of lobster miscellany. It's kind of a hoot. If you love all things maritime, you will absolutely love this place, and that's its aim, so for that reason, I'll give it 5 stars. Definitely leave the kids at home; if you aren't into boating and nautical history, there is little...

This was an absolutely delightful, interactive, engaging, and well developed museum. We took the boat cruise and the captain and guide were extremely knowledgeable and able to share the history and the area in such a manner that catered to each individual. We also caught sight of a singular experience while cruising by the impressive and rich, historically and presently relevant Bath Iron Works. There was an active boat launch day complete with current Navy Destroyers being built. There was also a brief history of Bath, sightseeing of the area lights, sea lion sightings, bird watching novelties, two foxes, and a bald eagle nest witnessed. There are so many things to love about this entire property, not just the cruise and the museum, proper, but everything available to those who adventure and learn here. The blacksmithing, area, naval, and nautical history, lobstering, the out of the ballpark chowder at the snack shed..., the art installations, and of course the lighthouse experience and lighthouse keepers... This was the quintessential coastal Maine experience and a true highlight of our time in the area. If you haven't been, this is worth the trip. Half a day simply wasn't enough time to experience everything and everyone here. There were entire sections we simply didn't have enough time to see in the timeframe we had available on Monday, but certainly a treasure to look forward to and a reason to...

We had a wonderful time at the Museum, exploring the exhibits and the grounds of the historic boat building operation. In the summer, we drove up from Boston the night before having purchased tickets for a 3-4hr lighthouse tour. We wished we planned a second day to have more time to review the original preserved buildings of the operation. It is an amazing place!

Our tour brought us down the Kennebec River passed Squirrel Point Light and eventually out past Seguin Island Light Station. We saw quite a bit of wildlife, but no whales or sharks this time. we returned up the Sheepscot River, after a fascinating tour, and watched folks grilling along the shore at low tide. We were deliberate in a few spots where the draft of the boat was nearing the river bottom due to the tide.

As we headed back to the museum we passed General Dynamics Bath Iron Works where there were several ships in for maintenance. WOW!

We loved the day! On our return, we sparked a few conversations with some locals, who were tour guides for visiting friends. This way we found a great place for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow before heading...