Penobscot Marine Museum — Attraction in Searsport

Not a Traditional Museum Experience—Disappointing and Confusing

We visited the Penobscot Marine Museum after hearing that Searsport was one of Maine’s top destinations for antiques. That reputation didn’t hold up for us, and unfortunately, neither did the museum experience.

Despite being described on their website as “one of the nation’s oldest maritime museums,” what we encountered felt more like a loosely connected campus of historic buildings than a cohesive museum. The buildings are clustered in the same neighborhood, but without clear signage, staff presence, or a central welcome point, it was difficult to understand where to begin or what story was being told. There were QR codes posted for admission, but no one available to guide or explain the layout.

Based on what we quickly saw, we weren’t impressed. The exhibits lacked the clarity and depth we’ve found at other maritime museums in the Rockland area, which do a far better job of explaining Maine’s maritime history. While Penobscot’s website promises immersive experiences—like raising sails, reading diaries, and exploring tools of boatbuilders—we didn’t encounter anything close to that in practice.

Even after reviewing their illustrated map, which shows a compact but multi-building layout, it’s clear that the museum relies heavily on self-guided exploration. That might work for some, but for visitors traveling any distance, it’s worth knowing ahead of time that this is not a traditional museum experience. We left feeling disappointed and confused.

Unless you’re already nearby and know what to expect, we wouldn’t recommend making a...

Had a wonderful tour with Faith! Giving 3 stars for her wonderful work otherwise it would be just 1. We booked a family tour with our family group of 7 adults, 3 children ages 6, 5, 3 and 2 babies ages 9mo and 10mo. They requested we be split because we were more than 10 people (and being all related doesn't count either). It really made no sense especially since they said this was a tour geared for children and we only had 3 of them so it wasn't like we were loaded with kids or a rowdy group. The interactive program was great yes but to be clear infants count in that family tour number. And splitting the family dynamics was hard especially since there needed to be a kid in each group leaving one kid to be solo and who likes to be left out???

We split ourselves up and never was there a space issue or anything so it was beyond puzzling. I was in Faith's group and she did a fabulous job engaging the two kids in our group and was very informative and spent the whole hour talking and doing the scavenger hunt.

Then the second group with 3 adults and the 6 year old and one baby had Janet and sat in a room that had mosquitoes in it for a long time (so bring bug spray otherwise you will get bites like my kid) and then she said go explore the buildings on your own.

So it was super frustrating that one of our tours was wonderful and one was mediocre. I would of paid for each family dynamic if need be but why did we have to be separate. If looking for a family activity to be together with then pick...

OK, I really hate to give this place 2 stars because I'm sure it's a great experience that I never got to enjoy. I'm a 77 year old single handed Sailor from RI who cruises the coast of Maine and New Brunswick for 2 months every summer.

This museum has been on my list for a long time and today everything fell into place. I anchored in the lovely harbor with advice from a great Harbormsster and took my inflatable to the awesome town landing. At the museum I'm told that the fee is $30 for up to 10 people.

I politely told the young girl that I was alone and really wasn't presented with any real alternative other than her saying pesimisticaly I guess I could ask "her" but the fee is $30 for up to 10 people. I simply said, that's a bit steep for one person and quietly walked out

Really? I'd have happily paid $10 for the experience but $30 for one old man?

Please, I beg you, fix this, it's just nuts!

Update:

I have to give credit where it's due. The museum management reached out to me regarding this issue and it there indeed is a single fee as well as a senior fee. I did revisit the museum a few days later with my 13 year old Granddaughter and saw that they had updated their fee schedule to include single folks and seniors. This error seems to have occurred as they are reopening after the Covid shutdown. I visiting the museum with my Granddaughter I can say that it lived up to my expectations and I do highly...