Maine Archives & Museums upcoming events

Textile Care and Storage at Victoria Mansion (22 Oct 2026)

Thu, 22 Oct 2026 17:30:00 GMT

Does your collection include clothes, curtains, upholstered furniture, or antique carpets? Are you wondering best how to store and display these objects in a way that protects them for the future, but you've got a small budget? Does your historic building lack proper climate control? Join MAM for an afternoon at Victoria Mansion in Portland to learn how best to care for your textiles, even when the conditions aren't perfect.

Victoria Mansion holds an important collection of mid-nineteenth-century textiles ranging from garments to upholstery to window treatments with silk trimmings. A decade ago, the museum set about creating a dedicated textile storage room to safely house the collection while keeping the individual pieces accessible for study and research. Siobhan Lindsay and her assistants constructed custom mounts and supports for the most delicate pieces and set up shelving and case storage to limit their exposure to light while not on view. The work was done to high professional standards, but also in ways that remained practical and affordable for a small museum.

This workshop will give participants a chance to see a variety of types of textile both on display and in storage, ask questions about best practices, and get advice for the reality of housing a collection in a historic building.

About the presenters:
Siobhan Lindsay is a professional art conservator with a broad range of experience in the care and treatment of paintings, textiles, metals, glass, and more. She has worked on conservation projects at Victoria Mansion for nearly two decades, joining the staff as Art Conservator in 2012.

Tim Brosnihan, Victoria Mansion’s Executive Director, has worked in the museum field for over three decades and at Victoria Mansion since 2002. A major focus of his tenure as Director has been on improving the care of the museum’s extraordinary architecture, furnishings, and decorative art.

MAM members receive a discount on registration for this event. Not a member yet? Join here.

Health Insurance Questions Answered with CoverME.gov (29 Oct 2026)

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Have you felt like health insurance was out of reach for you? Join us and find out how you can get coverage for yourself or your family through CoverME.gov

CoverME.gov, Maine’s official Health Insurance Marketplace, is designed to help individuals and small businesses find affordable, comprehensive coverage. Open enrollment begins on November 1, 2026 and ends on January 15, 2027.

The CoverME.gov team is working to connect consumers with free local assistance to get Maine residents enrolled for 2027. This year, we want to reach new audiences and encourage even more Maine residents to get covered and protect their household with the security insurance offers!

Join us and we will walk you through what’s available for individuals, employers, and their employees and how to make the most of the free tools and support CoverME.gov offers.

During this free lunch and learn, you'll learn how to compare qualified health plans and determine whether group coverage, employee reimbursement accounts, or directing employees to the Marketplace is the best option for your business. We will also share tools available to employers, including:
• The Employer Quick Quote Tool for SHOP-qualified plans
• Information on the small business health care tax credit (for businesses with fewer than 25 FTEs)
• Guidance on Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRA) and other ways to support employees if you don’t offer group coverage
• Free assistance from CoverME.gov to answer questions and support enrollment

This program is free for all, advance registration is required.

How to Handle Historical Hazards - IN PERSON (05 Nov 2026)

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Have you encountered phosphorus amongst your collection materials? Is there a cannonball on display at your institution? Then this is the workshop for you! Join MAM for a hybrid workshop to learn how to handle historical hazards! Led by Sergeant Patrick Pescitelli, Maine State Police Bomb Squad, participants will learn how to handle and manage the potential historical hazards and military ordnance any museum, archive, or historical society can encounter!

This workshop will be offered in-person at the Margaret Chase Smith Library (56 Norridgewock Avenue, Skowhegan, ME) and via Zoom. The in-person component is limited to 20 participants and there will be a hands-on portion of the workshop exclusive to in-person.

Sergeant Pescitelli will lead a presentation on what you should do if you have a run-in with potentially explosive and/or dangerous materials in your historic collections. This will be followed by a Q&A and the in-person hands-on demonstration.

About the Presenter:

Sergeant Pescitelli has been with the Maine State Police since 2015, working in Aroostook County for 3.5 years, Franklin County for 2 years, and the Turnpike for 4. He has been on the State Police Bomb Squad since 2017 and has been running the team since 2021. He is currently the only full time bomb technican for the State Police.

This is the registration page for the in-person workshop. If you would like to register for the Zoom presentation, click here.

MAM members receive a discount on registration for this event. Not a member yet? Join here.

How to Handle Historical Hazards - ONLINE (05 Nov 2026)

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Have you encountered phosphorus amongst your collection materials? Is there a cannonball on display at your institution? Then this is the workshop for you! Join MAM for a hybrid workshop to learn how to handle historical hazards! Led by Sergeant Patrick Pescitelli, Maine State Police Bomb Squad, participants will learn how to handle and manage the potential historical hazards and military ordnance any museum, archive, or historical society can encounter!

This workshop will be offered in-person at the Margaret Chase Smith Library (56 Norridgewock Avenue, Skowhegan, ME) and via Zoom. The in-person component is limited to 20 participants and there will be a hands-on portion of the workshop exclusive to in-person.

Sergeant Pescitelli will lead a presentation on what you should do if you have a run-in with potentially explosive and/or dangerous materials in your historic collections. This will be followed by a Q&A and the in-person hands-on demonstration.

About the Presenter:
Sergeant Pescitelli has been with the Maine State Police since 2015, working in Aroostook County for 3.5 years, Franklin County for 2 years, and the Turnpike for 4. He has been on the State Police Bomb Squad since 2017 and has been running the team since 2021. He is currently the only full time bomb technican for the State Police.
This is the registration page for the online workshop. If you would like to register for the in-person presentation, click here.

MAM members receive a discount on registration for this event. Not a member yet? Join here.

MAM Member Meetup Hosted by the Bangor Public Library (07 Nov 2026)

Sat, 07 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Join MAM in Bangor for a Member Meet Up hosted by the Bangor Public Library on November 7th! The MAM Member Meet Up will be at Bagel Central (33 Central St, Bangor, ME) from 11-12:30, come for an informal gathering with your fellow MAM members!

Afterwards there will be two public programs hosted by members of the University of Maine History Department. At the Bangor Public Library (145 Harlow St, Bangor, ME) from 12-1:30, undergraduates in an Intro to Public History course will host a poster session about how Maine commemorated the national Centennial in 1876 and the Bicentennial in 1976. This will be followed by a walking tour of the re-installed interpretive signage on the Kenduskeag Stream Heritage Trail that was researched and written by UMaine History students. The tour will leave from the Bangor Public Library and the walk is 1.9 miles long.

You are invited to join MAM and the Bangor Public Library for some or all of these activities!

Please RSVP if you plan to attend the meetup at Bagel Central. The poster session and walk are open to the public & RSVP is not required (but we'd love to see you there!).

Not a MAM member yet? Click here to join today!