When the weather keeps you off the trails, Mount Desert Island has a rich collection of museums, galleries, and cultural sites worth your time.
Natural History & Science Museums
Mount Desert Island Historical Society / Sound Schoolhouse Museum
Located in Somesville, this museum focuses on early settlement, maritime industries, and local history. Highlights include historic buildings, period artifacts, old photographs, and genealogy resources. The Somesville Bridge nearby is one of the island's most photographed spots.
George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History
Affiliated with the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, this museum focuses on marine and terrestrial ecology of Acadia and the Gulf of Maine. Highlights include hands-on exhibits, taxidermy dioramas made by students, and touch tanks. Great for kids interested in wildlife and ocean life.
Oceanarium and Education Center
Near Bar Harbor, focused on Maine's marine life and the lobster industry. Features a lobster hatchery where you can see larvae and learn about conservation, touch tanks with local marine species, and guided talks by experienced lobstermen and marine educators. A hands-on, family-friendly destination offering a genuine look into Maine's maritime ecology and traditions.
Art & Culture
Abbe Museum
A Smithsonian Affiliate in Bar Harbor focused on the Wabanaki Nations' history, culture, and contemporary life. Features indigenous artifacts and rotating exhibitions featuring Wabanaki artists. One of Maine's key institutions for Native American cultural education.
Wendell Gilley Museum
Located in Southwest Harbor, focused on bird carving and wildlife art. Features over 200 of Gilley's wooden bird carvings, workshops, and exhibits on Maine wildlife.
Maritime & Local History
Maine Granite Industry Historical Society Museum
Near Hall Quarry and Somes Sound, focused on the quarrying history of Mount Desert Island and Maine's granite heritage. Features tools, machines, and personal stories of quarry workers.
Bar Harbor Historical Society Museum
Focused on the island's "Gilded Age" era — grand hotels, summer "cottages," and fires that shaped the town. Features local memorabilia, photographs, and exhibits related to Bar Harbor's evolution.
