BATH

Maine Maritime Museum will open two new exhibits on Saturday: “Meeting the Boat: Steam Travel Along Maine Waters,” and “20 Years of Discovery Boatbuilding.” “Meeting the Boat” explores the ways in which steamboats transformed life along the Maine coast, while “20 Years of Discovery Boatbuilding” celebrates a milestone for the museum’s youth boatbuilding program.

Whether returning world-weary mariners to their Maine hometowns, carrying the mail to remote peninsulas and islands, ferrying lumberjacks north to the spring log-drive or running excursions from resort hotels, steamboats connected Maine to the world and established social and economic patterns that still echo today. Drawing on Maine Maritime Museum’s extensive steamboat-related collections, “Meeting the Boat” will harken back to the technology, lifestyle and bravado of a time when Maine ran on steam. The exhibit will be on view in The John G. Morse Gallery at Maine Maritime Museum through Sept. 5.

In 1996, Maine Maritime Museum developed the first curriculum in the state integrating a comprehensive traditional boatbuilding program with middle school students. Twenty years later, the museum celebrates the successes of the program with photos, videos and personal stories from alumni and staff in the new exhibit “20 Years of Discovery Boatbuilding.” The exhibit will be on view in the Marjorie W. Kramer Gallery through Sept. 18.

Maine Maritime Museum is a nonprofit institution dedicated to Maine’s maritime heritage. Call (207) 443- 1316 or visit MaineMaritimeMuseum.org for more information. Maine Maritime Museum is located at 243 Washington St., Bath.