Plan a Visit to MHS
We look forward to your visit to the Maine Historical Society. The information on this page will help you schedule and plan for your trip.
To Schedule a Visit
- Call the Museum Store at (207) 774–1822.
- All programs are available by reservation only.
- We can best accommodate one class per program, although small class size may allow for more than this.
- All our programs can be adapted to meet the needs of children in grades K–12 and have been designed in accordance with State of Maine Learning Results.
- Programs include pre-visit materials for use in your classroom, which will be sent with confirmation of your visit.
- Payment due day of visit. Please make checks payable to: Maine Historical Society.
- Click here for directions
Free Bus Subsidies
To help offset the cost of transportation, Maine Historical Society is now offering bus subsidy grants to qualifying school groups. Find out more.
Chaperones
We recommend a minimum of at least one adult chaperone for every ten children. We suggest a maximum limit of one adult for every five children as tours can get quickly overcrowded with chaperones. Please prepare chaperones for their role in supervising their group of children.
Visit Rules and Expectations
Please review the following basic museum rules with your students before your field trip:
- Explain to students that no one is allowed to touch museum objects or sit on or lean against furnishings.
- Food and drink and backpacks or large bags are not allowed in the Longfellow House or the museum exhibition area. (We have a storage closet where backpacks and lunches may be placed).
- Explain to students that classroom rules also apply during their visit to the Maine Historical Society.
- To tour the Wadsworth–Longfellow House, your class or classes will need to be divided into groups of no more than 12 children per group. To visit the museum exhibition or take a walking tour the class can be together as one group.
- All of our facilities are wheelchair accessible, with the exception of the 2nd floor of the Longfellow House. We offer a video tour of the 2nd floor for those who are unable to navigate the stairs. The lower level of our garden is accessible through the library during hours of operation, Tues-Sat 10 to 4pm.
Your Arrival
View of Congress Street looking towards Monument Square.
We are located at 489 Congress Street. Click here for directions.
A bus pullover is located on Congress Street, in front of our campus, where students can be dropped off or picked up.
- Please check–in at our Museum Store when you arrive and our museum educators will go over the logistics of your class visit.
- Payment is due on the day of your visit. Checks should be made payable to the Maine Historical Society.
- Our gallery contains a gift shop. If you would like your students to be able to shop, please let us know so we can build time in at the end of the program. Students are welcome to shop and browse with chaperone supervision.
- We follow the snow delay and school cancellation mandates of the Portland Public Schools.