Museums & galleries in South Coast Region offer depth to your vacation

This small, seasonal museum is devoted entirely to American art. Its permanent collection houses one of the largest collections of ceramic sculpture by Carl Walters; watercolors by Eliot O’Hara; oils by Henry Strater; drawings and sculpture by Isabella Howland. Its collection includes works by artists of the Ogunquit arts colony, including Edward Betts, Charles Woodbury, Hamilton Easter Field, and Robert Laurent. The museum is built with a large glass wall facing the coastline and ocean. The building has grown to 7,500 square feet since its founding in 1953.
Hours: Open daily from May to October, 10am - 5pm.

This electric railway museum has a collection of more than 250 transit vehicles, most of them trolleys, from all over the United States, Canada, and other countries. Museum admission includes unlimited streetcar rides, access to the museum grounds and exhibit buildings, and use of picnic areas.
Hours: Open May-December 10, 9:30am - 4:30pm.

Exhibits commemorate the Civil War, and in particular the contribution of Maine citizens to the war effort.
Hours: Memorial Day-July 1, weekends, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; July 1-Labor Day, week-days, 1 to 5 p.m. and weekends, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Labor Day-Columbus Day, weekends, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Exhibits and collections include Artifacts and papers pertaining to the maritime heritage of the Kennebunks and items from the estates of renowned authors, Kenneth Roberts and Booth Tarkington. Highlights include quilts with secret pouches and handwritten inscriptions; a rare chest dating to 1685; a painting found floating at sea of a Kennebunkport ship captain; pieces salvaged from area shipwrecks; a Civil War drum for a real surprise; and the largest collection of World War I and II posters in Maine.
Hours: Open year round, Tuesday – Friday 10am - 5pm ; Saturday 10am - 4pm ; Sunday Noon - 4pm.