Enter the 16th Century Saturday Portal!

Today’s the day! The 16th Century Saturday Portal is open!

The Brick Store Museum, celebrating local history, art and culture year-round, will mark the dual bicentennials of the State of Maine and the Town of Kennebunk this year. The Museum recently received a major grant from the Maine Humanities Council to fund its Century Saturdays Program, which kicks off May 2^nd with “16^th Century Saturday.”

The Century Saturdays Program will run once a month (on a Saturday) from May through October, ending on October 12^th with 21^st Century Saturday to ask the community “where do we go from here?” The Museum has planned an immersive experience for visitors to get the chance to see, smell, taste, hear and touch the different centuries that led us to the present. Timing perfectly with Maine and Kennebunk’s dual Bicentennial celebrations this year, this six-month programming schedule allows visitors and locals alike to explore our shared history in a new way. Studying one century per month allows for easy compare and contrast, observation of change, and a focused discussion about social systems and everyday life in Maine over hundreds of years.

Why start with the 16^th Century? The 16^th Century provides a place to begin a discussion on pre-European contact and the peoples living in the area that is now Maine (not just in the 16^th Century, but thousands of years prior).

While the May 2^nd program was supposed to be a physical event, the Museum staff has created an online program that includes:

• Speaker Dr. Arthur Anderson, archaeologist at UNE;
• Speaker Tim Spahr, archaeologist with the Cape Porpoise Archaeological Alliance
• An online “pop-up exhibit” exploring indigenous history through our collection of indigenous stone tools
• Offering at-home activities that families can undertake together, including making 16^th Century foods to try and hands-on activities to explore.

This program is funded through a grant from the Maine Humanities Council and generous sponsorship from Kennebunk Savings Bank.

Admission to these programs is typically included in the cost of regular museum admission; however, online programming is free with donations gratefully accepted.