A $12.25 Million Capital Campaign

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Pioneers

FOR ALMOST 50 years, the Owls Head Transportation Museum has celebrated the human quest for innovation and progress. In addition to its premier collection of historic engines, automobiles and aircraft, the Museum has served as an educational learning center highlighting America’s transportation pioneers, inventors, and entrepreneurs.

America is on the brink of the next revolution in transportation.

The Museum’s exhibits present history where visitors, community members, and students interact with our collection, highlighting the innovations that have helped shape — and transport us — all our lives. Our exhibits and educational programs not only connect us with the past but also encourage us to wonder what the future holds.

THE MUSEUM’S GREAT CHALLENGE

Owls Head Transportation Museum has become a nationally recognized venue for the display and education of how changing transportation innovations have reshaped our society.  Along with this success, we have facility constraints - we have simply run out of space for our growing collections and our expanded educational programs. 

Our Vision for the Next 50 Years

Owls Head Transportation Museum has become a leader in teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), where visitors, exhibitors, students, teachers, volunteers and community members share their knowledge, experiences and designs for creating transportation innovations of the future.

Space to Expand

In order to meet present and future needs, the Museum must do more than expand our vision; we need to expand our facilities. Our community is growing. We currently host 40,000+ visitors per year on-site, 1,700+ members, 5,000 free 10-and-under admissions, 2,000 exhibitors displaying vehicles at summer events, 200+ volunteers supporting Museum activities — and this increases every year.

A Community Education Center

After several years of rigorous evaluation and assessment, the Board of Trustees believes there is both a need and an opportunity to expand the Museum’s programing as a unique education center. The new footprint with flexible spaces lets the Museum draw on our expertise, experience, collections and resources to offer students and visitors across Maine our exciting new programs.

A Building as Innovative as its Programs

The Museum board has approved a detailed building and site plan that will greatly enhance our ability to execute the mission of the Museum and improve the overall experience for the tens of thousands who travel from Maine and around the world to visit Owls Head.

A

NEW ENTRANCE designed as a visitor orientation space to welcome the public and guide visitors to the Museum’s extensive facilities, exhibits and areas of interest.

$2,300,000  (1.5 Million Pledged)

B

STEM COMMUNITY CENTER offers public spaces for educational and professional programming. The area will consist of an auditorium, research library, energy demonstration room, exhibit hall, lobby, cafe, and community conference room.

$2,043,500  (Pending)

C

RESTORATION WORKSHOPS + STORAGE ANNEX were both completed in 2023. The Restoration Workshop is a large, fully outfitted, open workspace. Staff and volunteers now have access to dedicated woodworking, welding, metalworking, wash bay, and paint booth areas. The building also includes staff offices, restrooms and shower facilities, plus a volunteer conference/breakroom. The Storage Annex offers a state of the art climate-controlled facility to properly store our collection.

$3,700,000  (Completed in 2023)

D

DIAMOND PORTAL has glass walls and a large retractable bay door to allow OHTM to bring collection vehicles right into the STEM Community Center. The Diamond Portal will also be used to observe airport operations and outside summer event activity.

$500,000

E

OUTDOOR LEARNING PAVILION will offer a distinctive covered patio connecting the restoration workshops with the main museum building. The area underneath this protected canopy will create a space for outdoor dining, events and demonstrations.

$1,500,000

F

STEM EDUCATION WING consists of 3 designated classrooms, a fabrication lab plus a STEM Education Theater with demonstration stage and state-of-the-art audiovisual technology for remote classroom capabilities. Interactive STEM exhibits will also be added to the wing.

$1,500,000

G

SITE DESIGN AND IMPROVEMENTS includes a new entrance approach to the museum which creates better traffic flow to accommodate larger groups and buses. The improvements will also boast attractive redesigned landscaping and convenient parking areas.

$706,500

“Within each of us lies the potential to create innovations that can change culture, society and the tools that control our lives.”

~ James S. Rockefeller, Jr. | Founder

 We need your help and support.

Museum Trustees and Staff have formed a Capital Campaign Committee to raise the funding necessary to achieve our vision. We hope that you will take an in-depth look at our plans and become part of this exciting future for OUR Museum.

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

Thomas H. Rudder, Board Chairman • James S. Rockefeller, Jr., Founder
Lawrence Woodworth, Chairman Capital Campaign Committee
John D. Karp, Vice Chairman • John Harris, Secretary • John Bottero, Executive Director