Capital Campaign Phases

The Exhibit Hall and Lobby is a 4,000 square foot space that will be built within the existing footprint of the museum. The space will be retooled to serve the public better as an information hub, centralized admissions area, a place to highlight and recognize partners, a rotating exhibit location and a space that is able to transform into a community event area. The Exhibit Hall and Lobby is a place where students, adults and groups will gather before they decide which program, demonstration, or area of the museum they should explore first. New flooring comprised of polished concrete and tile will be installed to handle the year-round crowds of visiting students and groups in a safe and well-lit area.

When visitors enter the museum, the area will be conducive for orienting, organizing, gathering information, and establishing protocols with groups. A LED screen will continuously display digital content to give the visitor an immersive experience. By creating digital content about our STEM programming and related OHTM collection pieces, students and visitors are learning from the time they step in the front doors. The flexibility of this area also serves our community as a unique educational related area that is available to hold smaller events and functions. There are limited options for this kind of community venue in our area and the space would be a welcome asset. 

In the admission area, two stations with terminals will be created with large overhead information screens and wayfinding tools to handle the larger crowds of school children and adults. The updates in the Exhibit Hall and Lobby will create a safe, educational, informational, and enticing area to handle larger crowds of visiting students, adult groups, and individuals that this completed project will attract and serve. Currently, the OHTM attracts over 40,000 visitors to the museum, helping to support the local economy.

The Auditorium and STEM Exhibit Hall are a combined 4,637 square feet  and will be built within the existing footprint of the museum. The Diamond Portal is 1,200 sq. ft. and will be built as an addition to the museum’s existing footprint. All three of these spaces will be used as flexible education, exhibit, demonstration, community spaces, STEM Educational conferences, and professional spaces and can be opened to act as one space or closed into two distinct areas depending on programming and need. An expandable wall with supporting steel frame separates the Auditorium from the STEM Exhibit Hall. The

Auditorium will have tile flooring and a hung ceiling with adjustable lighting and storage closets. There will be an extensive AV package with sound that can be expanded into the STEM Exhibit Hall and an oversized LED Screen wall. With expanded AV capabilities our mission of STEM-based programming and partnering throughout the state will be a reality! OHTM live and prerecorded programs can be shared with students in rural, remote, and low-income areas with no access to STEM-based learning tools in 16 Maine counties where a WIFI connection is present. The STEM Exhibit Hall has a polished concrete floor, and overhead lighting, spotlights, and exhibit lighting.

The Diamond Portal will have its own foundation because it is an addition to the museum’s existing footprint. It will have glass walls and a space frame ceiling, with exterior glass garage doors. This area will allow OHTM to bring collection vehicles right into the classroom. The STEM educators at the OHTM will utilize our collection as unique tools to assist with STEM-based programming to increase engagement to address post-covid learning loss issues. The Diamond Portal will also be used to observe airport operations and outside summer event activity.

DescriptioThe Research Library is 1,000 sq. ft. and will be built within the existing footprint of the museum. It will have 25 feet of glass walls looking out onto the lobby area with hung ceiling, office lighting, carpet, shelving, tables and chairs, file cabinets and expandable storage racks.  This area will be a repository of all research materials and documentation pertaining to our collection of automobiles, aircraft, engines, motorcycles, and ephemera. It is a rare and irreplaceable repository of transportation history that will be made available to the public in Maine. A small office for the curator will be attached to this space.n text goes here

Item descriptionThe Outdoor Learning Pavilion is a new 11,000 sq. ft. covered outdoor learning space. This is a free-standing structure with concrete pavers and landscaping that will connect the main museum building with the neighboring aviation/automotive workshop building. The entire area is covered by a custom tensile fabric tech inspired architectural canopy. The canopy will have lighting, audio, seating, and dining tables. This area will be a 3-season outdoor demonstrations area. It will shelter students and guests during demonstrations and act as a covered passage for adults and students visiting the aviation/automotive workshops. This area is adjacent to the OHTM Café and will serve as a protected outdoor dining area. The Outdoor Learning Pavilion directly connects our indoor STEM educational programming with our unique collection and the real-world skills being done by staff and adult volunteers in the aviation/automotive workshops. This is a unique opportunity to expose as many Maine students as possible to this kind of hands-on, STEM-based learning in a real-world scenario.

The Community Conference Area is 925 sq. ft. and will be built within the existing footprint of the museum. The floor will be polished concrete, with overhead lighting, spotlights and storage areas, and glass overhead doors will be on the wall facing outside to the Outdoor Learning Pavilion. ADA bathrooms are available in the hallway outside the conference area. An expandable wall will close off this room or open it into the Café eating area. This is a flex area to be made available for school groups that can be used as a community meeting space or expanded area for dining.

The Café is 1,200 sq. ft. and is already located within the existing footprint of the museum. It has polished concrete floors. This area will have glass overhead doors that will look out onto the Outdoor Learning Area. Kitchen and food prep are already in place and adjacent to the Café. Because of the increased volume of students visiting the museum, we do not currently have an appropriate lunch area for them. This is especially needed for students who are visiting from a distance. With the Café and Community Conference area fully operational, the OHTM will be able to have seating for multiple students and schools at a time in a safe, organized, and supervised environment. 

The Energy Demonstration Room is a 19,000 sq. ft. space and sits within the existing footprint of the museum. It is an immersive demonstration and exhibit room that investigates the tales of transportation's earliest engines that powered the Industrial Revolution and set the future in motion, connecting the past and the present, and investigating reusable energy and weather changes in transportation history. This immersive experience and programming within this area is known to spark a student’s enthusiasm and engagement for STEM-based learning and future STEM related fields.