The Abbe Museum started out as the modest trailside repository in Acadia National Park.—FILE PHOTO

BAR HARBOR — The Abbe Museum is celebrating its 80th anniversary with a creative fund-raiser party on Wednesday, Aug. 13, and outdoor festivities on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008, the actual birthday. The public is invited to get to know more about the Abbe’s years of achievement by visiting the museum this summer and taking part in the anniversary celebration.

Fulfilling a mission of promoting understanding and appreciation for Maine Native American culture, history and archaeology, the Abbe Museum maintains a collection of Wabanaki artifacts and material culture, and presents exhibitions and programs for the public year round.

From a small trailside museum of Stone Age artifacts, the Abbe Museum has grown into a leading cultural organization in the Northeast due to years of commitment by members, donors, and scholars, and loyalty of volunteers, friends and summer residents. Dedicated to being an exceptional multidisciplinary resource for the community, the museum welcomes and encourages the public to discover the distinct and proud heritage of the Wabanaki.

To commemorate the 80th milestone, the museum is bringing back Paddle Art! silent and live auctions of wooden canoe paddles hand-decorated by local and national artists, on the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 13. See related story.

It has since grown to include a modern facility on Mount Desert Street in downtown Bar Harbor.—FILE PHOTO

On Thursday, Aug. 14, Abbe members, staff, and trustees invite the public to join them in a “march back in time” stroll from the Abbe Downtown to Sieur de Monts Spring, leaving between 8 and 8:30 a.m. The easy 30-minute walk through the woods is a perfect family adventure for a summer morning. Walkers will arrive at the original Abbe location at Sieur de Monts in time for a Native blessing by David Sanipass, a Micmac, at 9:30 a.m. Mr. Sanipass will also play flute throughout the morning, setting the mood for guests who wish speak and share memories of the Abbe. A special cake-cutting and coffee reception will be followed by flint-knapping demonstrations beginning at 10:30 a.m.

There will be a touch table of furs, stones and bones, and the opportunity to gather around a birch bark canoe while Butch Phillips, a Penobscot, talks about everything the Wabanaki traveler needs for a canoe trip down the Penobscot River. Visitors can check out the harpoons, pack baskets and paddles.

From 1 to 3 p.m., the White Owl Duo will serenade visitors with meditative melodies played on handmade wooden flutes. Husband and wife duo Laura Lee Perkins, a Lakota/Maliseet, and Kenneth Green, a Micmac, will be presenting a flute lesson workshop at the Abbe Downtown the next day from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, Aug. 15.

The Abbe Museum at Sieur de Monts Spring is located just off the Park Loop Road via Route 3 near The Jackson Laboratory. It is easily accessible by road, however parking is limited. The free Island Explorer shuttle bus makes regular stops to the area.

Also on the anniversary day, Thursday, Aug. 14, the museum will be open free of charge all day for visitors to see the current exhibition downtown “By Native Hands: Woven Treasures from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art” and to leisurely explore updated historical displays at Sieur de Monts Spring.

The Abbe Museum first opened to the public in 1928, a short six months after the death of its founder, summer resident and New York City physician, Dr. Robert Waldo Abbe. Built as a memorial to Dr. Abbe by his friends, a small Italian-style stucco structure was built next to Sieur de Monts Spring in Acadia National Park, then called Lafayette National Park. The quaint museum house Dr. Abbe’s vast accumulation of archaeological artifacts, and workers strove to establish awareness about the region’s prehistory. The Abbe Museum was to become the first institution in Maine to sponsor archaeological research and conduct extensive excavations throughout Maine. The tradition continues with the annual Archaeology Field School.

In 2001, the museum opened a second location at 26 Mount Desert Street in Bar Harbor to accommodate its expanding collections and to provide more interpretative exhibits for the public. In addition to archaeological collections, the Abbe’s holdings include a wide assortment of Native baskets, carvings, beadwork, photographs and ephemera. As an example, the Abbe has the largest, best-documented collection of Maine Indian baskets in the Northeast, acquired through purchases and gifts from major Native and non-native donors. The Abbe Downtown hosts a year-round schedule of exhibitions, community gatherings and educational workshops, and has a well supplied museum shop of Native artwork, books and teacher resources.

For more information, visit abbemuseum.org or call 288-3519.