Central Maine’s L.C. Bates Museum has preserved natural history for more than a century. Now it must preserve itself.

MORNING SENTINEL • June 20, 2024

Deborah Staber has been the director of the L.C. Bates Museum for more than 30 years. She can’t remember a time when there wasn’t some sort of renovation or preservation work going on at the museum. Staber describes the museum as “one of the last remaining collections of cabinets of curiosities in America.” In addition to the ongoing effort of preserving its extensive collection of natural and human history, Staber says the museum is always working to preserve itself, too. As the museum celebrates the 100th anniversary of its first taxidermized animal exhibits, Staber hopes that the renovation work now will help keep one of the country’s most unique and eclectic museums thriving through the next 100 years.