The Wendell Gilley Museum welcomes visitors of all ages and strives to create a safe and hospitable environment. Because many of our visitors cannot receive a vaccine against Covid-19 – including those with conditions that put them at high risk, and all children younger than 12 – we ask that everyone wear a mask while on museum property. This will be our policy for the season. We look forward to seeing you, and offer our thanks in advance for helping us create the safest possible experience for everyone.

The Wendell Gilley Museum will be closed this week out of an abundance of caution, following a positive Covid-19 test for an employee over the weekend.

“To best support and protect our patrons and staff, we are following the most up-to-date guidance from the CDC, Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, and our local health professionals,” said museum director Sean Charette.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in the U.S. in 2020, the Gilley has required face coverings for everyone inside the museum, and has limited the number of people inside the museum at any one time, and required social distancing.

Anyone who has questions or concerns, please contact Mr. Charette at sean@wendellgilleymuseum.org.

The museum will reopen to the public on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 10am and resume normal operating hours of Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm.

Hank Tyler, a carver respected internationally for his depictions of birds in hardwoods and his work in environmental conservation, will be with the Gilley in October as our featured artist for People-Nature-Art. His work is in many private collections, and in museum collections including ours. Hank’s style is a blend of realism and slight abstraction, with the wood grain playing a major role in each sculpture’s design. Action, too, is always a part his is carvings, whether it’s petrels soaring over ocean waves, sandpipers feeding on mudflats, or owls alert for prey. He uses many different hardwoods in his work, always working from a single piece, hand carving with chisels, and finishing only in Tung oil.

A native of Brunswick, Maine, who began carving in high school and studied with Charles "Chippy" Chase, Hank now lives in Australia and will be joining us online via Zoom. People-Nature-Art is the Gilley’s signature monthly year-round series that brings artists, writers, carvers, and creative types of all kinds to the Gilley to share how nature impacts their art and how that art affects their approach to the natural world.  

This special online event is offered at no charge, but reservations are required. Reserve your spot HERE.

Join the Wendell Gilley Museum and researchers from Schoodic Institute on two consecutive Thursdays to participate in an ongoing long-term study by Schoodic Institute about the connections among plants, insects, and the birds that eat them. No prior field experience is necessary. This is a learn-by-doing event where your efforts will contribute vital data toward understanding the changing biodiversity of Acadia National Park. October is an important month for migrating songbirds, seabirds, and raptors. Seabirds sail over the water, raptors use thermals and mountain updrafts, and songbirds feed by day among insect and fruit-laden forest environs. Plan on investing two hours of easy, slow-paced trail walking and help gather data using iNaturalist, Nature's Notebook, and eBird. Seth Benz, Schoodic Institute's Bird Ecology Director, and a team of field technicians will provide instruction.

This is the first of two special opportunities, and happens at Sieur de Monts on Oct. 7 beginning at 9:30am. Registration required for each field experience separately. There is a $10 fee per person, per day, and space is limited to 18 people.