All the Trappin’s Penobscot Marine Museum salutes Maine’s favorite crustacean in a summer-long Searsport event

What’s blue and green and red all over?

Lobstah, deah.

Live, cooked, on the ocean floor or on the table, the lobster is among our state’s most beloved – and delectable – symbols. And the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport is holding a summer-long celebration of Maine’s favorite crustacean.

“Lobstah: From Bait To Plate” includes interactive exhibits on the life of the lobster, a juried art show that features work by such well-known Maine painters as Andrew Wyeth as well as fine art and crafts by lobstermen and their families, an exhibit on Maine’s lobster boat racing tradition, and a chance to stand behind the wheel of a 1950s Beals Island lobster boat. (It’s in a barn, so you won’t get too far, but it’s interesting nonetheless).

“We try to have really exciting summer exhibits rather than just having the museum open,” said Mac DeFord, executive director at PMM. “You’ve got to have something that attracts not only people who know the museum, but people who have never been to the museum.”

The show follows up last summer’s wildly popular “Pirates” exhibition, which included the Farnsworth Art Museum as well. Shops, restaurants and galleries along Route 1 flew pirate flags to show support and pique the curiosity of passers-by. Lobster flags are en route.

“The pirate flags were easy, but there aren’t so many lobster flags around,” DeFord said.

Flags or not, DeFord, designer Chez Cherry and Ben Fuller, who is regarded as one of the country’s pre-eminent maritime curators, have assembled an exhibit that appeals to people of all ages. You enter the “Life of the Lobster” room through a “trap” door. A live lobster lounges in a tank near the entry. Underwater footage from lobster research dives plays in a “submarine” cinema. And you can step up to a human-scale lobster ruler to see whether or not you’re oversized, too short, or – worst-case scenario – dinner.

“It’s a really cool exhibit, but it’s also got an enormous amount of useful information,” DeFord said.

Tags throughout the room highlight lobster trivia and fun facts – did you know that when they started canning lobster, 4- and 5-pounders were average, and 2-pound lobsters were considered too small to deal with? A video documentary charts a day in the life of a lobster fisherman, while photographs, buoys and lobster traps round out the scene.

In the art gallery, a different scene unfolds – lobster as art. A trio of Wyeth watercolors, on loan from the Farnsworth, where DeFord once headed up the board of trustees, sets the tone for the show. Juried by Fuller, one of the curators at the Farnsworth, and two lobstermen, the exhibit boasts a wide range of fine art and craftsmanship – from an abstract scene of vibrant lobster traps to a whimsical sculpture of a lobsterman meeting a mermaid, titled “A Catch Worth Waiting For.”

“I think they’re really great. Some are a lot of fun; artistically some are great,” DeFord said. “It’s an exciting art show.”

Students from Searsport District High School have also contributed glass and ceramic sculptures, as well as a few works on paper, which are on view in a separate gallery. Nearby, the museum staff recently installed a ramp to make an original Beals Island lobster boat more accessible. And during Rockland’s Lobster Festival in July, the museum will hold model lobster boat races.

“It’s really an educational exhibit that we hope is being delivered in a way that makes it fun as well,” DeFord said.

Kristen Andresen can be reached at 990-8287 and kandresen@bangordailynews.net.