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Project Puffin Visitor Center - A unique place that both educates and entertains the public on the conservation efforts of this Maine seabird

When you think of Maine, you may envision the puffin bird. If you are looking to understand a little more about this animal and other Maine seabirds, Rockland offers access to the Project Puffin Visitor Center. The Center celebrates the success of Project Puffin in bringing puffins and other rare Maine seabirds back to historic nesting islands along the Maine coast. At the Project Puffin Visitor Center, visitors of all ages can view puffins and other seabirds in real time through a remarkable video system that delivers live video to the center. Visitors can also learn about the success and challenges faced by Audubon and its conservation partners to restore and protect the seabirds on Maine islands and beaches.

The second that people walk into the Project Puffin Visitor Center, they are surrounded with colorful murals, maps, and other fun educational information about seabird conservation in Maine. Visitors can also experience the breathtaking photographs of these seabirds by Project Puffin photographer Bill Scholtz. Packed with interactive exhibits for people of all ages, Project Puffin Visitor Center features:

• Real-time video images and sounds (thanks to robotic cameras funded by grants from MBNA Foundation and the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund) of puffins and other seabirds from remote Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge, just 20 miles south of Rockland. Using the equipment, visitors can operate the camera remotely from the center changing and zooming in on different views of the colony, burn their own DVDs, and print photos.

• A theater featuring the 20-minute film Project Puffin about the exceptional people that took innovative action to bring puffins and other seabirds back to the Maine coast.

• Maps and exhibits (including a child-friendly crawl into a puffin burrow and an actual size observation blind). The exhibits highlight Audubon's conservation work on Maine seabird islands, and facts about wildlife conservation, seabird adaptations, bird-band reading and birds' life histories.

• There is also a gallery that features seabird art and photography, as well as a gift shop offering nature-related books, videos and clothing, Puffin-themed novelties and gift items. Visitors also have the opportunity to access educational material and information about joining and supporting Audubon's work in Maine.

• Schedules and other information about seabird-watching boat tours to Maine coastal islands.

• Descriptions of residential programs for youth and adults at historic Hog Island Audubon Camp in midcoast Maine.

• Lastly, you can obtain additional information about other Audubon projects as well as Audubon's work for wildlife conservation in Maine.