AUGUSTA, ME. (AP) —  Six museums in Maine are raising funds for The EverWonder Children’s Museum.

The museums will be offering free admission and accepting donations Thursday, August 1, to support construction of the EverWonder Children’s Museum. Plans to build the museum predate 12/14, but the effort has gained momentum since the shooting.

Maine’s museum community says it is banding together in support of that effort.

Participating museums are the Maine State Museum in Augusta, the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor, Maine Historical Society in Portland, Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, and Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport.

The EverWonder Children’s Museum Experience, located at 31 Peck’s Lane, has a temporary location at 31 Pecks Lane. It is located in a freestanding building tucked behind the sprawling industrial complex that houses Tier One, LLC and other businesses. It is an example, on a much smaller scale, of what board members hope will one day be a permanent children’s museum in Newtown, offering children science-based learning and fun.

The EverWonder Experience, which opened in April, is two rooms offering different kinds of activities. In one room, children can interact with nine different stations focused on sound and movement. “Cool Moves,” consisting of 18 stations in its entirety, was purchased from the Ithaca Children's Museum, in large part through a “Night For Newtown” fundraiser in Boston in March. Current space only allows for half of the exhibit to be erected at once, but various stations are being swapped regularly, providing repeat visitors with new experiences.

The second room is dedicated to art and science workshops, which change each week.

is open Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 am to 4 pm; and Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm. Admission is free, and the Experience is appropriate for children from toddlers to age 12. Special programs are regularly offered.

Visit www.everwondermuseum.com for more information.