RANGELEY — The Wilhelm Reich Museum on Dodge Pond Road will open for the season Wednesday, July 4.
Regular hours will be Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. in July and August.
Visitors can learn about Reich’s writings and how they came to be banned and burned by the federal government in 1956, and the programs and professional activities of the museum.
The tour of the museum starts off with a film: “Man’s Right to Know: The Story of Wilhelm Reich” which explains in animation how two of his inventions, the Cloudbuster and Accumulator, function.
The museum represents the life and work of physician-scientist Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957) and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The collections contain period furnishings, scientific instruments, paintings and works of art on paper, photographic materials, personal items, textiles and library materials.
The library contains several thousand published volumes, journals, and reports. Forty-six original paintings by Reich, several original drawings and a Kaethe Kollwitz woodcut, scientific charts, and an original blueprint are also in the collections.
Children can explore a hands-on Discovery Room. And the Observatory roof provides vistas of the region’s lakes and surrounding countryside.
Reich’s tomb, with its dramatic bronze portrait bust, is in a forest clearing nearby.
A bookstore/gift shop gives access to all Reich’s published work.
Private tours from April to October are available by appointment.
For information call 207-864-3443 or email wilhelmreichmuseum@gmail.com, or visit wilhelmreichtrust.org.
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