Rockland — Coastal Children's Museum and Project Puffin have teamed up to present a free six-week series of educational programs for children ages 4-10 focusing on native seabirds and puffins. The series starts Thursday, July 19 and will be held every Thursday through Aug. 23.

The first program will be held at Project Puffin Visitor Center and will focus on the seabirds found in the Gulf of Maine and how to protect them. Children will explore a life-size burrow where baby puffins, aka pufflings, live, and a bird blind that scientists use to study them. The group will also watch a short film and tour the visitor center.

The subsequent weeks’ programs will be held at the Coastal Children’s Museum and topics include: Pufflings and You; Be a Gull Scientist; Predator & Prey; and Puffins in Print: Make your own puffin story. The sixth and final program will be a celebration with a scavenger hunt at the Project Puffin Visitor Center with button making, mural painting and more.

The program is limited to 12 children. Families are encouraged to sign up for the entire series. Sign up through Coastal Children’s Museum at info@coastalchildrensmuseum.org or 596-0300 or the Project Puffin Visitor Center at smeadows@audubon.org and 596-5566; or visit the organizations to register. The Project Puffin Visitor Center is at 311 Main St. and is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. The Coastal Children’s Museum can be found in Sharp’s Point South at 75 Mechanic St. in Rockland and is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The programs are free but donations will be accepted.

The next program, on Thursday, July 26, is Pufflings and You at the Coastal Children’s Museum from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Children will explore the world of a baby puffin as it grows during its first summer. Participants will make their own puffling to take home.

Courier Publications news staff can be reached by phone at 207-594-4401 or by email at news@courierpublicationsllc.com.