Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Announces Winter Hours and Programs at the Hinchman House Natural Science Museum

January 13, 2025

NANTUCKET, MA—The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA), your portal to Nantucket’s natural world, announces its winter program schedule at the Hinchman House Natural Science Museum – full of science education, research, and exploration of the sky, land, and sea of Nantucket Island.


MMA Hinchman House Natural Science Museum at 7 Milk Street Hours: Fridays, 3 – 7pm, Saturdays and Sundays, 10am – 2pm.


Winter Public Programs:

 

Ravenous Reptiles is offered Fridays, from 2:15pm – 3pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 – 9:45am. Learn about the unique adaptations of turtles, frogs, snakes, and more at the MMA Natural Science Museum! You will get to touch or hold several of the MMA Natural Science Museum animal ambassadors. If you love animals, this is a fantastic way to learn about native and non-native species up-close. Pre-registration is recommended. At least one adult must sign up with children. This program is designed to be interesting for adults and children ages 4 and up.

 

Nature Story Time is offered Saturdays and Sundays from 11 - 11:45am. Enjoy this program specially designed for the young explorer in your family! During each session, a MMA educator will read a nature or science related book, introduce you to one of the MMA’s animal friends, and will finish with an activity related to the story! This is a recurring program, but the specific focus and materials provided will change each week. This program is appropriate for children ages 3 and up. All children must be accompanied by an adult and all participants must register.

 

Pajama Story Time is offered Fridays from 7 – 7:45pm. Enjoy this program designed to delight children of all ages. During each session, a MMA educator will read science-based children's stories and lead activities that promote discovery and imagination. This program encourages children to develop a lifelong love of nature, reading, and learning and introduces them to the culture of reading. A story related craft is included. At least one adult must sign up with children. This program is designed to be interesting for children ages 3 and older. Pajamas are encouraged but not required.

 

STEAM Sensation is offered Fridays from 5 – 5:45pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 – 2:45pm. Join MMA naturalists for an exploration into the world of science! We will deep dive into the microscopic world, investigate shark biology, create agar art with bacteria, or collect and examine phytoplankton. Together, we will tap into our curious nature to uncover more secrets of the natural world. Each week, this program will specifically focus on a dedicated scientific topic! This program is appropriate for adults and children ages 5 and older. All registered children must be accompanied by a registered adult to participate in this program.

 

View the MMA’s calendar for all upcoming programs, including Bird Walks, Owl Prowls, and Birding 101 programs with Ginger Andrews, and our new Learning Lab Series featuring a range of topics designed to spark curiosity, brought to life by MMA experts and special guests: https://www.mariamitchell.org/calendar


The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages


###

For Immediate Release

January 13, 2025

Contact: Jónelle Gurley

programs@mariamitchell.org

Recent Posts

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger July 7, 2025
July 31, 1883. I had two or three rich days! On Friday last I went to Holderness, N.H.. to the Asquam House; I had been asked by Mrs. T to join her party. There was at this house Mr. Whittier, Mr., and Mrs. Cartland, Professor and Mrs. Johnson, of Yale . . . The house seemed full of fine, cultivate people. We stayed two days and a half. And first of the scenery. The road up to the house is a steep hill, and at the foot of the hill it winds and turns around two lakes. The panorama is complete one hundred and eighty degrees. Beyond the lakes lie the mountains.  The Asquam House sat atop Shepard Hill and was built in 1881. A hotel, it has space for fifty guests, it was located near Squam Lake and became part of a summer enclave that developed there in the later part of the nineteenth century. Today, the area is a National Historic Landmark, but sadly, the hotel was demolished in 1948. Maria would have been familiar with these people seen here – and others I did not include – but particularly John Greenleaf Whittier who was something of a family friend. He was close to one of her younger brothers, William Forester. JNLF
July 1, 2025
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.” -Edith Andrews
By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger June 30, 2025
As we are now complete with the conservation of the historic Maria Mitchell Vestal Street Observatory (MMO), I thought it would be good to post a series of blogs concerning it history and activities, as well as some of the amazing people who have made it what it is over the last 100 plus years. Therefore, over the next few weeks, the focus will be on the MMO. And it is now open for tours – Monday through Saturday 11-1PM. Founded in 1902, the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) had its beginnings in the Mitchell House where Maria Mitchell was born. Over the first few years, the preservation of the Mitchell House, family artifacts, and the collection and display of Nantucket’s native flora and fauna, as well as a small library, were the key components of the MMA. Special “Moon Evenings” were held on the lawn and people observed Nantucket’s night skies using several small telescopes, including William and Maria Mitchell’s two-and-three-quarter-inch Dollond telescope. The popular evenings led to the inevitable – a desire and need to expand based on the demands of the visitors to, and members of, the MMA. In 1906, Lydia Hinchman, a founder of the MMA and a family member, purchased the house and lot adjacent to the Mitchell House. The house – once the home of William Mitchell’s father and mother – was taken down. The MMA began a dialogue with the Harvard College Observatory and its director, Edward Pickering, Ph.D. The connection to Harvard was to become essential to the success of the beginning years of the Maria Mitchell Observatory and continued a legacy of friendship and work – Maria Mitchell and her father worked with the Bonds who once ran the observatory at Harvard and the families were close friends. Besides his assistance, Pickering asked a member of his staff, Annie Jump Cannon, to assist the MMA. This “provided an indispensable collaboration for Nantucket astronomy,” with Cannon spending two weeks on the island in 1906 and 1907 lecturing and teaching. While back at Harvard, she continued to teach the students on Nantucket by mail. Cannon would go on to be recognized as the leading woman astronomer of her generation and as the founder of the MMA’s Astronomy Department. JNLF
Show More