Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association to Mark the 208th Birthday of Maria Mitchell

July 22, 2026

NANTUCKET, MA— Join the Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) as it hosts Maria Mitchell’s 208th birthday on July 31st on Vestal Street. Maria Mitchell’s birthday celebration is a free community event with astronomy and natural science activities, live animal displays, research demonstrations, summertime refreshments, an ice cream truck, and live period-inspired music by Susan Berman and Ray Saunders.


Admission will be FREE to the MMA’s Vestal Street sites! This afternoon of Maria Mitchell themed family activities will be held Tuesday, July 31st from 3pm – 5pm on Vestal Street, with the lower portion of the street closed to traffic. Join us for this annual event that the MMA has been hosting since our founding.


The MMA is named after America’s first female astronomer, Maria Mitchell. She is known for discovering a comet over Nantucket in October 1847. She went on to become the first female professor at Vassar College, where she was an inspiration to her students. She believed in learning-by-doing and in the capacity of women to achieve what their male counterparts could. “Miss Mitchell” was beloved by her students whom she taught until her retirement, due to failing health, in 1888. She died in 1889 and is buried beside her parents in the family plot at Nantucket’s Prospect Hill Cemetery.


The Maria Mitchell Association is a private non-profit organization. Founded in 1902, the MMA works to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. 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

July 22, 2026

Contact: Demi Grauer, Marketing Intern

marketinginterns@mariamitchell.org

Recent Posts

Hoop Rolling

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • September 14, 2026
Do you know what these Mitchell House Junior Historians are doing? It is a good old-fashioned round of hoop rolling. And, they had a lot of fun learning how to use them down at the Coffin School one day. Hoop rolling or hoop trundling were popular from very early on and well into the twentieth century. By early on I mean Ancient Greece even. It’s on ancient pottery and was not limited to children! Native Americans, ancient Rome, 16 th century England – it’s been known by different names, taken various formats, played by various ages, and played through various ages. In the nineteenth century, both boys and girls did hoop rolling – and it was likely seen as a more “ladylike” active game that girls could play. I’m assuming that is likely the reason why several women’s colleges still have I tradition of rolling hoops. We use these sometimes in the summer during our weeklong Mitchell House children’s program – Junior Historians. Do not be too surprised if you see me out on the lawn on Vestal Street practicing on warm days this fall, winter, and spring! Got to get up to speed! JNLF

Keep Calm and Bird On: September 2026

September 1, 2026
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.” -Edith Andrews

Mallow!

By Jascin Leonardo Finger • August 31, 2026
I’m sure you’ve seen it as you trek about the island – near the beaches and ponds. This image is of the swamp or marsh mallow that we have on Vestal Street in our garden out front of the Observatory. It can grow in drier places – though it’s not as lush as at Capaum Pond or out in Quaise. It’s in the Hibiscus family – and is fairly tropical looking and always a delight to see.  “When in bloom, one of the most showy plants of the Island, for a mass of the magnificent, large flowers on the edge of a blue pond causes one’s heart to thrill at the wealth of deep pink colour . . .” from Nantucket Wild Flowers, Alice O. Albertson (cousin of Maria Mitchell), 1921. JNLF
Show More