Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Fall 2023 Hours and Programs

September 15, 2023

Nantucket, MA – The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA), your portal to Nantucket’s Natural world, announces its schedule for another fall, full of science education, research, and exploration of the sky, land, and sea of Nantucket Island through its award-winning programs, events, and properties.


MMA Properties Updated Fall Hours – Effective the Week of September 11


MMA Aquarium (28 Washington Street): Thursday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm, through October 6

Hinchman House Natural Science Museum (7 Milk Street): Thursday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm through October 6, Friday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm October 7 through December 17

Historic Mitchell House (1 Vestal Street): Fridays, 10am - 1pm, through September 29,

*closed on September 22

Loines Observatory (59 Milk Street Ext.): Wednesdays, 8pm - 9:30pm through October 4

Research Center (2 Vestal Street): Saturdays, 11am - 1pm through December 17


Tours (self-guided, except at the Mitchell House where visitors take guided tours) are available on a rolling basis throughout the day and do not require a reservation. One all-properties MMA pass ($22 Adult, $12 Youth) includes admission to any four properties ** to be redeemed at the MMA Aquarium, Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, or Historic Mitchell House, and can be purchased in-person upon entering the properties. A single entry to the Historic Mitchell House is available ($10 Adult, $8 Youth). Please note, the property pass provides a single admission to a Stargazing Open Night, which must be registered for in advance online. The pass can be used for four total visits at any of the three other sites. Admission to all properties is FREE for MMA Members. Members receive a 10% discount on all public and private programs. Join today!


Fall Public Programs

Details and registration links for the programs featured below can be found on the MMA website’s calendar at https://www.mariamitchell.org/calendar.


Stargazing Open Nights at Loines Observatory are offered Wednesdays from 8pm - 9:30pm (two sessions) – $22 Adult, $12 Youth, free for Members, and included for those already holding an all-MMA properties pass. You must register for Open Nights in advance online at: www.mariamitchell.org/calendar for these 45-minute Observatory programs. The MMA Astronomy staff will lead constellation tours and guide visitors through different viewing stations inside and outside the observatory domes. Participants will have a chance to view astronomical objects through our historic 8-inch Alvan Clark refractor and our modern 24-inch research telescope. Get a chance to view the Moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae, and even other galaxies! Stargazing Open Nights will end for the season October 4 and shift to our “Look Up!” Program.


Feeding Frenzy is a daily program offered Thursday through Sunday, from 9am - 10am (group price is $125 - up to 5 guests). Join MMA Aquarium staff on a private tour as they feed the ever-hungry creatures at the Aquarium before it opens to the public! You will learn all about the fascinating marine animals as you observe their unique feeding behaviors. The Feeding Frenzy is extremely popular, so advance registration is required. The maximum capacity per registration is 5 guests. At least one adult must sign up with children. Feeding Frenzy ends October 6. The Aquarium will hold its annual Release Day on October 7 at 10am.


Ravenous Reptiles is a daily program offered Thursday through Sunday, from 9am - 10am ($15 per registrant). 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 display animals. 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. Ravenous Reptiles ends December 17.


Nantucket Bird Walk with Ginger Andrews is offered Saturdays from 7:45am - 10: 00am ($15 per registrant). Join Ginger Andrews, Nantucket native, MMA Field Ornithologist, and Inquirer and Mirror columnist, to look for amazing Nantucket birds. With fun facts, local natural history, and humor, Andrews leads a fascinating tour. Bird Walks will explore various habitats around town and beyond, depending on the availability of participants’ transportation. Indoor study, using the collections in the Research Center, may also be used on cold or rainy days. Nantucket Bird Walk will continue throughout the fall.


Biological Collections Open Hours is offered at the Research Center on Saturdays from 11am - 1pm (Free to all). Join the MMA's Field Ornithologist, Ginger Andrews, to learn about the collections, why collections are so important to science, and examine different specimens

during each session. From specimens of birds and mammals to insects and plants, you never know what will be on display! Biological Collections will continue throughout the fall.


Beach Biology Field Trip is offered Thursdays from 10am – 11am and alternating Saturdays from 1pm - 2pm ($15 per registrant). Join Aquarium staff to learn about the fascinating biology, ecology, and geology that make Nantucket's beaches so unique. We will discover shells and bones of over 15 species of marine animals and are likely to observe live mole crabs, sand fleas, shore birds, beach insects, and seals! This program meets at the ‘Sconset Market Parking Lot, 4 Main Street, Siasconset. Participants must have their own transportation. At least one adult must sign up with children. Beach Biology Field Trip will continue throughout the fall.


Marine Ecology Field Trip is offered Thursdays and Fridays from 1pm – 3pm ($20 per registrant). Help collect, identify, and release fish, crabs, shrimp, and other marine life! The Harbor is filled with interesting animals that will amaze you in their shapes, colors, and habits. This program is part of a long-term research project and is interesting for adults and children alike. This program meets at the Washington Street Ext. parking lot. Participants must have their own transportation. At least one adult must sign up with children. Marine Ecology Field Trip will continue throughout the fall.


Bug Bonanza is offered Thursdays and Saturdays from 1pm - 2pm, and Fridays and Sundays from 11am - 12pm ($15 per registrant). Enjoy an afternoon collecting insects with the Natural Science Museum staff! We will learn how to collect insects like a scientist, use microscopes, and read dichotomous keys to identify each creature that we catch. This is a recurring program, but the specific focus and materials provided will change each week. This program is appropriate for children ages 4 and up. All children must be accompanied by an adult, and all participants must register. Please check-in for this program at the front desk of the Natural Science Museum at 7 Milk Street. Bug Bonanza ends November 3.


Nature Story Hour is offered Thursdays and Saturdays from 11am - 12pm ($15 per registrant). 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. Please check in for this program at the front desk of the MMA Natural Science Museum at 7 Milk Street. Nature Story Hour ends December 17.


Nighttime Marine Ecology Field Trip is offered on September 16 (Members only complimentary event) and September 30 (Open to all) from 8pm - 9pm ($20 per registrant). Join our Aquarium staff to learn about the fish, squid, crabs, and more that come out to feed at night in the shallow water. This program meets at the MMA Aquarium at 28 Washington Street. Flashlight or headlamps will be provided, but feel free to bring your own lighting! At least one adult must sign up with children. Pre-registration is recommended.


Owl Prowl is offered on Thursdays from September 5 - September 28 with a start time 15 minutes before sunset and runs for 1.5-hours($30 per registrant). Join the MMA's Field Ornithologist, Ginger Andrews, as we listen for calls of a variety of nocturnal animals and birds. We will watch for owls as they begin their nightly activity. While an owl sighting is not guaranteed, you will certainly be able to observe several fascinating nocturnal animal species. This program is meant for adults, but children 8 and up are welcome to register with an adult guardian. Pre-registration is recommended. Owl Prowl ends September 28.


Big History Nights is offered on Thursdays from 8:15pm - 9:15pm ($15 per registrant, complimentary to all members). Join Dr. Rich Blundell, visiting Scientist-in-Residence at the MMA, for a weekly Big History Storytelling at Loines Observatory. "Big History," an academic discipline that examines history from the Big Bang to the present, has been pursued since the Renaissance. During this 60-minute visual lecture incorporating large-scale videos and the Loines Observatory telescopes, Dr. Blundell will tell the fascinating story of the cosmos and our place in it. Pre-registration is required. Big History ends September 28.


Earth Story Walk & Talk is offered on Thursdays from 10am - 11:30pm ($15 per participant). Join the MMA's visiting Scientist-in-Residence, Dr. Rich Blundell, on this 2.9 mile walk through the history of planet Earth. Each stride will account for approximately one million years of natural history. Along the way, we will stop to explore the major thresholds of geologic time and draw on the local setting whenever possible to help tell the story. Come ambulate and contemplate the established, scientific understandings, and reconsider how the events and processes of deep time have led to our current global predicament. By considering the broader scales of life on Earth, we will gain new insights to reinterpret science in more meaningful ways. Pre-registration is required. Earth Story Walk ends on September 28.


“Rockin’ Out” Nantucket is a two part exploration series of the geologic story and glacial charisma of the Grey Lady with Dr. Rich Blundell. Part One is offered on September 15 and 22 from 7pm - 8:30pm, and Part Two is offered on September 16 and 23 from 10am – 11:30am ($25 Adult, $20 Youth - both parts included) at the Maria Mitchell Association Research Center at 2 Vestal Street. I proofed the piece below for Jonelle – is this it? Its too long for here

Part One Rock Talk, is a presentation and popup rock quiz on the fascinating deep history of New England with a closer look at the glacial dynamics that shaped the Grey Lady. Through this informal conversational lecture, you’ll come to truly understand the deep nature of the beloved pile of glacial detritus we call home. Come be surprised by where and when the spectacularly diverse rocks on our trails and beaches come from and how they were made. You’re also invited to bring a pebble or stone to class because the evening will culminate in a fun “popup rock identification” session or you can try to “stump the chump” and win a prize.

Part Two Rock Walk, will follow-up to put what we learned in class into action. On a field-trip to a nearby beach, Dr. Blundell will teach you how to think like a geologist in order to decipher the secrets that rocks hold. Next summer, you’ll be able to amaze (or confuse) your friends with cool geologic science and indecipherable vocabulary. We’ll put our magma-minds toward

meditating on the subterranean stories of crystals that flow through fissures and tortuous realms of fault-zone metamorphosis. Come walk, whack, lick, and look at the stones of a bygone age. You’ll meet the Triassic basalts, metamorphosed granites, pegmatites, and porphyritic gabbros you’ve been wistfully walking over for years and finally fulfill the forgotten wishes of Devonian fishes.


Four Centuries Domestic Tour is offered on September 9 from 10am - 12pm. ($10 per participant). A unique and extremely popular collaborative walking tour with the MMA's Deputy Director & Curator of the Mitchell House, the Nantucket Preservation Trust, and the Nantucket Historical Association that looks at the changes in domestic life over four centuries and how it shaped homes, buildings, neighborhoods, and land use. Participants should meet at the Oldest House on Sunset Hill (tour will end on Main Street). The tour includes brief visits inside each building visited. No registration required.


Maria Mitchell and the Daring Daughters of Nantucket Island Walking Tour is offered on September 8 from 2pm - 4pm($15 per participant) and September 22 from 2-4pm and September 30 from 10-Noon. Join Jascin Leonardo Finger, curator of the Mitchell House, for a walking tour concerning the lives of Maria Mitchell and Nantucket’s famous and infamous women, as well as the lesser-known women of our island. Learn why whaling, Quakerism, and the isolation of an island afforded these women opportunities that women elsewhere in America at the time were not afforded. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.


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

September 6, 2023

Contact: Molly Mosscrop

mmosscrop@mariamitchell.org

Recent Posts

The Birth of the Maria Mitchell Observatory: Celebrating Over 100 Years of Discovery

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

Putting Things By

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • June 23, 2025
An older term, that we seem to not use that much anymore but maybe that’s in part because not many people “put things by” anymore. It is having a bit of a resurgence as people try to return to the garden and focus on local produce. My in-laws used to spend a lot of time – before I knew them – canning and preserving many different things – from jellies to string beans that became “dilly beans.” I, on the other hand, do not can produce. Frankly, I fear messing up the process and making my family sick. So, for now, I stick to making refrigerator jams and pickles. I have made some chive vinegar – that is frankly, amazing, and a brilliant shade of pink! But in any case, Bartlett’s Farm opened for pick-your-own strawberries on June 7 and I made my way over on June 8. My son has been asking for strawberry jam since about February – I told him I wait for fresh and local but he wanted some so badly he was begging for store bought. I almost caved but then I told him – out of season and they taste like cardboard – and also made a LONG journey to get to us. Once people ate with the seasons – now we do not have to with trains, planes, and ships crossing all over. It is also, why, oftentimes, fruit has no flavor. Produce is picked often before it ripens and “ripens” as it ships – or with sprays – and since many varieties have been crossed with others or engineered, we have lost the taste. I remember tasting a peach a few years back from North Carolina – fresh off the tree. After rubbing it to get all the “fur” off, I bit into an exquisite peach that tasted like a peach of my youth. So, Maria was not eating a strawberry in January but she was eating them in June – local and full of flavor. And likely, putting some by as well. JNLF

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • June 16, 2025
June 1851 My Dear Sister . . . . Mrs. Dassel has painted me kneeling at my telescope. It looks like Adeline Coffin and is of course not handsome. If thee was here thee would have Mitchell’s {William Mitchell Barney, son of Sally and Matthew Barney} painted at once. She has a head of a child N. P. Willis that is very lovely. She has taken a room at the Atheneum and put up about a dozen pictures – very beautiful – Isabel is lovely. She has not tried to make a portrait, but a very pretty picture . . . . She is now engaged on Abra’m Quary – he is much flattered by it and it will be a fine portrait. I think we shall buy it or a copy for the Atheneum . . . . She will paint father also for herself – having made a pencil sketch . . . .We like her very much . . . . The above is from a letter sent by Maria Mitchell to her eldest sister, Sally Mitchell Barney. In it, Maria details what everyone in the Mitchell family is up to. She includes some details about Herminia B. Dassel, an artist who came to Nantucket to paint the last Native Americans and also took an interest in the famous Mitchell family. This was of course four years after Maria’s discovery of the comet. At the time of this letter, Maria was still the librarian for the Atheneum and the portrait of Quary that she mentions possibly buying for the Atheneum, she did buy as it hangs in the Atheneum by the front door today. Another Dassel portrait of Quary is in the collection of the Nantucket Historical Association and the portrait of Isabel Draper is currently on display at the NHA’s Whaling Museum – on loan from a museum in Rhode Island. The portrait Maria states she posed for at the start of the letter is in the collection of the MMA. It was given to us in the early 1990s by Sally’s great granddaughter – the granddaughter of Mitchell whom she mentions above as well. Maria and Dassel would become good friends – Maria was named the godmother of Dassel’s daughter. And the sketch of William made by Dassel that Maria states would become a portrait? It likely did come to fruition. It made its way down a side of the family but was unfortunately lost, likely sold as part of a family estate though we do have a photograph of it and one can tell it is the brush work of Dassel. JNLF
Show More