Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association to Open Properties for 2023 Season

June 14, 2023

NANTUCKET, MA—On June 12, 2023, the Maria Mitchell Association Aquarium, Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, Historic Mitchell House, Loines Observatory, and the MMA Research Center will open for the 2023 summer season.

 

The Historic Mitchell House, located at 1 Vestal Street, will be open for tours Monday – Friday, 10:00AM–4:00PM, and 10:00AM – 1:00PM Saturdays. Built in 1790, this traditional Quaker house was acquired by the Mitchell family in 1818. The home became a museum in 1903 when the Maria Mitchell Association’s founders acquired the house to preserve the legacy of one of Nantucket’s most celebrated daughters. The house contains many stunning artifacts from the Mitchells’ daily life in the nineteenth century, including many of Maria’s personal items such as beer mugs, opera glasses, and her Dollond telescope. The House is well known for the remarkably preserved example of faux-wood grain painting in the kitchen from the 1850s.

 

The Maria Mitchell Association Aquarium, located at 28 Washington Street, will be open Monday–Friday, 10:00AM –4:00PM, and 10:00AM–1:00PM on Saturdays. Located on the waterfront of Nantucket Harbor, the MMA Aquarium displays local Nantucket species and is an immersive place to learn about the amazing marine life of the island. Displays are consistently evolving and range from crabs and shellfish to fish and eels. All the hungry creatures at the Aquarium are fed daily during our Feeding Frenzy program where you learn about and observe unique feeding behaviors of our animal ambassadors. All ambassadors of the MMA Aquarium are locally collected and are re-released into the wild at the end of the season during the annual “Release Day" event.

 

The Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, located at 7 Milk Street, will be open Monday–Friday, 10:00AM –4:00PM, and 10:00AM–1:00PM on Saturdays. An exciting space for inquisitive minds of all ages, the Natural Science Museum is a cross between a classic natural history museum, a small zoo, and a science center. It is a beloved place to learn about the plants, animals, and birds of Nantucket. All the hungry creatures at the Museum are fed daily during our Ravenous Reptiles program where you learn about the unique adaptations of turtles, frogs, snakes, and more.

 

The Loines Observatory, located at 59 Milk Street Extension, will be open on Monday, Tuesdays, and Wednesday nights from 9:00PM – 10:30PM hosting two public Stargazing Open Nights sessions, and on Fridays 9:00PM – 9:45PM for one family-centered Stargazing Open Night program — weather dependent. When a special natural occurrence is forecast in the night sky – meteor showers, a new comet, lunar eclipse – the Loines Observatory is the place to be. During Stargazing Open Nights, visitors can view a variety of astronomical objects in the night sky through our   8-inch Alvan Clark refractor and our modern 24-inch research telescope. MMA staff will lead constellation tours and patrons can learn about the innovative research conducted by our astronomers and interns – a fantastic opportunity for all your astronomy related questions to be asked and answered.

 

The Maria Mitchell Association Research Center, located at 2 Vestal Street, will host Biological Collections Open Hours from 10:00AM – 12:00PM on Saturdays throughout the summer season. At Open Hours, visitors learn about the biological collections and their importance 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! This program is FREE to all visitors and preregistration is not necessary. The Research Center is accessible outside of the Biological Collections open hours by appointment.

 

The MMA Properties passes can be purchased for the Aquarium, Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, Loines Observatory, and the Historic Mitchell House. A property pass includes admission to the three museum sites and a Stargazing Open Night. The cost of a property pass is $12 for children, $22 for adults. Admission to Maria Mitchell Association properties and Open Nights is free to MMA Members.


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

June 5, 2023

Contact: Ava Rollins,

mmosscrop@mariamitchell.org

Recent Posts

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • July 6, 2026
July 15. {1863} My dear Sally . . . I think Mitchell is all right in his algebra. He can’t stand an examination in Trig but I don’t believe he will have a rigorous one. Father has seen the Prof. and will give him a letter to them.  If you can’t be honest with your sibling, who can you be honest with? Apparently, Sally Mitchell Barney’s son, William Mitchell Barney – known as Mitchell as his cousin William Mitchell Barney was known as Willie (how is that for honoring your father?!) – was visiting his aunt Maria and his grandfather, William Mitchell, at their home in Lynn, MA. Sally still lived on Nantucket and I suspect Mitchell was not only visiting but getting some much needed help with his mathematics by his aunt Maria. As always, she is brutally honest – he won’t pass a test in trigonometry (but, neither would I!). JNLF

Top O’ the Ridge!

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • June 29, 2026
In April and early May, at long last, the Mitchell House roof was replaced. (I noted this in an earlier blog.) I had also noted that the roofwalk, given the condition it was in and its location – sitting on the ridge – had to be replaced. They had thought they could jack it up – as they have done with other walks – but the Blizzard of February 2026 that was ALL wind (83 MPH winds – read Category 1 Hurricane) and no real snow, made the walk impossible to treat in such a manner (read: crumble). So, after much discussion, review by our preservation easement holder, and permits, as well as some fundraising, we are replacing the roofwalk. The prior walk was not the original. The original blew off in a gale in the late nineteenth century, replaced at some point in the 1930s, and likely replaced again in the 1960s or 1970s. Then, since that time, it was heavily repaired. Its framing members were notched to accept the ridge boards (read: peak) of the roof and I think that may have been an original way to construct a walk. Makes perfect sense – and gives the walk more support and a lower profile. It was after all about putting out chimney fires and preventing roof fires. People copied what worked – and there have been a few others noted to be built in this manner still. It presents an issue though – because if you need to work on the ridge board or close to it – you cannot get to it easily – I guess you may be able to access it to some extent by lifting the deck boards of the walk. The new Mitchell House roofwalk will sit about six inches above the ridge – which will also allow air to circulate better over the ridge and the shakes in that area. That is the only thing that will really be different. It is protected by a preservation easement – as part of the Mitchell House’s easement – and frankly, even if we did not have an easement, we would not want it to look any different. So keep your eyes to the skies at 1 Vestal as we work to re-build the walk. With a special thank you to Barber and Sons and Lydon and Sons. JNLF

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • June 22, 2026
1875, June 20. A meeting of the Officers of Congress was called at the house of Mrs. Hanaford, 5 Summit Ave., Jersey City. The weather was intensely cold. I went to New York on the 19 th and stopped with my friend Mrs. Clapp, 100 W. 54 St . . . .It was a question who should preside. Mrs. Hanaford thought the Chairman of the Executive Committee should and I had been told that I should, etc. The question was decided by the non-arrival of the Chairman of Ex.Com. I called them to order at an hour after the time appointed. Of course I made many blunders, as I have never presided before, but I continued for 4 hours. We did a few good things . . . The thing most weighing on Maria’s mind at this meeting was the looseness of membership for the Congress. She felt people were not being vetted properly in some areas of the country and thus they may allow in “undesirables.” I would take this to mean women who were not entirely behind the cause of the Congress and the Association for the Advancement of Women. I am not surprised by her suspicions and likely she was correct – one could see naysayers gaining access to this group and trying to destroy it from the inside. The women’s rights movement would have many schisms within it as people disagreed and broke into smaller factions.  Another important thing to point out is that Mrs. Hanaford is Nantucket-born Phebe Coffin Hanaford. Raised a Quaker, like Maria, Coffin Hanaford would become the first woman Universalist minister in New England – among many other firsts. She grew up with Maria, attended and taught at the Coffin School here on Nantucket, and was a founding member of another women’s organization, Sorosis, which Maria was also a founding member of. It’s nice to see two sister Nantucketers continuing to work together as adults – far from home! JNLF
Show More