Special Birthday Speakers for Maria’s 200th Birthday Year!

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • June 18, 2018

I am very excited to highlight our three special birthday speakers for this summer whom I believe touch on the life of Maria Mitchell in special ways.  And, I am very pleased that they have all agreed to come from some far distances to help celebrate Maria’s 200th!


Our first speaker will be on Wednesday, June 27 at the Nantucket Atheneum.  David Baron’s most recent work is American Eclipse which came out last summer.  He featured five astronomers – as well as other notables – and their trials and triumphs of observing and documenting the eclipse of August 1878 in Colorado.  Maria is one of the featured astronomers as she travelled out west with several of her students – including her sister Phebe Mitchell Kendall – to observe and record the eclipse.  Baron makes the event come alive in this book and notes the frustrations, challenges, and successes of observing in the late nineteenth century.  It really is a must-read and we hope you will join us for this FREE lecture at 7PM on the 27 th .  A book signing will follow.  You can learn more about David Baron on his website. http://www.american-eclipse.com

On July 25, starting at 7PM at the Nantucket Historical Association’s Whaling Museum, we will welcome noted author, Dava Sobel.  Sobel is the author of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter , as well as numerous other books and articles.  Her newest book, The Glass Universe , looks at the women of the Harvard College Observatory and their work as star catalogers – an almost all female group.  The MMA has a unique tie to the Harvard College Observatory – Maria played a small role in this program, Harvard Observatory’s helped the MMA to develop its Astronomy Department back in the early 1900s. and we had several ties to the women who were Harvard’s star catalogers, including our first astronomy director, Margaret Harwood.  It’s a wonderful book and we hope you will join us.  Tickets can be purchased via the NHA at 508.228.1894 for $25.00.  A book signing and a special reception with the author will follow this lecture.  http://www.davasobel.com/


And finally on August 22, at the Nantucket Atheneum we will be hosting J. Drew Lanham.  Professor Lanham is the author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature as well as numerous articles, poetry, and research papers in peer reviewed journals.  He is the Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher and Certified Wildlife Biologist Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department at Clemson University.  He will be speaking about his work in songbird ecology and his perspectives on the role African Americans in natural resource conservation.  His book is a must-read!  His picture will be FREE and run from 7-8PM.  A book signing will follow.  http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/faculty_staff/profiles/lanhamj


Please join us and celebrate Maria Mitchell’s 200th!


JNLF

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Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association in Collaboration with Nantucket Dreamland Announce "Doktor Kaboom" Under Pressure!" Coming to Nantucket in March

February 18, 2026
NANTUCKET, MA— The Maria Mitchell Association, in collaboration with the Nantucket Dreamland, invites the community to two unforgettable and entertaining performances featuring Doktor Kaboom: Under Pressure! on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14. Doktor Kaboom’s interactive Science Comedy shows engage audiences of all ages. In Under Pressure!, Kaboom illustrates physical science concepts that are also metaphors for real-life mental and emotional pressures, validating what students may feel, while sharing tools for dealing with life’s challenges. Blending big ideas, explosive demonstrations, and humor, Kaboom keeps audiences riveted with interest and rolling with laughter. Hailed as, “part Mister Wizard, part Mr. Rogers,” Kaboom delights patrons with curiosity, creativity, and charm. Both performances are FREE to the public. This event is possible due to a grant from the Remain Nantucket Fund at the Community Foundation for Nantucket. Reflecting on both the impact of the performance and the partnerships that made it possible, MMA Executive Director, Joanna Roche, shared, “A heartfelt thank you to the Community Foundation for the generous grant that made it possible to bring Doktor Kaboom to Nantucket, and to the Nantucket Dreamland for hosting this extraordinary performance. I’ve known the good Doktor for nearly twenty years, and I have no doubt that his unique blend of humor, magic, and science will not only make you laugh, but also leave you with a renewed sense of wonder and a deeper connection to the world around you.” The Friday performance will be followed by an Ice Cream Bar, generously sponsored by Island Kitchen, and a photo opportunity with Doktor Kaboom in the Harborview Room. Event Details: • Dates and Times: Friday, March 13 at 7pm and Saturday, March 14 at 3pm • Location: Dreamland Theatre, 17 South Water Street • Special Offering: Friday, March 13 – Post-performance Ice Cream Bar in the Dreamland Theatre Harborview Room, generously sponsored by Island Kitchen, plus a photo opportunity with Doktor Kaboom • Tickets: Available at https://www.nantucketdreamland.org/events/doktor-kaboom-under-pressure • Cost: Free This community event kicks off another free collaborative event, the annual Nantucket STEAM Festival, taking place Saturday, March 14, 2026 at the Nantucket High School Gymnasium from 10am – 2pm. This event features hands-on activities celebrating science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics from over twenty community organizations. A sensory-friendly half house begins at 9:30am. Doktor Kaboom! was created, and is performed, by actor and comedian David Epley, who has discovered two passions in his life: science and mathematics. Epley first explored his love of hands-on learning, chemistry, and physics at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and later studied at the university level, exploring a degree in Chemical Engineering. Epley, a performer for over twenty years, has reached over 2,000,000 students and families, and has performed over 2,000 live shows worldwide. Epley lives in Seattle, Washington. About the Nantucket Dreamland: The Nantucket Dreamland is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the cultural and intellectual life of Nantucket by providing year-round films, educational programs, and a venue for community activities that engage Nantucket in the evolving world of entertainment and education. The Dreamland’s mission is to build community on Nantucket year-round by bringing people together to share experiences through film, art, culture, and learning. About the Maria Mitchell Association: 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 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. ######

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • February 17, 2026
1881, Feb. 26. Miss Whitney read Frances Power Cobbe’s “Lectures to Women” aloud to me. In the main they are excellent. I agree at almost every point. What she says about the duty of women in veracity, in cultivating both physical and moral courage, etc., in demanding not “favor but justice” . . . Mary Whitney would become the first president of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association. She was one of Maria’s first students and ultimately her replacement at Vassar College. She also took over for Maria when she left the College for a brief illness in 1880. On her second trip to Europe in 1873, Maria would seek Frances Power Cobbe out at her home. A suffragette, Power Cobbe was a philosopher and writer among other things, including an animal rights activist when it came to experimentation on animals. Born into a wealthy family in Ireland, Power Cobbe would travel in Europe about the same time as Maria did in 1857, meeting some of the same people Maria would meet such as Mary Somerville (Maria’s hero and an astronomer, mathematician, scientist, and polymath) and Harriet Hosmer (sculptor). I should not note this but Maria wrote about Power Cobbe’s large head –further stating that being a large woman, she would have a large head. Reviewing images of Power Cobbe, I hate to say it but I cannot disagree – with my apologies to Ms. Powers Cobbe. JNLF

Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Announces 12th Annual Nantucket STEAM Festival

February 10, 2026
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