USS Nantucket Cmdr. Kari Yakubisin joins the MMA for Daffodil Weekend Programs and Events

• April 26, 2023

NANTUCKET, MA—The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announces a special visit and Daffodil Weekend programming in collaboration with USS Nantucket Cmdr. Kari Yakubisin and her Pre-commissioning unit (PCU Nantucket). 


On Friday, April 28 from 12-1PM, the MMA will host Cmdr. Yakubisin for a special edition “Nature Story Hour” at the Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk Street. Designed for the young explorer, during this session Cmdr. Yakubisin will read a themed book, assist in introducing you to one of the MMA’s educational animal ambassadors, and co-facilitate an aligned activity. Pre-registration is required with details on the MMA’s website. 


On Saturday, April 29, Cmdr. Yakubisin will be riding in the Nantucket Daffodil Festival Car Parade in a 1967 Jeep Jeepster owned by Andrea and Neil Planzer and sponsored by the MMA. The Jeep’s theme is saluting female leaders and honoring the connections between Maria Mitchell and the US Coast Survey, US Nautical Almanac, and US Navy. Mitchell was one of the first women, if not the first, to work for the US federal government.

“It’s an honor to host the Commander and to highlight the role Maria Mitchell played in the early years of the US Coast Survey and its ties to navigation, the US Navy, and the US Naval Observatory,” shared Joanna Roche, MMA Executive Director. “In its early years, Maria Mitchell worked alongside her father, William, as he worked for the Coast Survey taking astronomical and meteorological data that was then used to create tide maps – a critical tool needed for the US Navy and all mariners. She would later work for the Coast Survey on her own as well. In 1849, Mitchell was appointed as the first female computer for the US Nautical Almanac Office, which was attached to the US Navy. Her role involved performing complex mathematical calculations that were used to determine the ephemeris of Venus. This helped ships use the data collected for celestial navigation to determine the position of their ship while at sea.”


Cmdr. Yakubisin and PCU Nantucket will also be visiting Cyrus Peirce Middle School and Nantucket High School in an effort to reach local students and island residents, while sharing the mission of the USS Nantucket (LCS 27) to the broader community.

 

Cmdr. Yakubisin was commissioned in May 2005 via NROTC at Vanderbilt University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She completed Nuclear Power School and Prototype in Charleston, South Carolina in April of 2008. She earned her Master’s Degree in Engineering Management via Old Dominion University in 2013. 


Cmdr. Yakubisin has received numerous accolades and awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (three awards). She joined USS Milwaukee as Executive Officer in June of 2020 and became Commander of the USS Nantucket.

 

A Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) is a highly maneuverable, lethal and adaptable ship designed to support focused surface warfare, mine countermeasures and anti-submarine warfare. LCS integrates new technology and capability to affordably support current and future mission capability from deep water to the littorals.


Follow USS Nantucket at: USS Nantucket LCS 27 | Facebook


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.


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For Immediate Release

April 26, 2023

Contact: Logan Gomes, Director of Advancement

lgomes@mariamitchell.org

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By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 6, 2026
Well, actually replace the roof! With funding from the Community Preservation Act and the work of Lydon and Sons, Inc. the Mitchell House is getting a new roof. The current one had come to the end of its useful life. A cedar roof can last a long time – longer than asphalt – and is more historically accurate. The roof we are removing was installed in about 1992 – replacing a roof from the 1930s that was not cedar but a combination of materials that actually yes, did last sixty years. The unfortunate issue has arisen that the roofwalk (walk) has to be replaced. This is NOT the original walk – nor that old of a walk. It’s likely from the 1970s or so and has been cobbled at over time. It’s not a functioning walk – no one is allowed on it – but the Mitchell House needs it none the less. Maria Mitchell and her father, William, likely used the walk for astronomical observations – in addition to the yard – but the walk is also protected as part of the preservation easement on the House. Walks – NOT and NEVER called widow’s walks – were used for preventing and putting out chimney fire and roof fires. In a place where wood was expensive and had to be brought from “the main” these were purely utilitarian. What good Quaker (or non-Quaker) would build a platform for his wife to stare out to the harbor to see if her husband was on his way home? The other issue is that the walk was completely resting on the ridge board – and actually was notched to accept the pitch and tip of the ridge board so they couldn’t work around it. I suspect this may have been the ways walks were once built – and also a crafty and smart thinking carpenter who came up with the idea. It makes the walk lower. But between that issue and the age of the walk and then the blizzard of February 2026 that packed gusts over 83 MPH (that’s Category 1 hurricane winds) the walk gave in. Balusters had been knocked out and the railings were loose and pulling away from the posts. So, we will also be working with Barber and Sons to create a new roofwalk – and they agreed to do this for us quickly which is also no small feat given how busy everyone is these days. So from the bottom of the Mitchell House’s heart (and mine) a big thank you to Chris Lydon and Lydon and Sons and crew, Barber and Sons / Beau and Nate Barber, the Community Preservation Committee, and Nantucket Preservation Trust (our easement holder)! JNLF

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Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Welcomes Dr. Joshua Reding for “Dark and Quiet: Astronomy in the Age of Satellite Constellations” For April Science Speaker Series

April 1, 2026
NANTUCKET, MA—The Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) invites the community to “Dark and Quiet: Astronomy in the Age of Satellite Constellation” presented by Dr. Joshua Reding for its April Science Speaker Series. This free presentation will take place Wednesday, April 15 from 7 – 8pm on Zoom. In the past decade, the number of active satellites in Earth’s orbit has grown by a factor of 10. This breakneck growth in the commercial space industry has turned entrepreneur, investor, and policymaker eyes to the skies, but in the process has boxed out the historic stewards of the space domain: scientists. Explorers and pioneers across human history learned that uncharted territory hides unprecedented challenges, but the consequences of decisions made towards occupying the “final frontier” do not abide by international borders. Space operators therefore ignore the warnings and concerns of scientists not only at their own risk, but at the risk of everyone living under increasingly crowded skies. In this conversation, Dr. Josh Reding will explain how astronomers are trying to inform and guide policymaking for the rapidly changing space environment, both informally through volunteer action and advocacy and formally in domestic and international policy forums. Dr. Reding is an optical astronomer by training and now a radio spectrum manager by profession. He completed his B.A. with a double major in Astronomy-Physics and Philosophy at Colgate University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research investigated unusual white dwarf stars that likely formed in stellar mergers as “failed” supernovae and he has also designed astronomical instrument components and installed them at world-class observatories. Concurrent with the completion of his Ph.D., Reding began his professional science policy career as a North Carolina STEM Policy Fellow in the NC Department of Commerce’s Office of Science, Technology & Innovation. He was then selected for the American Association for the Advancement of Science Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, which places scientists in federal offices as expert contributors to ongoing agency missions. This event will be held via Zoom. Pre-registration is required. To register for the free, virtual event, use the registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5MoAybp5QHCasQ0QE5xmgQ#/registration The Science Speaker Series is generously sponsored by the Maria Mitchell Association’s lead sponsor, Bank of America. 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. ###
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