Here’s to hoping for warmer weather and sunny days! We are looking forward to more time outdoors, longer days, and green landscapes. May is packed with exciting activities here at the MMA – we’ve got several things planned with the Nantucket Wine Fest, including a collaboration this year with NiSHA: we are hosting “Yappy Hour” at 33 Washington Street, so bring your dogs! We’ve even got a special run of leashes planned in partnership with Pawsitivity. We are opening our new “Sea Shop” at 32 Washington Street this month, check our website for more information. This will be the site of our Aquarium until our Discovery Center and Aquarium is ready to go in a few years. The Sea Shop will have a great selection of nature based gifts and marine supplies.
Loines Observatory is open on Thursday evenings, please join us for our free community programs and learn more about the night sky of Nantucket. A great big thank you to the Nantucket Public Schools, the Nantucket Boys and Girls Club, and the Community School for helping to make our Eclipse Day epic. We had more than 1500 people turn out to watch the great North American eclipse together!
In this time of preparation for our official summer opening (June 10th), as we welcome our class of 2024 interns, I want to thank the amazing and talented team at the MMA for their energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to making it all happen. Their efforts to create the Eclipse event were outstanding and I am grateful and proud every day to work alongside such remarkable humans.
Maria Mitchell and the Daring Daughters of Nantucket Island
with Jascin Leonardo Finger, Curator of the Mitchell House
Saturday, May 4 | 10am - 12pm
Join us 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.
A unique and extremely popular collaborative walking tour with Jascin Leonardo Finger, the MMA's Deputy Director and Curator of the Mitchell House, the 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. Tour includes brief visits inside each building visited.
Pre-registration is recommended. Contact 508.228.2896 to register.
Photo by Tom Griswold
Pop Up Nantucket Bird Walk
with Ginger Andrews
Friday, May 24 | 8 - 10am
Explore Nantucket’s birdy landscapes and hidden nooks with local bird guide and Inquirer and Mirror columnist, Ginger Andrews. With so many varied habitats so close together, the Island is a great place to look and listen for birds. Our location out at sea makes for a fascinating mix of migratory species and year-round residents. Dry humor—always useful in a foggy environment—natural and human history, unexpected rarities, and other stories fill out the picture. Children 8 and up are welcome with an adult guardian. Loner binoculars available. Wear sensible shoes, dress for the weather. You never know what may turn up.
Sponsorship opportunities for the Stargazer Gala, are now live. Pleaseclick hereif you are interested in becoming (or returning as!) a sponsor this year or contact Tess McCarthy at tmccarthy@mariamitchell.org.
Your sponsorship enables us to:
Serve over 22,000 learners of all ages each year through 650+ public programs.
Provide award-winning, STEAM-based summer camps and after-school programming.
Offer year-round science curriculum in Nantucket's public and private schools.
Conduct and publish internationally acclaimed scientific research
Maintain our facilities and collections where science and history come to life.
Join Tito’s Handmade Vodka, the Vodka for Dog People, to celebrate our favorite four-legged friends on Sunday morning at 33 Washington Street. Start your day with a Tito’s “Hair of the Dog” Bloody Mary, donuts and delicious pastries.
There will be toys and treats for dogs—please bring your best friends!
This annual Nantucket Wine Festival fundraiser celebrates the island’s love and support of dogs, Tito’s generosity and mission – and NISHA’s amazing dedication to our island animals.
Help raise funds for Nantucket Island Safe Harbor for Animals (NiSHA) and make the island and beyond a better place for all animals. 100% of ticket sales and donations will go to Nantucket Island Safe Harbor for Animals (NiSHA). Tito’s Handmade Vodka will generously match all funds raised.
The Hinchman House Natural Science Museum is Open!
The MMA's Cecropia Silk Moth emerged from its cocoon after ten months, and it was worth the wait!
This beautiful moth was released into the wild. Photo by Christina Norman, Aquarium Manager
Birding News
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.”
-Edith Andrews
Just dropping in for a bath, this Wilson's Warbler shows you never know what will turn up on Nantucket. Photo by Trish Pastuszak
Keep Calm and Bird On!
For most birders, the month of May is celebrated with warblers—migration season’s crown jewels for sheer color, variety, satisfaction, and bragging rights. Nantucket doesn’t make this easy. Compared to the mainland, our beloved island can be a warbler washout. The chilling effects of the ocean, even our mere thirty miles at sea, slows down the emergence of blooming plants and insect life. It often deters the warblers that specialize in dining on them. With a short window to the breeding season, birds are in a hurry to get settled; they have to be.
That said, we sometimes catch a rarity that is less common on mainland routes. Southern species such as a Prothonotary or Yellow-throated Warbler may make a pit stop on a trip of exploration. This is how birds adapt to changes on the ground; ranges expand north or east. But we can’t count on it. With luck, we might get a sudden mini-fallout if weather shifts and sends a few ashore at the west end or Sconset. These typically last an hour or less, so it pays to be prepared for a quick chase.
For easier looks at a greater number of species, it’s worth a trip to America. Try Cape Cod National Seashore’s Provincetown beech forest, or Cambridge’s Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Known as “The Birders’ Cemetery” for the famous ornithologists interred there, it is well worth a pilgrimage. And while long-gone birders are a pretty silent crowd, contemporary observers are frequently there, watching, listing, and willing to help.
And to catch up on partial eclipse birding observations, one observer reported no change, while another noticed a sudden silence, followed by some roost-ward movement, which ceased when light increased again. If you took notes during the eclipse, please send them along.
Photo by Tom Griswold
MMA Bird-A-Thon
Friday, May 17 at 5pm to Saturday, May 18 at 5pm
How many birds can local birders find in twenty-four hours? It’s a challenge Island birders have been giving themselves for more than twenty years. From 5PM on Friday, May 17 through 5PM on Saturday, May 18, the Maria Mitchell Association invites birders of all ages, experienced and novice, on Nantucket to participate in our annual Bird-A-Thon. At the close, birders come together to pool their lists and see how many species were here in that snapshot of time.
The goal of the Bird-A-Thon is to encourage participants to notice birds in their daily lives. Following the end of event, the MMA will host a live count session, to officially count the species seen, at the MMA Research Center on Saturday, May 18 at 5:30 PM.
Anyone birding on Nantucket during the Bird-A-Thon window is welcome to participate. MMA Members and Non-Members, Nantucket residents and non-residents can participate by donating, however only birds counted on Nantucket qualify as a part of the official count!
Highlights from 2023 were a Wood Thrush, Merlin, American Coot, Northern Pintail. Nearly everyone of the eighteen observers in six groups contributed something unique for the list! We look forward to this year's highlights!
All donations to the Nantucket Bird-A-Thon support the MMA’s conservation of its renowned Edith F. Andrews Ornithology Collection and activities related to the MMA’s work on bird conservation education.
To register as a birder for this event, please follow the link below to register by Friday, May 17 at 12pm.
The MMA Facilities Will Open for the Season on Monday, June 10!
The Hinchman House Natural Science Museum at 7 Milk Street, the Loines Observatory at 59 Milk Street Extension, the MMA Aquarium newly located at
32 Washington Street, and the Historic Mitchell House at 2 Vestal Street will be open to the public next month. We are thrilled for another season ahead!
Renew or activate your membership for unlimited free admission to our Aquarium, Natural Science Museum, and Historic Mitchell House. Plus free admission to Open Night at Loines Observatory, a 20% discount on programs and merchandise, and so much more! Click to learn more.
“The Nature of Nantucket” and “The Star Report”
Check out our own podcast, "The Nature of Nantucket," brought to you by 97.7 ACKFM. This program airs on 97.7 every Sunday at 7:20am. You can listen to full episodes on Apple or Spotify. While you're there, don't forget to check out our weekly "Star Report," written and presented by the MMA Astronomy Research Fellows.
Learn more about Maria Mitchell and the MMA with "Maria Mitchell's Attic," a blog written on a weekly basis by MMA Deputy Director and Curator, Jascin Leonardo Finger.
In this addition of “Looking Skyward," WCAI's John Basile talks with Dr. Regina Jorgenson of the Maria Mitchell Association Observatory about a star system 3,000 light-years away from Earth that will become visible to the unaided eye.
Our view of the night sky is constantly changing as the Earth makes its way around the Sun. Each month gives us a chance to observe some new things, so check out our highlights below for May 2024!
Springtime is known by amateur astronomers as galaxy season,with many galaxies outside our own Milky Way well-placed in the night sky for observing. Usually these far-off galaxies need a telescope to be seen, but some can be spotted with binoculars—especially those with bigger lenses! When choosing a pair of binoculars, you’ll note their size given in two different numbers (for example, 10 x 42). The first number is the level of magnification, while the second is the size in millimeters of each lens. This second number determines how much light the binoculars can take in, and therefore how useful they’ll be when looking at dim targets. For astronomical viewing, stick with 42mm or larger, and if you have a way to brace your binoculars on a tripod or against a railing, it’ll be even easier to spot these galaxies! Some of the best ones to try and find include the Leo Triplet galaxies, NGC 2403, the Sunflower Galaxy, and the Blackeye Galaxy. Consult star maps or check a program like Stellarium for in-depth guides on how to find these distant wonders! Read more here.
Private event and birthday party rentals are available under our tent at
33 Washington Street. For private events, we provide the staff and you provide the food and beverage through our exclusive catering partner, Island Kitchen. For birthday parties, we provide the MMA staff and a facilitated program, and you provide the food, beverages, and cake.
The Maria Mitchell Association creates opportunities for all to develop a life-long passion for science, through education, research, and first-hand exploration of the sky, land, and sea of Nantucket Island.
