Image of the MMA Loines Observatory dressed in autumn by Keely Irwin
Dear Friends –
Fall is always a time of transition. The seasons change and nature runs her course. The rhythm of summer ending and our fall schedules and plans marching in is comforting in its predictability. For us, that looks like preparation for Release Day, the big event where we return our seasonal collection of aquatic life to the sea, and our annual celebration of Comet Day. Please join us on Saturday October 12th and assist with the “annual migration,” of our aquatic friends back to our island waters – it’s one of the most fun days in the MMA’s year! And on October 5th, to mark Maria Mitchell’s discovery of comet C/1847-T1, from 7-9pm, where we will toast her legacy at Loines Observatory for a special Open Night.
We will also be gathering Friday, October 4th from 3-5pm in the MMA gardens to honor the memory of Dr. Bob Kennedy, who led the Barn Owl Program for many years here and also served as the Director of Natural Science in the early 2000’s. Bob was an amazing advocate for the nature of Nantucket and was the founder of the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative. His dedication over many years to the MMA and the ospreys and barn owls of Nantucket is inspiring and his work was greatly valued. If you would like to stop by and share a memory or a beer in his honor, we welcome you.
It is also time to wish our Director of Astronomy, Dr. Regina Jorgenson, all the best as she moves to Northern California to take a tenure track position as a professor of Astronomy at Cal Poly Humboldt. Regina has made many contributions to the organization over her eight-year tenure, mentoring many REU students, securing several NSF grants, publishing research papers, and sharing the night sky of Nantucket with all of you. We recognize her contribution and know that she will be an asset to her new community at Cal Poly. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation for all of her work at the MMA, and hope that she will continue to visit and always share her love of the MMA with others.
This past month, the MMA was honored by the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce as a Legacy Business. It was truly special to attend the event with our team and share the mission and history with the business community on this island. Many thanks to all of you who voted and turned out to support us. We also received a grant from the Community Foundation of Nantucket and were recognized alongside many other Nantucket non-profits for our work in the community. We received a $10,000 grant to support our STEM mentorship program, which allows us to train high school students to mentor local children through the extended year program at the public school. We were in excellent company with the other grantees and it is notable how this community supports opportunities for enrichment and alternative learning.
Finally, our buoy, that launched in August and that we now call EMM (YSI EMM-700 Bay Buoy), is tracking data and we are sharing this data. We can see that this information will prove to be very helpful to all of us who work to care for our harbor and its resources.
There is no measure that is adequate for the gratitude we have for you, our supporters, our many island science collaborators, the amazing humans who have shaped this organization in the past, and those who continue to do the work. The commitment to the island of Nantucket and preserving its resources, the efforts made to educate and inspire curiosity in nature, is simply remarkable.Thank you.
Joanna
Upcoming Events & Programs: October
Memorial Tribute Gathering for Dr. Robert Kennedy, Ph.D.
Celebrating a Life of Dedication to Barn Owl and Osprey Conservation on Nantucket
Hinchman House Vestal Street Garden, 2 Vestal St.
Friday, October 4 | 3 - 5pm
The MMA is heartbroken about the unexpected passing of Dr. Robert Kennedy this past July. Dr. Kennedy was a passionate and dedicated ornithologist and MMA Research Associate whose work on barn owls and ospreys left an indelible mark on wildlife conservation and ornithology here on Nantucket.
Dr. Kennedy worked at the MMA for nine years as the Director of Natural Science and began the MMA's barn owl program in 2001. He helped to promote the installation of osprey poles on the island - one of his favorites - and under his tenure, he helped to create more than seventy barn owl boxes on the island, nurturing the owl population to where it is today. Dr. Kennedy devoted his life to studying these majestic birds, contributing invaluable research that advanced our understanding of their behaviors, habitats, and conservation needs.
Please join us for a memorial gathering as we come together to honor his life, work at both the MMA and Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative (NBI), and the profound impact that he had through his legacy project serving the Osprey and Barn Owls of Nantucket. The MMA plans to install a stone memorial bird bath and plaque in his honor in our garden at a later date. Refreshments will be served.
During the gathering, friends and colleagues will have the opportunity to share memories, stories, and reflections. Together, we will celebrate Dr. Kennedy's love for the natural world and his unwavering commitment to protecting it.
Join Us to Honor and Celebrate the Legacy of Maria Mitchell
Saturday, October 5 | 7- 9pm
Meet Maria Mitchell, America's first female astronomer:
On the evening of October 1, 1847, Maria Mitchell climbed the rooftop of the Pacific Bank where her father was cashier. This ordinary routine for Maria would become an extraordinary night for American astronomy.
On that evening, Maria swept her telescope across the sky and discovered a comet. Soon after, Maria was awarded a gold medal from the King of Denmark for her discovery. This fame set her on a path that changed the trajectory of her life forever.
From professor of astronomy at Vassar College, to lifelong friendships with great scientists and thinkers of the nineteenth century, to influencing the path for women, Maria Mitchell's legacy inspires science and learners of all ages today.
“The step, however small, which is in advance of the world, shows the greatness of the person, whether that step be taken with brain, with heart, or with hands."
– Maria Mitchell
Aquarium Release Day!
Saturday, October 12 | 10am - 12pm
Sensory Friendly Half - Hour 9:30 - 10am
MMA Aquarium, 32 Washington Street
Free Family Event
Join MMA staff for refreshments, face painting, and games as you help us release this season's aquarium inhabitants back into the ocean. This event is a great opportunity to learn and celebrate the marine life that live in the waters of Nantucket Island.
Each summer, the MMA Aquarium Manager, Christina Norman, as well as her team of dedicated college interns and volunteers, explore the shores of Nantucket and find and document an assortment of over 7,500 individual marine animals, most of which are recorded and released. They snorkel, seine, and beachcomb to collect over 300 different marine animals. These animals are studied and cared for so that the MMA can help people learn more about these important marine organisms while they are featured at the popular 32 Washington Street Aquarium throughout the season. These marine animals represent roughly seventy different species collected by the MMA staff in tandem with local fishermen.
Program Meets at The Oldest House, 16 Sunset Hill Lane
Saturday, October 5 | 10am - 12pm
A unique and extremely popular collaborative walking tour with 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.
Registration is not necessary. Meet at the Oldest House at Sunset Hill at 10am.
$10 per participant, cash only. Tour ends on Main Street.
Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative
Celebrating 20 Years of the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative
October 1 - 5
Join the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative (NBI) to celebrate twenty years of biodiversity conservation and research on Nantucket. We will look at the past 20 years of native biodiversity research and education on Nantucket while also celebrating where NBI is now and what we look forward to into the future.
Initiated in 2014, NBI brings together researchers, conservation groups, educational institutions, municipalities, and individuals to conserve the native biodiversity of Nantucket through collaborative research, monitoring, and education. We will highlight NBI-supported research findings, contributions to science, and new discoveries, as well as ways everyone can be involved in contributing to Nantucket Biodiversity knowledge.
Tuesday, October 1
4pm: Ready, Set, Bioblitz:
How to Use iNaturalist for All NBI’s Big Events (Virtual Event). Register here.
Wednesday, October 2
9am: Windswept Bog Wetland Restoration Bioblitz with the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. Register here.
4pm: Wrap-up Social hosted by Nantucket Conservation Foundation. Learn more.
Thursday, October 3
8am: Bird Banding Blitz: Catch the Migration with Libby Buck at Linda Loring Nature Foundation.
5pm: NBI 20th Anniversary Talk at Nantucket Atheneum. Learn more.
Saturday, October 5
8am: The Edie Ray Shorebird Blitz at Smith’s Point. Register here.
8:30am: Sustainable Scalloping Field Trip with MMA. Register here.
3pm: Wrap-up Social hosted by Maria Mitchell Association. Learn more.
Sunday, October 6
8am: Marsh Creek Life: Gradients of Biodiversity with NBI Aquatic Threats Committee. Register here.
3pm: Wrap-up Social hosted by Nantucket Umass Field Station. Learn more.
After-School Fall Series I
School might be out, but the curiosity never stops!
Now through October 24
Tuesdays: Oct. 1, 8, 15, and 22.
Wednesdays: Oct. 2, 9, and 23.
Thursdays: Oct. 3, 10, 17, and 24.
Early Release Days: Wednesday, Oct. 16.
FREE programming from 12 - 3pm.
This first Fall Series of programming is day specific and explores Nantucket Island. Participants will be picked up (with parent permission) from NES and NIS at 2:30pm, Nantucket Lighthouse School at 2:50pm, and the Nantucket New School at 3:00pm and depart for the MMA's Hinchman House Natural Science Museum or an outbound location. Pick up will be at 5pm at the Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk Street. Each afternoon holds different activities, crafts, and adventures.
Scholarships available to qualifying families through the generous support of the Adam Bloom Scholarship Fund.
Birding News & Programs
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.”
-Edith Andrews
Fall sparrows can be fun! Chipping Sparrow Photo by Trish Pastuszak.
Keep Calm and Bird On October!
by Ginger Andrews
As fall progresses, birding gets better and better. More migrants pass through, while summer residents—at least some of them—still linger. But it is also a great time to focus on Sparrows, which are not all just brown blobs if you can get a good look at one.
But aren’t sparrows too hard? Do the words “malar stripe” make your brain freeze? No, they don’t need to. Although it's the technical term for the markings that frame the throats of many sparrows, Malar stripe is no worse than “supercilium” for the part of a bird that could just as well be called “eyebrow.” Malar stripes are vaguely reminiscent of mutton-chop whiskers, a style of facial hair adopted by quite a few 19th century ornithologists. But the whole point is to look at the little brown job and absorb as much detail as you can, not to memorize technical terms. Unless that is something you thrive on, of course. But if what you see reminds you of something else, that is a good way to remember it.
Suppose you notice the blindingly white throat of a White-throated Sparrow, and it reminds you of a fake-Santa beard? It’s perfectly fine to make up your own mnemonics. If thinking of Santa Claus helps you remember a White-throated Sparrow, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Nor to think of a Chipping Sparrow as having black eye-liner. Black eyeliner, white eyebrows, and a rusty cap, gets you very close to a definitive ID of Chipping Sparrow. But what if the bird just described has a dark central spot on its chest, a dot, or as Edith Andrews used to call it, “a stick-pin?” Although these have also gone out of fashion, watch some old western movies, or look it up. Once you’ve seen one, it’s easier to remember. With the features described above, but with the addition of a stick-pin, you probably have an American Tree Sparrow. And now that you know two sparrows, more will follow, earflap by tail-stripe, until sparrows are no longer quite such mysterious brown blobs.
Owl Prowl
with Ginger Andrews
2 Vestal Street
Thursday, October 17 and 31 | 6 - 7:30pm
Join MMA's Field Ornithologist, Ginger Andrews as we listen for calls of a variety of nocturnal animals and birds during our special spooky edition Owl Prowl program highlighting Alfred Wallace and his dabbles in the spirit world. Alfred Wallace was a British Naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and illustrator who extensively researched the paranormal realm and was committed to materialist, reductionist cosmologies.
Night-time has always had a mysterious appeal, which brings out a whole new cast of avian and other creatures. It requires patience, and a shift of consciousness from sight to hearing. 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.
Join the Maria Mitchell Aquarium Manager, Christina Norman, on a scalloping adventure! As we collect and observe bay scallops – we will learn all about their biology and the challenges they face. Waders, hand nets, and bathyscopes will be provided! This program meets at the Hither Creek Beach Access (near 25 Massachusetts Ave.) at listed time of the event.
Pre-registration is required as this program meets off site. Registration closes 2 hours before the start time of the program. Personal transport to and from the meeting location is required to participate
Join MMA Executive Director, Joanna Roche, on a peaceful one hour walk under the light of the full Moon. Discover the legends and narratives of the past and present. Enjoy the tranquility of the quiet night sky and learn about our Moon's current themes and its important symbolism.
Part One: Intro to Birding | Wednesday, October 18
Part Two: Birding Field Trip | Thursday, October 19
What is the allure of birding? We have always looked to birds to tell us what is happening in the world around us but there are almost as many ways to enjoy birds as there are birders. Join the MMA's Field Ornithologist, Ginger Andrews, for a two part workshop to find your own unique birding style, with tips and suggestions to find and identify Nantucket's varied avian life.
This workshop is a two-part series but you may register for individual events. The time of the field trip will be solidified during the Friday afternoon session. Children eight and up are welcome with an adult guardian. Loaner binoculars are available for use. Wear sensible shoes and dress for the weather at the time of the program.
Join our professional astronomers and get a chance to view an impressive tour of Nantucket’s night sky. MMA staff will guide you in viewing 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!
Pre-registration is recommended, walk-ins subject to availability.
Paste Magazine has included the MMA's Loines Observatory in a recent article featuring outdoor adventures to experience in New England this autumn. Paste is a monthly, digital music and entertainment magazine. and this coverage comes as a result of our partnership with Greydon House.
Stop by the Hinchman House Natural Science Museum at 7 Milk Street to learn about the plants, animals, and birds of Nantucket. Visit us to learn how Nantucket came to be an island, explore hands-on activities, see live animals, and discover more about Nantucket's biodiversity.
View our calendar to learn about our Ravenous Reptiles, Bug Bonanza, and Nature Story Hour programs.
Aquarium Programming
Stop by the Aquarium and Sea Shop at 32 Washington Street before we close our doors for the season on Aquarium Release Day, Saturday, October 12.
The Aquarium is a great place to learn about the unique marine environment of Nantucket, to see live animals, and to discover more about Nantucket's biodiversity.
View our calendar to learn about our Feeding Frenzy, Marine Ecology Field Trips, Sustainable Scalloping Field Trips, and Marine Story Hour programs.
MMANews
5th Grade Trees in The Community
The Maria Mitchell Association visited all island fifth grade classrooms for our annual Trees in the Community Program in collaboration with the Nantucket Intermediate School, Nantucket Lighthouse School, and the Nantucket New School.
This program is made possible by generous funding from theNantucket Garden Club’s community grant. Each year, MMA educators alongside Annie Mendhelson, program founder, visit each fifth grade classroom for forty-five minutes to one hour to instruct island students on native tree species, tree biology and morphology. After learning about native tree species, children select a tree of their choice from five options and on tree delivery day, the team facilitates a second visit to classrooms to demonstrate best practices for planting and protecting their newly acquired trees. This year, students chose from Red Maple, Eastern Red Cedar, Flowering Dogwood, Black Cherry, and White Oak. Not only are students learning the benefits of native trees to the Nantucket Ecosystem, but they also learn how to identify trees using dichotomous keys and how to plant and care for their own tree which can continue to grow for future generations to come.
Image Credit: Ava Rollins
Chamber of Commerce Award Ceremony
The Maria Mitchell Association is honored to have received the Chamber of Commerce's 2024 Legacy Business of the Year Award!
This award recognizes a business that has been with the Chamber for over ten years, a business that has shown sustained growth and commitment to the betterment of the community, and has demonstrated that they are a valued cultural asset to Nantucket Island.
Congratulations to all the winners of the Chamber's Annual Membership Celebration Awards! And a special thank you to all who voted for us. We are honored to be recognized for our hard work and commitment to our community!
MMA Updates
“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 Department
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.
The MMA will be closed Monday, October 14 in observance of
Indigenous Peoples' Day
The Hinchman House Natural Science Museum and Gift Shop, 7 Milk Street:
10am - 2pm, Thursday and Sunday
10am - 4pm, Friday and Saturday
Closed Monday - Wednesday
New Fall Hours After October 14. Please see our calendar!
Loines Observatory, 59 Milk Street Ext.:
8 - 9pm, Monday, October 7 and Wednesday, October 2 and 9
8 - 9pm Friday, October 25
8 - 9pm Friday, October 4 and 11 for Family Stargazing Open Night
8 - 9pm Thursday, October 17 for “Look Up!” at Loines
Pre-registration is recommended. View our calendar to register.
The MMA Aquarium and Sea Shop, 32 Washington Street:
10am - 2pm, Thursday and Sunday
10am - 4pm, Friday and Saturday
Closed Monday - Wednesday
Closing for the season on Aquarium Release Day, Saturday, October 12. Please join us for our closing day event and help us release our Aquarium friends back into the ocean!
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.
