Maria Mitchell Association

Last updated
Loines Observatory of the Maria Mitchell Association MariaMitchellObservatory NantucketMA.jpg
Loines Observatory of the Maria Mitchell Association

The Maria Mitchell Association is a private non-profit organization on the island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts. The association owns the Maria Mitchell Observatory, a second observatory (the Loines Observatory), a Natural History Museum, the Maria Mitchell Aquarium at Nantucket Harbor, a history museum that is the birthplace of Maria Mitchell, and a Science Library. Staff members of the Maria Mitchell Association conduct research into topics as varied as astrophysics and the American burying beetle, [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] amongst other scientific topics. The properties offer a variety of science and history-related programming and are on the National Register of Historic Places, along with the rest of the island.

Contents

Components and buildings

The Maria Mitchell Association's buildings are located in various areas on the island [6] including four that are adjacent to each other on the hill in Natucket town. [7] These include the Historic Mitchell House located at 1 Vestal Street. It preserves the birthplace of Maria Mitchell, and contains many heirlooms of Maria Mitchell and her family. The Science Library located at 2 Vestal Street houses archives and special collections. The Natural Science Museum, at the corner of Milk and Vestal Streets, has several rooms of permanent and temporary exhibits, as well as a shop with books and gifts. The main Vestal Street Observatory, at 3 Vestal Street, includes the offices of the two working astronomers and has a few exhibits such as Maria Mitchell's famed telescope. The Loines Observatory at 59 Milk Street is used primarily for research and on clear nights offers viewings to the public. [7] An aquarium and shop is located at 28 Washington Street, down the hill at Nantucket Harbor.

Admission is charged for the public to visit each site, [7] for programs, and for membership. A discounted special ticket is available during the summer for sale to the public to see the House, Museum, Vestal Observatory, and Aquarium for one price. Tours are offered every day during the summer at 11:00 a.m.

The Historic Mitchell House

The Historic Mitchell House preserves the birthplace of Maria Mitchell. [8] [9] It was built in 1790, and occupied by the Mitchell family from 1818, the year of Maria Mitchell's birth. [8] [9] The House contains many artifacts of Maria Mitchell and her family, including a tall-case clock and one of her telescopes. [8] [9]

The research library includes Mitchell's papers, as well as other historical and scientific material. The house remains very much in its original condition with original decorative paint. Guided tours are provided to the public in-season and children's and adult history classes and historic preservation workshops are offered. The research library includes Mitchell's personal and work related papers, her personal library, the papers and libraries of her family, and the special collection library which includes rare books concerning astronomy, the natural sciences, and Nantucket, some dating back to the 1600s. The archives and special collections are open by appointment only for research purposes.

Natural Science Museum

The Natural Science Museum is across the street from Mitchell House. It showcases displays of animals such as snakes, frogs, and turtles. Furthermore, the museum features a gift shop and various displays related to natural science. The building containing the museum has three floors, of which only the first floor is accessible to the public.

MMA (Nantucket) Aquarium

See main article: Maria Mitchell Aquarium

The MMA Aquarium, also known as the Nantucket Aquarium, is on the site of the historic ticket office of the former Nantucket Railroad at 28 Washington Street. [10] [11] It is located at directly on the shoreline of the Nantucket Harbor, [10] which empties out into the Nantucket Sound. Specimens are primarily drawn from the waters around Nantucket, and are released back to those waters at the end of each summer. [10] [11] Because the Gulf Stream passes by the Atlantic Ocean side of the island, some tropical fish are frequently on exhibit. [10] The Aquarium offers programs, including a "feeding frenzy". [10]

Loines and Vestal Streets Observatories

Loines Observatory was built in 1968 and 1998, the two domes of this facility house a refurbished antique 8-inch Clark telescope and a new 24-inch research telescope. It serves as both an active research observatory and venue for public astronomical programs.

The Vestal Street Observatory has been the site of research, lectures, and other programs. since 1908.

Maria Mitchell Association's observatories are open for regular public tours, programs, lectures, and also host to several special events throughout the year.

History

The Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) 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 American Professor of Astronomy at Vassar College. Mitchell died in 1889. [12]

Programs

Each summer, the MMA offers the Summer Discovery Classes Program for children of various ages, and during the school year to the Nantucket Public Schools. [13] The MMA also offers environmental education programs for families [14] as well as astronomy and natural science programs for adults. [15]

The MMA also offers lesson plans, and programs to teachers in local school systems. [16]

Major staff and research

The staff members of the association continue to conduct research into a wide variety of topics from galaxy formation and star clusters, to spiders, molluscs, and the American burying beetle. [17] They have mentored many aspiring scientists.

The staff of the Maria Mitchell Association currently includes:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adler Planetarium</span> Astronomical museum in Chicago, Illinois

The Adler Planetarium is a public museum in Chicago, Illinois, dedicated to astronomy and astrophysics. It was founded in 1930 by local businessman Max Adler. Located on the northeastern tip of Northerly Island on Lake Michigan, the Adler Planetarium was the first planetarium in the United States. It is part of Chicago's Museum Campus, which includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and The Field Museum. The Planetarium's mission is to inspire exploration and understanding of the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B612 Foundation</span> Planetary defense nonprofit organization

The B612 Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation headquartered in Mill Valley, California, United States, dedicated to planetary science and planetary defense against asteroids and other near-Earth object (NEO) impacts. It is led mainly by scientists, former astronauts and engineers from the Institute for Advanced Study, Southwest Research Institute, Stanford University, NASA and the space industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Mitchell</span> American astronomer (1818–1889)

Maria Mitchell was an American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI that was later known as "Miss Mitchell's Comet" in her honor. She won a gold medal prize for her discovery, which was presented to her by King Christian VIII of Denmark in 1848. Mitchell was the first internationally known woman to work as both a professional astronomer and a professor of astronomy after accepting a position at Vassar College in 1865. She was also the first woman elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo</span> Public university in Hilo, Hawaii, US

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is a public university in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. It is one of ten campuses of the University of Hawaiʻi System. It was founded as Hilo Center at Lyman Hall of the Hilo Boys School in 1945 and was a branch campus of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In 1970 it was reorganized by an act of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and became a campus within the newly created University of Hawaiʻi System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Akyüz Mattei</span> Turkish-American astronomer

Janet Hanula Mattei was a Turkish-American astronomer who was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1973 to 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Institute of Technology</span> Private university in Melbourne, Florida, US

Florida Institute of Technology is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Approximately half of Florida Tech's students are enrolled in the College of Engineering & Science. The university's 130-acre primary residential campus is near the Melbourne Orlando International Airport and 16 miles from Patrick Space Force Base. The university was founded in 1958 as Brevard Engineering College to provide advanced education for professionals working in the U.S. space program at the Kennedy Space Center and Space Launch Delta 45 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Since 1966, when it combined the Institute of Technology following University of Central Florida's name change, Florida Tech has gone by its current name Florida Tech. In 2021, Florida Tech had an on-campus student body of 5,693 between its Melbourne Campus, Melbourne Sites, and Education Centers, as well as 3,623 students enrolled in their online programs, almost equally divided between graduate and undergraduate students with the majority focusing their studies on engineering and the sciences. Florida Tech is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak Ridge Observatory</span> Observatory in Harvard, Massachusetts

The Oak Ridge Observatory, also known as the George R. Agassiz Station, is located at 42 Pinnacle Road, Harvard, Massachusetts. It was operated by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian as a facility of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) from 1933 until August 19, 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics</span> Institute for astronomical sciences in Pune, India

The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) is an autonomous institution set up by the University Grants Commission of India to promote nucleation and growth of active groups in astronomy and astrophysics in Indian universities. IUCAA is located in the University of Pune campus next to the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, which operates the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. IUCAA has a campus designed by Indian architect Charles Correa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Oschin telescope</span>

The Samuel Oschin telescope, also called the Oschin Schmidt, is a 48-inch-aperture (1.22 m) Schmidt camera at the Palomar Observatory in northern San Diego County, California. It consists of a 49.75 inches (1.264 m) Schmidt corrector plate and a 72 inches (1.8 m) (f/2.5) mirror. The instrument is strictly a camera; there is no provision for an eyepiece to look through it. It originally used 10 inches (25 cm) and 14 inches (36 cm) glass photographic plates. Since the focal plane is curved, these plates had to be preformed in a special jig before being loaded into the camera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Astronomical Observatory</span> Astronomy station in Hanle, India

The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) is a high-altitude astronomy station located in Hanle, India and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Situated in the Western Himalayas at an elevation of 4,500 meters (14,764 ft), the IAO is one of the world's highest located sites for optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes. It is currently the tenth highest optical telescope in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Mitchell Observatory</span>

The Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA, was founded in 1908 and named in honor of Maria Mitchell, the first American woman astronomer. It is a major component of the Maria Mitchell Association. The Observatory actually consists of two observatories - the main Maria Mitchell Observatory near downtown Nantucket and the Loines Observatory about a kilometer west of town. It is also the repository for a valuable collection of over 8000 wide-field glass photographic plates, recording observations of large swaths of sky from 1913 to 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vassar College Observatory</span> United States historic place

The Vassar College Observatory is an astronomical observatory of the private Vassar College, located near the eastern edge of the Poughkeepsie, New York college's campus. Finished in 1865, it was the first building on the college's campus, older even than the Main Building, with which it shares the status of National Historic Landmark. The observatory's significance is due to its association with Maria Mitchell, the first widely known female astronomer in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Watson Whitney</span> American astronomer (1847–1921)

Mary Watson Whitney was an American astronomer and was the head of the Vassar College Observatory for 22 years, where 102 scientific papers were published under her guidance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old University of Alabama Observatory</span> Observatory

The Old University of Alabama Observatory, now known as Frederick R. Maxwell Hall, was an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Although no longer used as an observatory, the building has been restored and preserved. It currently houses the university's Collaborative Arts Research Initiative (CARI), an interdisciplinary, arts-focused research engine driven by the interests of faculty from across the university. By facilitating collaborations across disciplines, CARI maximizes the impact of faculty arts research, while enriching the university, local, and regional communities. Significant for its architectural and historical importance, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 14, 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public aquarium</span> Aquatic counterpart of a zoo

A public aquarium (pl. aquaria) or public water zoo is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, as well as smaller tanks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Turing Building</span> Building at the University of Manchester

The Alan Turing Building, named after the mathematician and founder of computer science Alan Turing, is a building at the University of Manchester, in Manchester, England. It houses the School of Mathematics, the Photon Science Institute and the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JBCA). The building is located in the Chorlton-on-Medlock district of Manchester, on Upper Brook Street, and is adjacent to University Place and the Henry Royce Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam</span> Research facility for astrophysics

Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) is a German research institute. It is the successor of the Berlin Observatory founded in 1700 and of the Astrophysical Observatory Potsdam (AOP) founded in 1874. The latter was the world's first observatory to emphasize explicitly the research area of astrophysics. The AIP was founded in 1992, in a re-structuring following the German reunification.

Davidson-Davie Community College (DDCC) is a public community college with campuses in Davidson County and Davie County, North Carolina. It awards certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees in more than 50 programs. As a member of the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA), between the North Carolina Community College System and the University of North Carolina (UNC) System, credits earned at DCCC transfer to the university system. Davidson-Davie Community College also provides basic skill training and General Educational Development (GED) programs to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Mitchell Aquarium</span> Zoo in Massachusetts, USA

The Maria Mitchell Association Aquarium, also known as the Nantucket Aquarium, is a small, local, seasonal aquarium in Nantucket, Massachusetts. It serves as the island's only marine science center and resource. The Aquarium is one of the many resources offered by the Maria Mitchell Association, a local non-profit organization that promotes scientific education and research in service to the legacy of Maria Mitchell (1818-1889), America's first female astronomer and Nantucket native.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Harwood</span> American astronomer (1885–1979)

Margaret Harwood was an American astronomer specializing in photometry and the first director of the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts. An asteroid discovered in 1960 was named 7040 Harwood in her honor.

References

  1. "Saving the Beetles", Yesterday's Island, June 18–24, 2009, found at Yesterday's Island website Archived 2009-09-16 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 2, 2009.
  2. "American Burying Beetle Project," found at Maria Mitchell Association website research webpage Archived 2010-07-03 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 2, 2009.
  3. Invertebrates In Education and Conservation Conference, July 24, 2009, found at SASI online Archived 2010-07-17 at the Wayback Machine . September 2, 2009.
  4. "Acknowledgments: Many contributed long hours, tireless research, and continuous dedication. Our team includes ... Andrew Mckenna Foster biologist with the Maria Mitchell Association for his work and dedication to the recovery effort....", "American Burying Beetle: First Terrestrial Invertebrate on the Species Survival Plan," found at Roger Williams park Zoo website Archived 2007-11-08 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 2, 2009.
  5. Andrew Mckenna-Foster, William T. Maple, and Robert S. Kennedy, "American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) survey and reintroduction on Nantucket 2005." found at St. Louis Zoo Archived 2010-12-14 at the Wayback Machine website. Accessed September 2, 2009.
  6. Maria Mitchell Association official website Main page. Accessed September 3, 2009.
  7. 1 2 3 Mitchell Association official website Facilities page Archived 2009-11-04 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 Discover Nantucket website Mitchell House page Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  9. 1 2 3 Maria Mitchell Association official website House page Archived 2009-09-27 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Mitchell Association official website Marine sciences page Archived 2009-09-05 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  11. 1 2 Discover Nantucket website MMA Aquarium page Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  12. Maria Mitchell Association website About page Archived 2009-06-02 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  13. Maria Mitchell Association website Educational programs for children page Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  14. Maria Mitchell Association website Educational programs for families page Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  15. Maria Mitchell Association website Educational programs for adults page Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  16. Maria Mitchell Association website Teacher resources page Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 3, 2009.
  17. Maria Mitchell Association Research collections Archived 2012-03-27 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed March 8, 2012.