E-Comet Newsletter of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association |
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Dear Friends of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association:
It's hard to believe July is already over! The Maria Mitchell Association had a busy month, with the second annual Nantucket Green Crab Week, our ongoing summer programs, and our weekly Science Speaker Series.
We ended July with an inspiring lecture from Gitanjali Rao, the first-ever "TIME Kid of the Year." At the age of 15, Rao has invented devices named “Tethys”— a quick, low-cost test to detect lead-contaminated water, “Epione” — a device for early diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction using genetic engineering, and “Kindly” — an anti-cyberbullying service using AI and Natural Language processing.
Her talk was filled with the concept of Everyday Science, the idea that STEM education is not just "coding and robotics," but it's what you find in your backyard and your community. Interestingly, she mentioned that she first got into science at age 4 when her parents gave her a science kit. We hope our weekly Everyday Science kits can inspire this same kind of exploration and inspiration!
Now we're already on to August, an exciting time for the Maria Mitchell Association. First, we celebrate Maria Mitchell’s birthday today, on August 1st. Happy Birthday, Maria! Then, we have our Stargazer Gala on August 5th. This year, the Gala sold out in record time!
If we won’t be seeing you in person at the event, we have another way for you to get involved. Our Stargazer Gala auction is available online at 32auctions.com/mariamitchell. Packages include experiences like an OCEARCH shark expedition, dinner for four at The Pearl, Patriots and Red Sox tickets, and more!
Finally, this will be my last "e-Comet" intro, as my time serving as the organization’s Interim Executive Director comes to close in September. I have connected with many of you and I have appreciated hearing stories about what the MMA means to you.
I’d like to thank everyone who helped make this an amazing year at the Maria Mitchell Association. Leaving is bittersweet, but I know this organization is in great hands with the incoming Executive Director, Joanna Roche, and the MMA will continue empowering the next generation, the future stewards of this island’s land, sea, and sky.
Warm Regards,
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Jason Bridges
Interim Executive Director
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Maria Mitchell Association Announces New Executive Director – Joanna Roche |
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On July 28, the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announced that Joanna Roche will take on the role of MMA’s next Executive Director. Joanna is a proven leader who has extensive experience in both the nonprofit and business world. In her past roles, she has led large teams, worked successfully with diverse boards, delivered strong financial performance, increased and strengthened revenue streams, and focused on providing exceptional guest experiences. Her past career successes will serve her well in carrying out the goals of the MMA.
Joanna has articulated a bold vision for the future and for what can be next for the organization, including raising the visibility of MMA not only on the island but nationally; enhancing the overall experience for those visiting and interacting with the MMA; and building and diversifying the funding streams for the organization.
The MMA is thrilled to welcome Joanna to our team! To read more about this announcement, please see the MMA's official press release.
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Miss Mitchell's Birthday
By Jascin Leonardo Finger, MMA Deputy Director & Curator of the Mitchell House, Archives and Special Collections
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August 1, 2021 marks the 203rd birthday of Maria Mitchell, America’s first woman astronomer. In 2020, we were, of course, forced to cancel her birthday open house that the MMA has been hosting since we opened our doors to the public in 1903. It was rather odd and very sad but there was an important reason to not welcome large groups of people as we were in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
This year, while we see the light at the end of the tunnel and restrictions are being lifted, we felt it was still a better idea to keep back another year from our large in-person open house celebration. Typically, Maria Mitchell’s Birthday Open House sees an average of 300 people at out sites on Vestal Street with music, birthday refreshments, free museum visits, and all sorts of activities and displays for children, families, and adults.
This year, to mark her birthday, we have devised several activities that will allow people to be outside and socially distanced. The first activity is a family scavenger hunt that relates to Maria Mitchell and her family, as well as the MMA. Scavenger hunts are a great activity to bring your family together and allows all ages to take part. And, it’s something that was very popular in the nineteenth century though back then it was more along the lines of letterboxing and orienteering and no 21st century technology!
And then, we also have a photography contest and a drawing contest inspired by Natural Nantucket. We invite you to celebrate the natural world around us and reflect upon what Maria Mitchell and the Maria Mitchell Association mean to you.
All three activities include prizes for the winning participants, please visit our website to enter or for more information. We hope you will help us celebrate Miss Mitchell’s Birthday in this way this year!
On August 9, 1888, Maria Mitchell reflected on what was her 70th birthday. She noted:
"My birthday letters were from E.O. Abbott, Lucy Stone, Miss Storer, Elisa Worley, Miss Helen Storke, Dr. Avery, Robert Taylor, a card from Phebe’s friend . . .”
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Barn Owl Late-Spring Survey Results |
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The Maria Mitchell Association’s 2021 Late Spring Barn Owl Nest Box Survey took place from Tuesday, June 22 to Thursday, June 24. Ginger Andrews, Mitch Blake, and Dr. Bob Kennedy, with help from Tucker and Jen Reinhard, checked fourteen nest boxes, installed three new nest boxes, moved one nest box, and modified the back doors on six nest boxes. This was a follow-up to the Spring Survey in May to return to nest boxes that had eggs or small young and that needed cleaning or repair work.
We now have fifty-eight adopted nest boxes in the Maria Mitchell Association Barn Owl Program, more than ever before! The eleven eggs that had not hatched in late May yielded nine new young so the total for the season was thirty-nine owlets. Of these we banded a total of thirty.
As I mentioned in the last "e-Comet," this is the poorest reproduction that we have found in years and among the lowest adult population as well. We did not find any additional dead adult owls nor further evidence of poisoning, but we do suspect that the population is suffering due to the apparent increased use of rodenticides on Nantucket. As we monitor the population with each survey, we will let you know what we learn.
To read the full survey, please visit our website here.
Dr. Kennedy also returned in mid-July to help band osprey for our Osprey Research Program. Osprey are fish eating raptors and those from Nantucket have an epic migration each year. At the end of each summer, Osprey that nested and raised their young on Nantucket embark on a long journey back to Central and South America, sometimes up to 4,000 miles one way! Summer interns were able to join for this research, check out the photos below.
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Upcoming Science Speaker Series Presentations |
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The Mysteries of Fast Radio Bursts and Why We Especially Need Imagination in Science
with GEORGIA STOLLE-MCALLISTER
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4
7-8PM | ZOOM
Georgia Stolle-McAllister is the 2020-2021 post-baccalaureate National Science Foundation Research Fellow at the Maria Mitchell Observatory. She works with MMA Director of Astronomy, Dr. Regina Jorgenson, and the Fast and Fortunate for FRB Follow-up (F4) collaboration to study the host galaxies of fast radio bursts (FRBs). FRBs have been perplexing astronomers for more than a decade. In this talk, Georgia will explain the exciting process of learning about fast radio bursts, some of the discoveries that have been made along the way, and the many questions that remain. Read more about Stolle-McAllister and her presentation here.
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National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) Student Presentations
with 2021 NSF-REU Interns
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11th
7-8PM | ZOOM
For more than fifty years, the Maria Mitchell Observatory (MMO) has offered summer research opportunities in astronomy and astrophysics for students on Nantucket. Six National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) interns will present their individual research projects developed under the guidance of experienced astronomers. The summer 2021 MMO NSF-REU intern class consists of: Kamara Culbreath, University of North Carolina-Greensboro; Jada Louison, Barnard College; Corrina Peña, Butler University; Alejandro Ross, Johns Hopkins University; Mayra Velazquez, Hendrix College; and Michele Woodland, University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Read more about our interns and their presentations here.
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Scallops and Students: a Unique Research and Mentorship Program
with DR. VAL HALL
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25th
7-8PM | ZOOM
Dr. Hall will be joined by nine of her students for an overview of their summer laboratory experiences, describing the histological techniques used, from collecting scallops by boat to evaluating the prepared slides made from the scallops’ gonads (reproductive organs). Since 2016, Dr. Hall has combined her research on bay scallop reproduction and her passion for teaching by instituting a summer research and mentoring program at the Maria Mitchell Association. The program, previously funded by the Nantucket Shellfish Association, has served nearly fifty students ranging in age from 12 to 22. This summer’s program, funded by the Great Harbor Yacht Club and a private donor, will bring eighteen more students into the group. Students participate in all aspects of Val’s ongoing research, as well as designing and carrying out their own projects, while enhancing their research, written, and oral presentation skills. Read more about Dr. Hall and her presentation here.
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“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.”
-Edith Andrews
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Keep Calm and Bird On
By Ginger Andrews
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How do you bird when it’s just too hot to move?
One way could be birding by ear, a useful skill in any case. Another could be just browsing a bird book.
Think of the dawn chorus. It can be enjoyed in the semi-conscious drift-up from sleep, with no need for hiking or tick-repellant. Sort out sounds like instruments in an orchestra: Cardinal, Robin, Carolina Wren…Song Sparrow.
As for books, could there be a greater pleasure, on a hot summer afternoon, than reclining in the shade with a cold drink and a book? Unstructured leisure is an under-appreciated aspect of study. And what better time to discover the quaint charms of old bird books?
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Consider Fieldbook of Wild birds and their Music, by F. Schuyler Mathews. Printed a hundred years ago, with fine illustrations, liberally seasoned with musical notation, it’s worth browsing for sheer beauty of language. And although some information has changed, wisdom about people has not.
“There is no bird which compares with the Wood-Pewee in sheer laziness of style,” Mathews writes. Quoting Eliot Cowes, a contemporary: “its presence is soon made known by its oft-repeated melancholy notes seeming to speak of a sorrow that can never heal.”
Dismissing Cowes for indulging in “maudlin sentiment,” he philosophizes, “everyone to his own mind… a bright little poem from the pen of J.T. Trowbridge gives us an entirely different impression of the bird’s character, so there is no doubt but that pure sentiment is at the bottom of the whole matter.”
Looking through the prism of time, we see our own reflections mirrored. We can’t help adding our own personality to science; but to be aware of how it happens is a step toward wisdom.
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The Maria Mitchell Association is thrilled for the support of The Tile Room.
The Tile Room is a second generation family owned business. The Tile Room still operates with the same principles that they did at their inception: provide the highest quality tile products available and service second to none. The Tile Room values each and every job, no matter how big or small. Whether you are building a new home, renovating, or just doing a small improvement project, The Tile Room can help design beautiful living spaces that will be enjoyed for years to come. Thank you to The Tile Room for their support of the Maria Mitchell Association!
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The Maria Mitchell Association is grateful for the support of Hehir Group Custom Builders.
Patrick Hehir has been living and working on Nantucket for over 30 years. Building upon his extensive construction experience, Patrick founded Hehir Group Custom Builders in 2004. Patrick prides himself on working closely with homeowners and architects to create unique custom homes while completing projects on time. He has respect for Nantucket’s numerous boards and commissions and works with them to realize his clients' dreams while maintaining the beauty of Nantucket. Patrick was named Best Builder in the 2009 Best of Nantucket competition. Thank you to Hehir Group Custom Builders for your support of the Maria Mitchell Association!
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Did you miss a recent Science Speaker Series presentation? You can watch the recordings on our YouTube channel!
Watch the lecture, "Dark Matter in the Disordered Cosmos" with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein following the link below.
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Learn more about Maria Mitchell and the MMA with "Maria Mitchell's Attic," a blog written on a weekly basis by the MMA's Deputy Director and Curator, Jascin Finger. While its focus is mainly on Maria Mitchell, the Mitchell family, and life at 1 Vestal Street, the blog also highlights the archives, collections, MMA properties, the history of the MMA and its people, and aspects of the MMA that are lesser known. The most recent post discusses Maria and the young woman she chaperoned on a trip to Europe.
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Listen to the latest episode of "Looking Skyward," a podcast with MMA Director of Astronomy, Dr. Regina Jorgenson, on WCAI. In this episode, Dr. Jorgenson celebrates Maria Mitchell's birthday!
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MARIA MITCHELL ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Helene Weld, President
Judy MacLeod, First Vice President
Frances Symes, Second Vice President
Curt Burwell, Treasurer
Joseph E. Santucci Jr., Clerk
MEMBERS
Richard Bard
Beverly Barlow
Margaret Falk
Chris Griffiths
John Hartner
Carolyn Holt
Toni McKerrow
Michael Nelson
Molly Paiement
Mary Archibald (Bebe) Poor, D.V.M., M.S.
Katherine Rhode, Ph.D.
Brian Sullivan
Jane Tausig
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HONORARY MEMBERS
Howard Blitman†
Sally Charpie
John Daniels
Daniel Drake
Joan Gulley
Judith Lee
Malcolm MacNab, M.D., Ph.D.
Eileen McGrath
Nathaniel Philbrick
Anne P. Strain
Edward Symes, III†
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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. |
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