News and Events for Nantucket Island
~ by Katherine Brooks, Maria Mitchell Association ~ Among the historic gray-shingled houses of Vestal Street and hidden in the gardens of the Maria Mitchell Association’s Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, sits a whale skull found thirty years ago at Cisco Beach. The bone belongs to a right whale: an […]
~ by Katherine Brooks, Maria Mitchell Association ~ The story of the orphan tropical fish sounds like it could be the nautical version of “Annie,” or a spin off of “Finding Dory,” but the story of the orphan tropical fish hinges on the theme of displacement and is an example […]
On Thurs., July 14 at 8 pm. David Mindell, MIT professor and author of Our Robots, Ourselves: Robots and the Myths of Autonomy will give a lecture on artificial intelligence and human/machine relationships at Great Harbor Yacht Club as part of the Nantucket Atheneum’s 2016 Geschke Lecture series. Each summer […]
~ by Katherine Brooks, Maria Mitchell Association ~ Have you seen stones inscribed with these messages? “Northern Extremity of the Town’s Meridian Line” “Southern Extremity of the Town’s Meridian Line” These two stones are located near the Pacific National Bank and the Fair Street Quaker Meetinghouse in downtown Nantucket. The […]
~ by Katherine Brooks Maria Mitchell Association ~ Have you heard a piercing shriek in the night accompanied by a flurry of white light? Although it sounds like the making of a summercamp ghost story, what you might be observing is the barn owl – unique in its aesthetics with […]
~ by Rebecca Nimerfroh ~ If you are ever lucky enough to look up at the Nantucket sky on a clear summer night, no doubt you will be taken aback by what you see; thousands upon thousands of stars, twinkling back at you from thousands of light years away, enveloping […]
~ by Katherine Brooks Maria Mitchell Association Volunteer ~ What is black and orange and has six legs? Nicrophorus americanus, commonly known as the American burying beetle. American burying beetle is striking with sleek black & orange wing markings, and acts as nature’s recycler. Nantucket is the site of the […]
Nantucket’s Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) is operating a free shuttle this season, “The Starlight Express,” from three locations in downtown Nantucket to its Loines Observatory to encourage visitors and residents to stargaze each Friday night during the Observatory’s Open Night. The shuttle will operate three round-trip loops with the first […]
~ by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay, Director, University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station ~ This article will be my last one for Yesterday’s Island. My husband, Len Germinara, and I are moving off island this winter because I am joining the Executive team at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in […]
