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, America's first female astronomer and Nantucket native.HistoryThe Maria Mitchell Aquarium is on the site of the historic ticket office of the former Nantucket Railroad at 28 Washington Street. It is located directly on the shoreline of the Nantucket Harbor, 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.The aquarium is the newest addition to the Maria Mitchell Association. It is one of only two Maria Mitchell Association properties that is not located on MMA's Vestal Street Campus, the other being Loine's Observatory on Milk Street Extension. The reason for the aquarium's location downtown is to attract more visitation from the public and to have a location that is closer to the harbor.The aquarium has been located in the same place since 1997. It has been expanded since initial construction, it was originally just one small room but it has been expanded into three rooms and two outdoor touch tanks.Science Center ProjectThe directors of the Maria Mitchell Association are planning to expand the aquarium greatly by 2015. The plan is to expand the aquarium by moving it across the street to a plot of land that was swapped with MMA by the Nantucket Land Bank in 2010. The Nantucket Land Bank hopes to open up Nantucket Harbor for both islanders and tourists, and with the absence of the current MMA Aquarium, this could be more easily achieved.
