Science & Technology

MDI’s Night Sky

Mount Desert Island offers some of the most pristine stargazing in the country. The Acadia Night Sky Festival says it best: “With the rapid loss of dark skies to light pollution receiving national attention, Maine is increasingly being referred to as one place ‘that still has stars’.”

Thanks to a collaboration with Cornerstones of Science, the Jesup has an Orion Star Blast 4.5 telescope that you can check out and take home like a book. You don’t need a telescope to appreciate our starscape, but we encourage you to try it out! Speak with a librarian at the front desk or contact us to learn more.

Throughout the year, we host regular meetings of the Acadia Astronomical Society. The club uses the Jesup’s lending telescope to scope out the night skies, teaches new stargazers how to use it, and offers exciting programs about what can be seen in the sky at night. They welcome new members, and the club is open to everyone at no charge. For more information, contact acadiaastronomicalsociety@gmail.com or visit our events calendar to find their next meeting.

For one weekend every year, the Jesup also transforms into a planetarium. Since 2009, the Jesup and members of AAS have participated in the Acadia Night Sky Festival with book discussions, speakers, and other activities including a planetarium: an enormous, inflated gray dome in the middle of the Reading Room which is used for projections and educational programming. It’s quite a sight, whether you’re outside it or in.

Primary Source with The Jackson Laboratory

Since 2016, we’ve collaborated with The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) on an extensive series of programs for adults. Topics have included how the black bear may hold the secret to a cure for kidney disease, sleep and Alzheimer’s Disease, kidney and heart regeneration, and more. Click here to see information on past events.

STEM Learning & Resources

Jesup is not your typical community library – in fact, the place is transitioning from a passive provider of books to a dynamic hub focused on enabling community members to discover, learn, and collaborate around science.

Cornerstones of Science, September 2019: How a Small Library Transformed Itself into a Hub of Science Learning

By offering programs, partnerships, lending materials, and technology you can borrow, the Jesup strives to connect residents and visitors in our community with MDI’s renowned scientific institutions and encourage exploration of our island’s incredible natural resources.

If you would like to host a program or donate resources to help us advance this work, please contact us.

Future Technology Spaces & Resources

The tools of the 21st-century are technology-based, and our community must have a place that fosters creativity and entrepreneurship, and encourages the sharing of technology skills and knowledge. The Jesup Memorial Library is that place.

Our plans to expand include a Makerspace where people can:

use specialized software to produce their own books or movies or design buildings;

use digital scanners to create family history scrapbooks;

learn to use a 3-D printer, laser-cutting machine or other technologies that are reshaping how the world creates and hatches new businesses and products;

learn traditional crafts & technologies, such as sewing or fly-tying;

pursue intergenerational learning and experimentation; and above all,

let imagination meet resourcefulness in a supportive, creative atmosphere.

We are assembling a Technology & Sustainability Working Group to make plans and set priorities for these and other technology resources for our community. Find out more here.