Women and Space Exploration

Name: Women and Space Exploration
Start: 2026-02-05T18:30:00-06:00
Location: Batavia Public Library of Illinois

Schedule

Thu, 05 Feb, 2026 at 06:30 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

Batavia Public Library of Illinois | Batavia, IL

February 5, 2026
Program: Women and Space Exploration
Speaker: Michelle Nichols, Director of Public Observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.
When: 6:30 pm Networking, 7:00 Program
Where: Batavia Public Library, Van Nortwick Room, 10 S. Batavia Ave, Batavia
We welcome Michelle Nichols, Astro Educator, who will share her program on February 5 about women involved with the exploration of space. Women have been involved in getting people to space for decades. You will learn about several historic, although largely unknown, space trailblazers.
Michelle is an Astrophysics educator and Director of Public Observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Education degree from National - Lewis University.
Michelle has presented her vast repertoire of programs to groups throughout the Chicago land area over the years and is also the author of "Astronomy Lab for Kids" which contains lessons and information that are appropriate for "kids of all ages".
Michelle Nichols is Director of Public Observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL, and has worked at the Adler for over 30 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from National-Louis University. Ms. Nichols leads all of the Adler Planetarium's telescope, observatory, and public sky observing initiatives and events. Before landing at the Adler Planetarium, Michelle worked at U.S. Space Camp (Titusville, FL), the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium (Cocoa, FL), and the Staerkel Planetarium (Champaign, IL).