Michelle Nichols, M.Ed.
MY BIO
Image credit: Michelle Nichols
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).
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Since 1999, Michelle has been a popular local speaker, giving hundreds of presentations to more than 150 public libraries, community organizations, and senior living facilities in the Chicago suburbs, Indiana, and Alabama.
Ms. Nichols has also served as an advisor for several children’s books: Superfast Rockets, Space: Surviving in Zero-G, Ellen Ochoa: Reach for the Stars, and The Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion, as well as the Scholastic News Nonfiction Readers series: The Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, The Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto: Dwarf Planet, and Comets. Astronomy Lab for Kids (2016) is Michelle's first book as author.
UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
Mar 16 - 7:00 pm - Women in Space Exploration - Wilmette Public Library
Mar 19 - 7:00 pm - Artemis II - Schaumburg Township District Library
Mar 23 - 7:00 pm - Artemis: Returning to the Moon - Wood Dale Public Library
Mar 24 - evening - private program
Mar 26 - 7:00 pm - Artemis: Returning to the Moon - Wauconda Area Public Library
Apr 27 - 7:00 pm - Exploring the Andromeda Galaxy - Elmhurst Public Library
Apr 28 - 7:00 pm - Light Pollution: What Can Be Done? - Lake Villa District Library Lindenhurst
May 4 - 7:00 pm - Light Pollution: What Can Be Done? - Fremont Public Library
May 11 - 7:00 pm - Exploring the Andromeda Galaxy - Arlington Heights Memorial Library
May 12 - 7:00 pm - Armchair Tour of the Solar System - West Chicago Public Library District
May 18 - 7:00 pm - Exploring the Andromeda Galaxy - Barrington Area Library
May 19 - 6:30 pm - Armchair Tour of the Universe - Green Hills Public Library
May 26 - 6:00 pm - Women in Space Exploration - Huntley Area Library
May 28 - 7:00 pm - The Webb Space Telescope - Batavia Public Library
​Sept 9 - 6:30 pm - Skywatching Using A Telescope - Prospect Heights Public Library
​Oct 1 - 6:00 pm - Light Pollution: What Can Be Done? - Westchester Public Library
Oct 5 - 7:00 pm - Exploring the Andromeda Galaxy - Geneva Public Library
Oct 6 - 7:00 pm - 12 Things That Make Life On Earth Possible - Roselle Public Library
Oct 13 - 6:30 pm - Searching for Earth & ETs - Prospect Heights Public Library
Oct 19 - 6:30 pm - The Webb Space Telescope - Oak Park Public Library
Nov 9 - 6:30 pm - Artemis: Returning to the Moon - Prospect Heights Public Library
Nov 12 - 6:30 pm - 12 Things That Make Life On Earth Possible - Riverside Public Library
Nov 30 - 7:00 pm - Armchair Tour of the Solar System - Helen Plum Public Library
Dec 14 - 6:30 pm - Exploring the Andromeda Galaxy - Prospect Heights Public Library
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2027: I have agreed to speak at the annual convention of the North Central Region of the Astronomical League on Saturday, May 15, 2027. For more information about the convention, please go to https://ncral.org/.
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Please confirm program dates/times, registration requirements, and/or registration residency restrictions with individual program hosts, as well as as whether program is in-person, online-only, or a hybrid format. All hosts listed above are located in Illinois/Central Time Zone, unless otherwise stated.
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2026
My Update News
Dear friends,
After more than 25 years, I am stepping away from giving public presentations in the community due to the demands of my full-time job.
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Thank you so much to everyone who has brought me in to speak over the years. I cannot begin to express how much I enjoyed the opportunity to share astronomy and space science with your audiences.
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I will follow through with all of the presentation dates I have listed above (and a couple more that are not specifically listed - you know who you are!). If you have already contacted me about a talk, don't worry! I will still handle your request. I am not accepting any additional presentation requests for the rest of 2026 and beyond.
You may also occasionally see me at a monthly meeting for one of our area's local amateur astronomy societies & clubs.
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Thank you, all. Keep looking up!
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Sincerely,
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Michelle
P.S. I will be taking my website down in April 2026
CONTACT ME
astroeducator {at} aol {dot} com