MIT in Focus
MUSEUM OF THE FUTURE
Seeing the world in a grain of sand may not be a hidden talent for much longer.
Grasping the world's multidimensionality has become an essential part of science and science education, and at MIT there may be no better place to observe this development than in the galleries and programs of the MIT Museum.
Already known for holding the world’s finest collection of holograms, the MIT Museum recently opened a 5,000-square-foot addition built around a state-of-the-art interactive gallery giving visitors direct access to some of the latest MIT research.
Located at street level, the new Mark Epstein Innovation Gallery draws visitors into a series of displays focused not on finished science, but on the moving edge of scientific change, the exciting process of technological innovation and discovery.
Gallery visitors in 2008 will find a multimedia exhibition showcasing the pioneering work of MIT engineers and oceanographers in exploring the deep ocean environment. The technologies demonstrated highlight the use of tethered, undersea robots in ocean exploration, national security, and offshore energy production.
The CityCar, largely created by graduate students at MIT's Media Lab, presents a new urban transportation ecosystem. Models and prototypes illustrate how the concept of an intelligent, stackable electric car that could reduce traffic congestion and pollution in tomorrow’s cities evolved, together with a video game that lets users simulate the experience of driving it.
Interactive videos describing the use of zebrafish as model organisms in cancer research are another compelling exhibition in the gallery. The zebrafish model aims at identifying the genetic mutations associated with the development of cancer and is part of a major new initiative to unravel the molecular core of the disease.
Together with programs such as the Soap Box series of talks by MIT's top scientists and engineers, the museum’s Innovation Gallery provides a place, above all, where visitors can be enthralled by the stories behind the amazing discoveries, people, tools, and research labs at MIT.
In addition, community-oriented programs like the Learning Lab for middle and high school students and the annual Cambridge Science Festival, created in 2007 by the MIT Museum in collaboration with the City of Cambridge, Harvard University, the Museum of Science, and WGBH, further enhance the museum’s drive to create new audiences for science and technology.
As a gateway to today’s MIT, the MIT Museum is fulfilling and extending the traditional role of a museum all at the same time—as it preserves the past, highlights the present, and illuminates the future.
