150 Exhibition

mit150 Exhibition logo

In January 2011, the MIT Museum opened its first exhibition curated with the aid of the “collective intelligence” of the MIT community. The exhibition opened to the MIT community on January 7, 2011, and continued through December 31, 2011. The Museum displayed 150 evocative objects selected to reveal the extraordinary qualities of the Institute throughout its history. The collaborative process yielded unexpected insights and many ideas for artifacts that show what for 150 years has made the MIT environment so distinctive, so innovative and so nurturing for those interested in answering the question: “What do we not yet know?”

The exhibition was displayed in the Thomas Peterson ’57 Gallery and included two additional displays on the main campus in the Compton Gallery (Building 10) and the Maihaugen Gallery (Building 14N).

Be sure to visit the MIT 150 Exhibition website to enjoy a close-up look at the 150 objects that were included in the exhibition, and add your voice and your stories to become part of a permanent online archive for MIT's material culture. For additional information email: 150exhibition@mit.edu.

MIT Museum homepage

MIT 150 Exhibition homepage


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MIT 150 and Beyond

In celebration of the MIT 150 Exhibition and MIT's 150th anniversary celebration the MIT Museum presented an ongoing series of public programs throughout 2011. These events were free with Museum admission.

Inside 150: Putting the ‘tech’ in Architecture

Saturday, September 17, 2011

MIT’s Department of Architecture was the first of its kind in the nation. Today, the School of Architecture and Planning is among the most innovative and practical design-based programs in the world. Museum visitors were invited to take an insider’s tour of MIT 150 exhibition with Gary Van Zante, the MIT Museum’s Curator of Architecture and Design, to discover the people and projects that are changing the way we live in the world.

150 Alive: A Conversation about Public Art at MIT
Saturday, November 12, 2011, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Join Alise Upitis, the Curator of Public Art at MIT’s List Visual Arts Center, and Laura Knott, the MIT Museum’s Curatorial Associate for Architecture and Design and Interim Exhibition Coordinator, for a lively conversation about public art at MIT and Alexander Calder’s La Grande Voile, featured in the MIT 150 exhibition.

Museum visitors were invited to join Alise Upitis, the Curator of Public Art at MIT’s List Visual Arts Center, and Laura Knott, the MIT Museum’s Curatorial Associate for Architecture and Design and Interim Exhibition Coordinator, for a lively conversation about public art at MIT and Alexander Calder’s La Grande Voile, featured in the MIT 150 exhibition.

A window into MIT's educational culture and rich history of invention and innovation


photo of 150 exhibition

photo of 150 exhibition

photo of 150 exhibition