Massachusetts Institute of Technology / MIT Museum
Building N51 265 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139
Open Daily 10am – 5pm / Closed Major Holidays

The MIT Museum is open today, Sunday, April 21. Cambridge Science Festival events will proceed as listed here.

Teacher resources

The MIT Museum partners with different programs and organizations to offer workshops and classes for teachers to research and learn about new methods of inquiry-based approaches to teaching science and technology.

Learn more by noting special programs on the museum calendar.

Gallery guides

The PDF guides below were created by the MIT Museum education team for school field trips and other group visits to the MIT Museum:
Gallery Activity Guide (middle and high school students)
Sampling MIT Exhibit Guide (middle and high school teachers)
A Brief Guide to Sampling MIT (middle and high school students)
Family Gallery Guide and Activity Sheet (can be used by elementary school groups)

Pre- and post-workshop activities

The PDF lessons below were created by the MIT Museum education team for teachers who wish to engage their students in pre- or post-visit activities before attending one of the following workshops at the MIT Museum:
Robotics Engineering: Programming Mindstorms
Lights, Camera Action: Physics & Photography

Free admission for MA teachers

The MIT Museum is always free for members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association! Show your MTA membership card for free admission to the Museum to enjoy our public offerings and plan ahead for your group’s visit.

Teacher workshops

The MIT Museum partners with different programs and organizations to offer workshops for teachers to learn about approaches to teaching science, engineering and technology in the classroom. We do not have any teacher workshops scheduled at this time.

MIT Museum public programs

Learn more about current research and technology by attending one of the Museum’s public programs. Check the Museum’s calendar for events related to your teaching. Or, join our mailing list to receive e-mails about upcoming exhibitions and programs.
In addition, consider registering your teams of your students our annual Friday After Thanksgiving (FAT) Chain Reaction Event.

Upcoming Workshops

Thurs. 10/14 or Tues. 10/26

DNA Learning Lab Teacher Professional Development Workshop

Cell Biology the Hands-On Way Using Molecular Manipulatives

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Join us on either Thursday, October 14th or Tuesday, October 26th for a two hour workshop, where you will learn about two approaches to teaching on molecular biology: using physical manipulatives based on LEGO and computer modeling.

In the facilitated LEGO program, we learn about protein structure by building a channel protein. First, we build and fold LEGO amino acid chains. We then utilize a gene, created from LEGO nucleotides, and step through transcribing and translating the DNA using the LEGO models of mRNA and tRNA. Because the room is designed to represent a cell, we move between the appropriate cellular compartments as we perform these molecular processes. We finish by placing our channel protein in the cell membrane. In addition, we observe the effect of a single nucleotide replacement in the shape of the resulting protein and discuss cystic fibrosis as an example of such a replacement.

In the computer modeling, we work with the program Molecular Workbench, created by the Concord Consortium. This software models the major concepts in protein synthesis and both DNA and protein structure. We will also explore the STAR Biochem program developed at MIT – an amazing 3-D visualization tool for exploring protein structure that we use with more advanced groups, such as AP Biology classes.

Note: Three-grade level appropriate lessons are offered, meeting the Massachusetts State Standards (middle school, high school and AP). The October 14 and October 26 workshops are identical.

MIT Museum Home Education Teacher Workshops

Additional MIT resources

MIT offers many other activities and facilities for students and school groups. A full listing of MIT’s K-12 programs is available online.

Have questions? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.