Workshops

Group Workshops

Times: earliest 10:00 a.m., latest 3:00 p.m.
Days: Monday through Friday
Number of Students: up to 25
Length: 1.5 - 2 hours
Fee (student rate): $200 for up to 25 students and 3 chaperone plus a $25 booking fee. Includes admission to the MIT Museum galleries. Booking fee waived for reservations made more than 2 weeks in advance.
Fee (adult/corporate rate): $400 for up to 25 adults (including group leader) plus a $25 booking fee. Discounts for senior (ages 65+) and teacher groups. Booking fee waived for reservations made more than 2 weeks in advance.
Booking: Availability is limited, so please book as soon as possible.  Reservations must be made at least 2 weeks in advance. During the spring and summer busy season, we recommend that reservations be made as far in advance as possible as we fill up quickly.

Registration information

Workshops Offered: Robotics Engineering | Visualizing Science | Physics and Photography | Hello Holography | Fish N Ships | Structural Engineering | DNA Learning Lab; DNA and Proteins | DNA Learning Lab: Protein Synthesis

Robotics Engineering: Programming Mindstorms (middle and high school)

Explore what makes a robot tick in this introduction to programming robots. Students use the LEGO Mindstorms NXT and NXT-G Programming Environment to get robots sensing, thinking, and moving about. This workshop includes an introduction to artificial intelligence research at MIT and a guided tour of the Robots and Beyond gallery.
Download pre/post activities for this workshop

Visualizing Science: Abalone, Brass Rats, and Computer Chips (middle and high school)

See the world in a new way! Students use a range of technologies to build observation skills and explore objects from the MIT Museum collections and on-campus research labs. This hands-on microscopy workshop includes a brief gallery tour and an introduction to nanoscience research at MIT. Find out how different groups are using nanotechnology to solve real-world problems in science and engineering.

Lights, Camera, Action: Physics and Photography (recommended for high school)

Make waves, explore magnetism, and try your hand at strobe photography. Students design and capture their own images of physics experiments, using the MIT Museum’s historical photography collections as inspiration. This workshp features the work of Berenice Abbott and Doc Edgerton.
Download pre/post activities for this workshop

NEW! Hello Holography! (middle and high school)

Students experiment with light and perception to investigate the basic principles behind real-world holography. Through a series of demonstrations and hands-on activities, students will learn how holograms are made and viewed. The properties and behavior of light waves will also be discussed, from reflection (middle school focus) to diffraction and interference (high school students only). This workshop includes a guided tour of the Museum's holography gallery.
Developed with support from SPIE.

NEW! Fish 'n' Ships (middle and high school)

Students design, build, and test mechanisms for ship propulsion in this introduction to nature-inspired engineering at MIT. This workshop features examples from MIT research labs and the Museum's Hart Nautical collection and a mini-tour of the Museum's Robots & Beyond gallery.

Structural Engineering: Building Better Bridges (recommended for middle school)

Find out just how strong a piece of paper can be, bridge distances you'd never think possible, and see the simple geometry at the root of the longest bridges in the world in this active workshop on structural engineering. Students learn how structures stand up and work in teams to design and build bridges using recycled materials. Examples from architecture and engineering developed at MIT deepen students' appreciation of the structures all around us.

DNA Learning Lab: DNA and Proteins (middle and high school)

Within human bodies lies a complex system as elegant and efficient as any factory-protein synthesis from instructions encoded in DNA. In this workshop, students learn about two vital biomolecules: DNA and proteins. Students will explore this fundamental basis of life with LEGO DNA kits, digital models, and guided discussion.

DNA Learning Lab: Protein Synthesis (high school only)

Students with a background in molecular biology explore transcription, translation, and protein folding. This workshop, for high school and AP Biology students, uses LEGO kits, digital and physical models, and guided discussion to explore key concepts in molecular biology.

Registration information