Calendar

MIT Museum Director John Durant leads a “highlights” tour of the MIT 150 exhibition. Explore the rich history of MIT and learn more about the objects and ideas that are changing our understanding of the world we live in.

Space is limited; first come, first served.

Free with Museum admission

James Draper is the son of Charles Stark Draper, the founder and head of the famous MIT Instrumentation Laboratory (now Draper Laboratory). A small boy in World War II, Draper did not know what his famous father was working on. After his father died, however, many expected him to be an expert. For several years, James Draper has undertaken an effort to become just that: an expert on one of his father's most significant inventions, the Mark 14 gunsight. Developed during WW2 for the Navy, the Mark 14 was a transformative technology for the U.S. Navy particularly in the Pacific Theater. Draper has a very provocative thesis about the Mark 14 based on his studies. This 150 Alive program will give you a chance to learn more about one of World War II's most significant technological innovations through a participatory conversation between MIT150 exhibition curator Deborah Douglas and James Draper.

Space is limited; first come, first served.

Free with Museum admission

MIT undergraduate and graduate students work in groups and in teams to learn how to meet challenges in the classroom and in the professional world. This special insider's tour, led by MIT Museum Curatorial Associate Ariel Weinberg, will highlight some of the objects in the MIT 150 exhibition that are the result of student cooperation and competition.

Space is limited; first come, first served.

Free with Museum admission

Celebrate Pi Day and Einstein's birthday with a staged reading of scenes from Breaking the Code with Catalyst Collaborative@MIT, an award-winning science theater collaboration between MIT and Underground Railway Theater. Breaking the Code is a deeply moving play about the brilliant mathematician Alan Turing, regarded by many as the father of computer science. The play's title refers both to the fact that Turing broke the German "Enigma" code during WWII (greatly contributing to the Allies' victory) and to his refusal to lead a closeted life. Performance will be followed by conversation with the artists and MIT Morss Professor of Applied Mathematics Peter Shor.
Free admission; appropriate for adult and teen audiences

New location: USS Constitution Museum

COPUS Mixer/Science Outreach Night @ MIT Museum

Coalition for the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) Year of Science Planning Symposium.

Over 20 MIT and Boston-area organizations involved in the Public Understanding of Science show off their plans for 2009 at this reception and celebration of science outreach. Posters, presentations, demonstrations and refreshments will be offered.
5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Free admission

Innovation Weekend

Family activities at the Museum, including Inside a Computer, Geodesic Domes, and Hydrodynamics Construction System.

12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Free with regular museum admission

Innovation Weekend

Family activities at the Museum, including Inside a Computer, Geodesic Domes, and Hydrodynamics Construction System.

12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Free with regular museum admission

Soap Box

Grassroots and Global: Technologies & Social Change is the new Soap Box Series about technology's impact on social and political change. This set of popular salon-style evening programs will take place at 6:00 p.m. during October and November. Each program is webcast live, and later an edited program is available on MIT World.

Panel Discussion and Exhibit Tour
Red Lines, Death Vows, Foreclosures, Risk Structures: Architectures of Finance from the Great Depression to the Sub-Prime Meltdown
5:30 p.m. tour with artist Damon Rich in the Compton Gallery.

7:00 p.m. panel discussion in MIT360 Arena.

Free admission

Soap Box with Ethan Zuckerman, Fellow, the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University Law School. Technologies and Emerging Democracies
6:00 p.m.
Free admission, refreshments served

Watch the webcast via Windows Media Version 9 or later

Energy Night

An energetic evening of posters, networking, music, presentations and demonstrations. Sponsored by the MIT Energy Club. Full details on the MIT Events Calendar.
5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Free admission

Lecture

Marty Klein, founder of Klein Associates, Inc. and developer of side scan sonar systems, currently featured in the Mark Epstein Innovation Gallery.
6:00 p.m.
Free admission, refreshments served

Soap Box with Henry Jenkins, Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities. What is Civic Media?
6:00 p.m.
Free admission, refreshments served

Watch the webcast via Windows Media Version 9 or later

Soap Box with Dayna Cunningham, Executive Director of the Community Innovators lab at MIT's Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning: Technologies and Communities Changing Each Other. Technologies and Communities Changing Each Other.
6:00 p.m.
Free admission, refreshments served

Soap Box with Ellen Hume, Research Director of MIT's Center for Future Civic Media. The Future of the News
6:00 p.m.
Free admission, refreshments served

Friday After Thanksgiving: Chain Reaction
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Rockwell Cage Gymnasium

Lecture by Elizabeth Pisani

AIDS: When Will it End?

7:00 p.m. Free admission, refreshments served.

Elizabeth Pisani, author of "The Wisdom of Whores," is an epidemiologist who has spent over a decade working on the defining epidemic of our age – HIV.

Opening Reception

Luminous Windows: Holograms for the 21st Century

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Free admission, refreshments served

Enjoy an outdoor family-oriented party celebrating the installation of six new holograms viewable from the street.

Ports and Ships: Photographs by Andrea Frank
Opening Reception, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Compton Gallery, 10-150 [map]

Chantey Sing
1-4pm, FREE with Museum admission.
Celebrate MIT and the sea!  Come and sing sea chanteys and other maritime-related songs with a room full of fellow enthusiasts, professional and amateur.  Recommended for ages 8 to 108.

Sponsored by NE Chantey Sings.

SCHOOL VACATION WEEK (running Mon 2/16 - Sat 2/21)

Celebrate National Engineers Week with the MIT Museum! All the week's activities are FREE with Museum admission and recommended for ages 10 and up.

Robotics Demos & Tours - 1-2pm.

Starts in 1st floor MIT360 space.

See real robots – old and new – created by MIT students, researchers, and alumni through live demonstrations and guided tours of Robots & Beyond. Learn what robots can do today and may be able to do tomorrow like frowning and smiling, driving a car, and cleaning your house.

Learn About Holography Through Your Eyes - 1-2pm
2nd floor Holography Gallery.

What is a hologram and how does it work? This talk-demonstration will explain holography through demonstrations that reveal the basic principles of light and sight that make up the experience of the 3-D holographic image.

Robotics Workshops - 2-4pm
2nd floor Education Center.

Four sessions at 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, and 3:30. Please show up early for free passes at the 2nd floor information desk. Enrollment limited.

Try your skills at constructing and programming a robot using Lego Mindstorms NXT.

SCHOOL VACATION WEEK (running Mon 2/16 - Sat 2/21)

Robotics Demos & Tours - 1-2pm.

Starts in 1st floor MIT360 space.

See description under Mon 2/16.

Robotics Workshops - 2-4pm
2nd floor Education Center.

Four sessions at 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, and 3:30. Please show up early for free passes at the 2nd floor information desk. Enrollment limited.

See description under Mon 2/16.

SCHOOL VACATION WEEK (running Mon 2/16 - Sat 2/21)

Robotics Demos & Tours - 1-2pm.

Starts in 1st floor MIT360 space.

See description under Mon 2/16.

Learn About Holography Through Your Eyes - 1-2pm
2nd floor Holography Gallery.

See description under Mon 2/16.

Robotics Workshops - 2-4pm
2nd floor Education Center.

Four sessions at 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, and 3:30. Please show up early for free passes at the 2nd floor information desk. Enrollment limited.

See description under Mon 2/16.

SCHOOL VACATION WEEK (running Mon 2/16 - Sat 2/21)

Robotics Demos & Tours - 1-2pm.

Starts in 1st floor MIT360 space.

See description under Mon 2/16.

Robotics Workshops - 2-4pm
2nd floor Education Center.

Four sessions at 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, and 3:30. Please show up early for free passes at the 2nd floor information desk. Enrollment limited.

See description under Mon 2/16.

SCHOOL VACATION WEEK (running Mon 2/16 - Sat 2/21)

Robotics Demos & Tours - 1-2pm.

Starts in 1st floor MIT360 space.

See description under Mon 2/16.

Learn About Holography Through Your Eyes - 1-2pm
2nd floor Holography Gallery.

See description under Mon 2/16.

Robotics Workshops - 2-4pm
2nd floor Education Center.

Four sessions at 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, and 3:30. Please show up early for free passes at the 2nd floor information desk. Enrollment limited.

See description under Mon 2/16.

4:30-5:30pm Fri - Luminous Windows Exhibition and Guided Tour
Starts on 1st floor Innovation Gallery.

The tools and techniques of display holography have advanced greatly over recent years and have turned holography from a laboratory wonder into an urban-scale medium of visual communication. The Luminous Windows exhibition, bringing together leading artists working with the latest techniques, is one of the first of its kind. The exhibition organizer, Seth Riskin, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the technical and artistic accomplishments behind the display.

SCHOOL VACATION WEEK (running Mon 2/16 - Sat 2/21)

Robotics Demos & Tours - 1-2pm.

Starts in 1st floor MIT360 space.

See description under Mon 2/16.

Robotics Workshops - 2-4pm
2nd floor Education Center.

Four sessions at 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, and 3:30. Please show up early for free passes at the 2nd floor information desk. Enrollment limited.

See description under Mon 2/16.

Artist Talk - Ports and Ships: Photographs by Andrea Frank
2pm, FREE. MIT Museum Compton Gallery, 10-150 [map]

Despite the expansion of air transport in the last half century, global trade still moves mainly by sea, as it has for centuries. Ports and Ships illuminates the invisible global network of vessels crisscrossing the seas, delivering goods, and connecting continents.

Public Reception - Connections
5:30 p.m. FREE. MIT Museum, N51 [map]

Connections is a major installation of exhibits designed by the Sociable Media Group at the MIT Media Lab. Social visualizations and interactive communication environments will be displayed.

Photos, Neurons and Bits: Holography for the 21st Century
Open to the public. Begins Friday Reception: 5:00 - 8:30 p.m. Details and program to follow

Please pre-register at: http://web.mit.edu/museum/forum/

GAM3RS
8pm, doors open at 7pm. FREE admission.
GAM3RS is a one-man show written by Walter G. Meyer and Brian Bielawski that humorously explores the conflicts that arise when one man puts his online gaming life ahead of his work and relationship priorities. Performances will be followed by a talk-back with the guest performer and playwright. Sponsored by Music and Theater Arts, MIT Museum, Council for the Arts, DeFlorez Fund for Humor.

Chantey Sing
1-4pm, FREE with Museum admission.
Celebrate MIT and the sea!  Come and sing sea chanteys and other maritime-related songs with a room full of fellow enthusiasts, professional and amateur.  Recommended for ages 8 to 108. Sponsored by NE Chantey Sings.

Artist Talk - Ports and Ships: Photographs by Andrea Frank
2pm, FREE. MIT Museum Compton Gallery, 10-150 [map]

Despite the expansion of air transport in the last half century, global trade still moves mainly by sea, as it has for centuries. Ports and Ships illuminates the invisible global network of vessels crisscrossing the seas, delivering goods, and connecting continents.

Activity
Toy Product Design - Public Playtesting!
3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Go behind the scenes of MIT's Toy Product Design Class! Join MIT students as they present their toy prototypes to the public. Be the first to play with everything from paint pens to bathtub building kits. All ages are welcome!

Graduate Student Expo
Sustainability Night
5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Please join us for a fascinating expo and reception featuring some of the latest innovations at MIT. Sponsored by the International Development Network at MIT held in conjunction with the International Development Conference at Harvard.

Lecture with Sociable Media Group director Judith Donath
Data Portraits: Representation for a post-physical world
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Join Sociable Media Group director Judith Donath and graduate student Alex Dragulescu in discussing what portraiture could become in the 21st century. Examine new methods of displaying digital data as shown in the exhibition, Connections (through Sept. 13).

Panel Discussion
On the WOW Pod: A Design for Extimacy and Fantasy-Fulfillment for the World of Warcraft Addict
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.           
A discussion about the inducement of pleasure, fantasy fulfillment, and the mediation of intimacy in a socially-networked gaming paradigm. This event is in conjunction with the exhibition SHADA/JAHN, Hollowed (through Sept. 13).

Panel Discussion
The Invisible World of Global Shipping
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
In association with the Compton Gallery exhibition, Ports and Ships (through June 14), MIT and industry experts in global shipping and ocean science will discuss the hidden roles of ocean shipping in the global economy and environment. This event takes place in the MIT Museum building.

Exhibit-Related Lecture

Félix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist Opening Lecture
4:00 p.m. in EG&G Center, 34-101 [map]

Learn about the remarkable concrete buildings of Félix Candela as pure engineering works of art, as featured in the Candela exhibit (through Sept. 27) at the MIT Museum. David P. Billington (Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Princeton University) & Maria E. Moreyra Garlock, (Assistant Professor, Princeton University, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering), the curators of this exhibit, will speak.

Reception to follow at MIT Museum (see below).

Exhibit Opening Reception
Félix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist Opening Reception
5:30 p.m. -7:00 p.m.

Following lecture above. At MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Ave.

Performance
LOOPS: Digitally Enhanced Performance
8:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Cost: $20, student discount available; Audience: Adult
Kick-off the Cambridge Science Festival a day early with this unusual performance that uses data and software from LOOPS, a digital portrait of Merce Cunningham originally made in 2001. Produced by the Boston Cyberarts Festival. Selected LOOPS video and art installation on view at the MIT Museum through May 10, 2009.

Cambridge Science Festival

The Cambridge Science Festival is presented by the MIT Museum in collaboration with the City of Cambridge, community organizations, schools, universities and businesses. The Museum is hosting a range of events throughout the week, including hands-on technology demonstrations, a Youth Media Night, a science storybook writing event, our "Lunch with a Luminary" series, and numerous other programs.

Visit the official site of the Cambridge Science Festival or see the schedule and description of festival events at the MIT Museum.

Demonstration and Discussion
Stepping into Virtual Worlds
A Cambridge Science Festival Event: “Tech Night”
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Online space opens new potential for examining digital communication and relationships.  Join us in looking at the diverse uses of virtual worlds ranging from research to education to entertainment.  Speakers include MIT graduate students from the Connections exhibition (through Sept. 13) and John Lester, the Operations Director of the Boston office of Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life.

Gallery Talk       

Félix Candela Gallery Talk
1:00 p.m.
John Ochsendorf, Associate Professor, Building Technology,
MIT Department of Architecture

Salon-style Discussion        
Soap Box – What’s the Latest in Solar Energy? - Next Generation Solar Cells – Lowering Costs, Improving Performance and Scale
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Hear from Tonio Buonassisi (Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT) and learn about his search for the best materials for making cheaper and more efficient solar cells for the future.

Panel Discussion
Machines with eyes and texting spies: The shifting lines of public/private
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Metropath(ologies), a modular and interactive exhibit displayed in Connections (through Sept. 13) poses the question of how one senses the notions of public versus private. A discussion about how privacy is being redefined in the context of hyper-connected and hyper-aware real and virtual spaces.

Demonstration and Discussion
Design for Development Expo
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Come see how MIT students in Amy Smith’s D - Lab  (development, design and dissemination) are creating technologies that make an impact on our world.

Salon-style Discussion        
Soap Box – What’s the Latest in Solar Energy? - Nanoscale Engineering for High Performance Solar Cells
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Learn about quantum dots - nanoparticles of semiconductor material that give off light - and how Vladimir Bulovic (Associate Professor of Communications and Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) is using these hardy, brightly colored nano dots to reinvent the light bulb.

Gallery Talk       

Félix Candela Gallery Talk
1:00 p.m.
John Ochsendorf, Associate Professor, Building Technology,
MIT Department of Architecture

Film Screening       

Extreme Videography of the Volvo Ocean Race:

A Symposium Screening Inmarsat Media Prize Video
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Meet sailor/videographers filming and HD broadcasting a grueling round-the-world ocean race! This special event of the Volvo Ocean Race layover in Boston showcases cutting-edge sailing, film making and Inmarsat satellite communication technology.

*Symposium admission requires online registration. Attendance is limited - please register early.

Salon-style Discussion        
Soap Box – What’s the Latest in Solar Energy? - Luminescent Solar Concentrators
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Learn from Marc A. Baldo (Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) about luminescent solar concentrators - inexpensive plates of glass or transparent plastic that concentrate sunlight without the need to track the sun across the sky.

Apollo Celebration Displays
MIT Goes to the Moon (June 10 - Sept. 13)
Giant Leaps (June 10 - June 14)

Demonstration
Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
On July 20, 1969 MIT engineers helped land the first man on the moon.  Join scientists and engineers from MIT’s Aeronautics and Astronautics Department for a look into the current projects being developed for the future of air and space.

Light Graffiti; Lego DNA - 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Gumdrop Domes and Newspaper Bridges - 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Lego Mindstorm Robots; Lego DNA; Light Graffiti - 12:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Lego Mindstorm Robots; Lego DNA; Light Graffiti - 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Lego Mindstorm Robots; Lego DNA; Light Graffiti - 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Gumdrop Domes; Flyer Building - 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Vault N51: A Low Carbon Masonry Innovation - Student Night Event

Learn more about the unique structural forms on display at the MIT Museum. Join us for the unveiling of a newly constructed thin brick vault, created by MIT Architecture graduate students at MIT (blog, website), which is inspired by Spanish architect-engineer Félix Candela.

7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

Temporary Closing of the First Floor

The MIT Museum is updating our first floor space.

The Mark Epstein Innovation Gallery and the MIT Museum store on the first floor will be closed temporarily for renovation and installation of new exhibits. Some store items will be available at the second floor reception desk. We look forward to re-opening the space for visitors on Saturday, September 26.

Innovation Sunday

Lend your brain to science. Explore with a 21st Century space suit. Video chat with the Martinos Brain Imaging Center and explore MIT’s MRI machine. See light get all bendy underwater. Meet the scientists making next generation solar powered devices at the cutting edge of physics and materials science. Explore the most current research at MIT through the new exhibit Sampling MIT.

12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Free admission to the Museum all day!

Workshop: Build a Solar Sculpture

Grab some feathers, wheels, tubes, holograms, and more from the Wall O' Materials to make your solar powered mechanical sculpture come alive! 45 minutes, offered at 12:00, 1:00, and 2:00. $5 materials fee. Ages 8+.

Second Fridays

Join us for our new after hours series. Enjoy the Museum galleries, additional activities, and refreshments. Free admission.

5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Featured Program: Hands-on Activities

Create amazing light graffiti images using portable LEDs, build structures out of candy and everyday materials, or make a marble-sized roller coaster

5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Energy Night

An energetic evening of posters, networking, music, presentations and demonstrations. Sponsored by the MIT Energy Club.
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Free admission

Second Fridays

Join us for our new after hours series. Enjoy the Museum galleries, additional activities, and refreshments. Free admission.

5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Featured Program: Nanotech Workshop

Think small! Batteries made out of viruses. Remote control medicine. Nanotechnology is making it possible. Professors Paula Hammond and Angela Belcher invite you to explore this rapidly changing field through a two-hour workshop of discussion and hands-on work with real nanotech materials.  For adults only.  Register online.

5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Over the past ten years, Flashes of Inspiration was one of the MIT Museum's most popular exhibitions. Join us in meeting "Doc" Edgerton again in this new display of the digital archive of the professor's work. Celebrate with an afternoon of activities and demos!

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Free with Museum admission.

Soap Box: Global Pandemics
Join Biology Professor Hidde Ploegh to discuss the weapons we have now to fight pandemics, new tools in the pipeline, and the challenges for privacy, biodefense, and public health that arise in the aggressive response to a pandemic.

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Free admission, light refreshments.

Friday After Thanksgiving: Chain Reaction
Our annual fun-filled family event hosted by sculptor Arthur Ganson. Watch as participant teams link their individual machines together forming one mega chain reaction!

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Rockwell Cage Gymnasium. $10 adults, $5 students and seniors. Includes a visit to the MIT Museum and a 20% discount at the Museum Store.

Soap Box: Humans in Space

Hear from Professor Dava Newman about new technologies, companies, and policies that are leading people back into space above low Earth orbit. Discuss the issues around space flight from national pride and scientific discovery to wealth distribution and the meaning of being human.

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Free admission, light refreshments.

Second Fridays

Join us for our new after hours series. Enjoy the Museum galleries, additional activities, and refreshments. Free admission.

5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Featured Program: Debunking Hollywood’s Holograms
Think you’ve seen holograms in the movies and on TV? Dr. Michael Bove from the MIT Media Lab will prove you wrong. See "holograms" in clips from Star Wars, CNN, and elsewhere, compare those special effects with real holograms. Learn about the moving holograms being developed right now in MIT labs. In conjunction with the Sampling MIT exhibit.