Calendar

Featured Program: Ready, Set, ZOOM!

Zoom into the new year with a showcase of high-speed engineering projects by MIT students. See the latest models and talk with MIT Motorsports, the MIT Rocket Team, MIT's Design/Build/Fly Team, and others about race cars, rocket ships and more!
Free admission

Featured Program: Spacewar! Turns 50

In 1961, Digital Equipment Corporation gave MIT a PDP-1 computer and the games began. From discussions about "interesting displays" to new lessons in interactive programming, MIT's Kludge Room became the birthplace of Spacewar! Celebrate the 50th anniversary of this momentous occasion with a larger-than-life celebration of this influential game. From 5:30 p.m., you will be able to play a new iteration of Spacewar! by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab on a giant mockup of the PDP-1 monitor. At 6:30 p.m. there is a panel discussion on Spacewar! and the PDP-1 computer featuring a member of "Spacewar!'s" original creative team, Martin "Slug" Graetz and members of the PDP-1 Restoration Project; Eric Smith and Mike Cheponis. Moderating this discussion will be GAMBIT's U.S. Executive Director, Philip Tan.
Free admission

Featured Program: Nautical Night

Celebrate MIT and the sea at MIT Museum's third annual Nautical Night. Activities and demonstrations abound as you chart your course through MIT's rich history of ocean science, technology and engineering. Featuring presentations and demonstrations from MIT Sea Grant, the MIT Nautical Association, and the winners of MIT's annual cardboard boat regatta.

Come by the MIT Museum and help students from MIT's Toy Product Design class test their projects. Give your feedback and be a part of mechanical engineering at MIT!

Featured Program: Rivers of Ice

The MIT Museum welcomes to you to the public unveiling of Rivers of Ice: Vanishing Glaciers of the Greater Himalaya. Take a special opening day tour of the exhibition with MIT faculty and staff knowledgeable about such topics as glaciology, water rights, geology, and then join a fast-paced discussion about how your exhibit experience was influenced by your guide’s scientific perspective. View archived video here.
Tours begin at 5:30 with discussion to follow at 6:00. Light refreshments served.

Join the MIT community for an evening of exciting innovations for international development. The event will showcase the latest international innovations emerging across the Institute. The event brings together a diverse audience to share ideas and learn about MIT international development technologies and projects. The evening is a wonderful networking opportunity that promotes social awareness about pressing global issues such as poverty, public health, education, and mobility. ID required for ages 21+

Sponsored by the Technology and Culture Forum, the International Development Initiative and Graduate Student Life Grants and held in conjunction with the 2012 Harvard International Development Conference.

Explore the Arctic ice cap with photographer Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist John Toole, and MIT oceanographer Patrick Heimbach. See stunning images from the pole, explore the latest data from deep beneath the cap’s surface, and find out how such information can be used to forecast global environmental change.

View video

Join us at the MIT Museum for ten days of Festival fun! During the 6th annual Cambridge Science Festival, the MIT Museum will host a range of performances, demonstrations, receptions, and workshops and activities. Click here for the full schedule of events at the MIT Museum.

Closing of Holography: The Light Fantastic

Gallery re-opens in June with new holograms.

Featured Program: Documenting Science: Berenice Abbott at MIT

Be among the first to explore the Museum's newest public space, the Kurtz Gallery for Photography. Get an insider's view of the gallery's inaugural exhibition, featuring revolutionary physics imagery from American photographer Berenice Abbott. Walk and talk with exhibition curators Gary Van Zante and Julia Van Haaften, and MIT physics professor Krishna Rajagopal as they share their insights on the "essential unity" between physics and photography, and MIT's contributions to science education in the post-Sputnik era. Museum educators will be also available to assist you in creating your own versions of Abbott's iconic images.

Doors open at 5:00; timed tickets available for tours at 5:30, 6:00, and 6:30 (first come, first served); discussion at 7:00 p.m.

MIT D-Lab Project Showcase

Come see how MIT students are developing technologies that make an impact in our world! Join us for the final presentations, projects and prototypes from the growing MIT D-Lab family of classes: Design, Dissemination, Energy, Health, Biodiversity and Supply Chains

Robotics Showcase: Flowers Sprout FIRST

The MIT Museum and the FIRST robotics team at the Community Charter School of Cambridge invite you to celebrate Woodie Flowers’ concept of Gracious Professionalism. The professor’s own MIT robotics class was the inspiration for FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).  Through competitive robotics challenges, FIRST aims to inspire young people to participate in science and technology. Meet a spectrum of FIRST team members and see robots built by K-12 students from the 2011-2012 FIRST Robotics season.
Display opens at 12:00, scrimmages begin at 12:30

How do images influence the way you think about science? With a camera, an artist’s eye, and a bit of input from MIT scientists, photographer Berenice Abbott brought the world of physics into a new light. Join science photographer Felice Frankel, art historian Caroline Jones, and molecular biologist Christopher Turner for a lively discussion about the role of modern day photography in the scientific landscape.

Doors open at 5:30 for exhibit viewing

The MIT Museum celebrates the sixth annual Cambridge Science Festival! Check out our Festival schedule for a full list of programs and events at the MIT Museum. Activities include talks, tours, demonstrations, hands-on workshops and more!