Calendar

Jump-start your weekend at the MIT Museum during our monthly free evening.

Shine a light on art and technology as you visit The Jeweled Net: Views of Contemporary Holography. Exhibit curator Seth Riskin will lead tours of the MIT Museum's popular display holography exhibition, while museum educators present hands-on activities and demonstrations exploring the scientific principles behind these amazing images. Recommended for teens and adults, with special opportunities for middle and high school teachers to learn more about the MIT Museum's new holography workshop.
Free admission; tickets required for limited capacity tours at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. (available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning half an hour before start) Tickets not required for hands-on activities and demonstrations.

Art and Design Circle
A new, monthly art and design forum, The Art and Design Circle brings together MIT and broader communities for casual, brief presentations that stimulate dialogue and community at the intersection of art, science and technology.

Technological Worlds
Questions about man’s relationship to his self-created environment are at the heart of the work of Brazilian animator Guilherme Marcondes. In this program, Marcondes shares results from a 2-week workshop that prototyped a spatial narrative with MIT students and faculty from the MIT Game Lab. A gifted animator and filmmaker, Marcondes’ works have appeared on MTV, the BBC, Animal Planet and in film festivals across the globe. Click here for more information and to reserve your free ticket to this program. Tickets are required for entry. Ticket holders have access to the MIT Museum’s galleries, with a special demonstration of the games produced, beginning at 5:15 p.m.

Program is co-presented by the MIT Program in Science, Technology and Society and the MIT Game Lab.

Jump-start your weekend at the MIT Museum during our monthly free evening.

Join the Sense About Science campaign to combat bad science and misrepresented evidence in advertising, the media, and policy statements. On the eve of Valentine's Day, hear from scientists who have asked for evidence behind aphrodisiacs and other romance-themed claims. To register, email cpeters@senseaboutscience.org by Monday, February 5, 2013.
Free admission with registration

Be among the first to see the Compass Points: Joël Tettamanti, the first US exhibit of an African-born, Swiss photographer of place, newly on display in the MIT Museum's Kurtz Gallery for Photography. The photographs focus on the impact of human settlement on the landscape, from Asia to the Arctic Circle.
Free with Museum admission

Explore our newest exhibition with photographer Joël Tettamanti.
Free with Museum admission. Tickets required for the limited capacity tours (available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning half an hour before each tour)

Celebrate National Engineers Week at the MIT Museum during the Massachusetts February vacation week! Students and their families can enjoy hands-on engineering challenges (10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.) and exciting demonstrations by MIT students, local companies and more (1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.). See details here.
Vacation week activities are presented with support from the Marvin C. '51 and Joanne Grossman Fund. Activities and demonstrations are free with Museum admission.

During the Massachusetts school vacation week, middle and high school students (and teachers!) can experience our hands-on science and engineering workshops. Topics include robotics (Monday), structural engineering (Tuesday), boat design (Wednesday), nanotechnology (Thursday), physics photography (Friday), and holography (Saturday). See our registration page for workshop descriptions and age restrictions.

$10/student/workshop (includes Museum admission) with advance payment and pre-registration required. Presented with support from the Marvin C. '51 and Joanne Grossman Fund.

Step inside the world of engineering with the MIT Society of Women Engineers. MIT engineering students and professional engineers will give you a glimpse of their world and work in this interactive panel. Participants include MIT Professor Krystyn Van Vliet, Lisa Zagura, graduate student Kanjun Qiu, and MIT undergraduates Jackie Sly, Jean Fang, and Tara Soni. After the panel, chat one-on-one with the presenters as you enjoy hands-on activities such as making a mini-LED flashlight, learning about chromatography, and building a rubber-band rover.
Free with Museum admission - no pre-registration required. All genders and ages welcome, although high school students are especially encouraged to attend. Activities are presented with support from the Marvin C. '51 and Joanne Grossman Fund.

Featured Program: Nautical Night

TalkBack 360: Science on Trial
Rebuilding Credibility in the Face of Natural Disaster
When natural disaster strikes, who is held responsible? After the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake struck the Italian region of Abruzzo, killing more than 300 people, six seismologists were convicted of manslaughter. Nearly three years later, the city is still rebuilding. Join representatives from the city's reconstruction team in discussion with MIT experts on geology, architecture, and dispute resolution. Share your thoughts on the limitations of scientific data, and the obligation of scientists, city planners, and policy makers alike to predict and plan for the impact of natural disasters on local communities.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

This program is a co-production of the MIT Museum and the MIT School of Architecture & Planning.

Suspended City: Rebuilding L’Aquila After the Earthquake of 2009
As a complement to our TalkBack 360 session on Wednesday, March 20, the MIT Museum, in partnership with the MIT School of Architecture & Planning and the Consulate of Italy in Boston, presents a roundtable discussion at MIT.
Please note that this program will take place in the Bush Room at 77 Massachusetts Avenue.

This program is a co-production of the MIT Museum and the MIT School of Architecture & Planning. Funding has been provided by the School of Architecture and Planning, the Consulate of Italy in Boston, and the MIT Museum.

Get an insider's glimpse of our newest photographic exhibition with curator Gary Van Zante and Simmons College senior lecturer and Boston Center for the Arts artist in residence, Edie Bresler. Tours at 6:00 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.

Free admission; tour tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Cambridge Science Festival
Join us at the MIT Museum for nine days of Festival fun! During the 7th annual Cambridge Science Festival, the MIT Museum will host a range of performances, demonstrations, tours, workshops, and activities. Click here for the full schedule of events at the MIT Museum.

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

Flowers Sprout FIRST
Join the Bot Side, from the Community Charter School of Cambridge for the annual Flowers Sprout FIRST presentation, named in honor of Professor Woodie Flowers, creator of the concept Gracious Professionalism! The professor’s own MIT robotics class was the inspiration for FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Meet a spectrum of FIRST team members and see robots built by K-12 students from the 2012-2013 FIRST Robotics season. Hear from team captains, mentors, and members about how being a part of robotics, and FIRST in particular, has changed how they perceive the world around them! Through competitive robotics challenges, FIRST aims to inspire young people to participate in science and technology, and we hope to have you join us in our journey to spread FIRST to the Cambridge community. Questions? Email the team at team5397@gmail.com.