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Monday 10am - 5pm Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

MIT Museum

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Open daily 10am-5pm
314 Main Street, Cambridge MA.

10/28/2026

On December 1, experience sea level rise in a whole new way.
SURGE: A Participatory Performance on Sea Level Rise is an interactive performance-workshop that combines movement, climate science, and activism at the MIT Museum.

Through guided movement and collective exploration with Boston Dance Theater, you'll engage with sea level rise impacts—ocean warming, ice melt, tidal dynamics, and shifting coastlines—and contribute your own perspectives.

No dance experience is needed, a 30-minute performance will follow.

A limited number of free tickets are available for full-time students with ID. Please reach out to [email protected].

Learn more and get tickets: https://hubs.la/Q04CCt7T0

10/27/2026

Think of a map. What do you see?
Roads and rivers? City lines or shipping routes? Mountain ranges or ocean divides?

For centuries, people have made maps for all kinds of navigation, including this rebbelib, a navigational chart from the early 20th century Caroline Islands.

In Micronesia, navigators found their way between atolls by sensing the direction, motion, and magnitude of overlapping ocean waves. Charts like this one visualize the patterns that are created as waves move around islands, with the islands represented as shells, and the swell patterns of the waves represented as sticks.

Without compasses, it's this sense of swell patterns, combined with the orientation of the sun and stars that helped Micronesian navigators to orient themselves, pick their courses, and track their progress.

Learn more about the ways that we can perceive the ocean in our Sensing Oceans exhibition, on view now: https://hubs.ly/Q04Cvn6k0

Photos by Anna Olivella, Rachel Swansburg

10/26/2026

On November 18, join us for a compelling talk with author and MIT professor Thomas Levenson on his new book, A Pox on Fools: The True Believers, Grifters, and Cynics Who Convinced Us to Reject Vaccines.

In this book, written for our current moment of scientific mistrust, Levenson searches for the origins of the most common arguments against vaccines: that they are unnatural; that they are more dangerous than the illnesses they claim to prevent; and that they are an affront to freedom.

Levenson will be joined in conversation by MIT Museum Director Michael John Gorman, and copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.

General admission: $5
A limited number of free tickets are available for full-time students with ID. Please reach out to [email protected].

Learn more, and get tickets: https://hubs.la/Q04CknkM0

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

10/24/2026

We often see oceans as resources to control—a food supply, a means of travel, or even a force to keep out. But what if we shift our focus to coexisting, rather than controlling?

On November 5, join us for Living Water: A Lo-TEK Experience, a dynamic public lecture that will showcase how Indigenous knowledge addresses our greatest environmental challenges from water innovation to climate resilience.

With Lo–TEK Institute Founders Melissa Hunter Gurney and Julia Watson, learn to see oceans not as resources, but as living relatives, and reimagine our relationship with the natural world.

A limited number of free tickets are available for full-time students with ID. Please reach out to [email protected].

Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04Cdm2c0

10/23/2026

How are fish able to swim so much faster and more efficiently than human-designed vehicles? That's the question that researchers set out to answer with RoboTuna II.

As you might guess from the name, RoboTuna is a robot that swims like a tuna. By testing and observing this unique, nature-inspired robot, researchers could demonstrate that the secret to their speed lies in the way a tuna works with the water.

While traditional human-made vehicles like submarines move straight forward, tuna time their movements to utilize the energy in the swirls of water created by their own passage. Look closely—can you spot the photo of those swirls captured here?

Learn more about RoboTuna II and other fascinating technology in our Sensing Oceans exhibition, on view now: https://hubs.la/Q04C8vcp0

Photo by Anna Olivella

10/22/2026

This weekend is MIT Family Weekend, and we're offering free personalization services at the MIT Museum Store!

Make that tote bag, hat, hoodie, or notebook uniquely yours by adding your name, initials, or another custom idea. Items must be new with tags and accompanied by a receipt.

Free Embroidery | Saturday, Oct 24, 12 pm – 4 pm
Free Leather Embossing | Sunday, Oct 25, 12 pm – 4 pm

Personalization services provided by KEEPER.

10/21/2026

This November, discover the hidden worlds of whales and dolphins at After Dark at the MIT Museum!

Join us as researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) reveal the surprising ways that dolphins communicate with their babies, and the cutting-edge technology that’s saving whales from vessel strikes.

Challenge your cetacean trivia knowledge with NOVA l PBS, and discover the secrets of large whales with New England Aquarium. Meet AI-generated marine animals with MIT Media Lab, and explore how everyday habits can make a difference for our planet.

Drinks and bites from Pagu will be available for purchase, with vibes curated by DJ Joseph Ntaimo.

Bring friends, get curious, and dive deeper with the ocean’s most astonishing communicators 🐋

🗓️ Thursday, November 12
⏰ 6 – 9 pm

10/19/2026

How do we navigate the future of our oceans through science, policy, and collaboration?

On October 27, join us for Diplomacy Below the Surface: Science, Cooperation, and the Future of the Ocean Commons, a panel discussion between scientists, diplomats, policymakers, and coastal leaders exploring ocean diplomacy.

From deep-sea research to maritime law, dive into the action that's shaping the future of ocean stewardship.

A limited number of free tickets are available for full-time students with ID. Please reach out to [email protected].

Learn more and purchase tickets: https://hubs.la/Q04BBws70

Images: Thomas Fuhrmann, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, and courtesy of the panelists.

10/17/2026

The Head Of The Charles Regatta returns to Boston!

For decades, MIT has had crews out on the water—best of luck to the men’s and women’s teams as you compete this weekend.

Photos from the MIT Museum collection.
Image 1: MIT women’s crew, 1989. Scott Mason, photographer, MIT Museum.
Image 2: MIT men’s crew, 1969

Curious about more MIT history? Visit the MIT Museum to explore our collection, and dive our newest exhibitions on OCEANS. Learn more via the links in our bio.

10/16/2026

Are you batty about Halloween? Celebrate at the MIT Museum! 🦇

Join us in our Maker Hub on On October 31 to create custom paper lanterns. Learn how to use digital design software, basic electronics, and a vinyl cutter to make and cut your own designs.

Recommended for ages 9+, all children must be accompanied by an adult.

🗓️ Saturday, October 31, 10:30 am – 12 pm
🎟️ General Admission: $30
Workshop price includes museum admission. Feel free to explore the museum before or after the workshop!

Learn more and purchase tickets: https://hubs.la/Q04BrHyJ0

Address

314 Main Street, Gambrill Center
Cambridge, MA
02139

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 5pm
Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

+16172535927

Website

http://mitmuseum.mit.edu/

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