Harold 'Doc' Edgerton

Flashes of Inspiration: The Work of Harold Edgerton

Closed March 2, 2009

We can hardly believe that it’s been ten years! Flashes of Inspiration has been one of the MIT Museum's most popular exhibitions. Whether they marveled at the ancient flash bulbs and beautiful prints, or just loved making a silly pose in front of the flash wall, we know that our visitors appreciated the work of Harold "Doc" Edgerton. Doc was an amazing professor. He would talk with anyone who would listen, and those lucky enough to hear him found his love of science and technology contagious. More than talk, Doc also encouraged people to learn by doing. The MIT Museum has been gratified that so many visitors have been able to discover his spirit during the course of this exhibition..

But even Doc knew that things wear out over time, and after ten years the MIT Museum is beginning to slowly renovate the galleries on the second floor, home for many years to Flashes of Inspiration. Stage one of this process involves making space for some new exhibitions, and preparing another gallery for a re-examination of the work of Doc Edgerton.

We are excited about these changes, most especially about the fact that "Doc" will be getting a much needed face-lift!

 

The Work of Harold Edgerton online

"Digital Doc" is the nickname for the new project to make the work of Harold Edgerton available online. The MIT Museum is a key partner in a project sponsored by the Edgerton Center to create a web-based archive of Edgerton’s still images, movies, laboratory notebooks and other materials. Visitors to the database will be able to add information and share stories, discover new teaching resources, and learn about Edgerton's role in the history of technology. If you’ve ever explored Flickr Commons or viewed collections from the Library of Congress and the National Archives, you have an idea of what the new website and Edgerton will be like.

“Digital Doc” will debut later this year. With support from the Harold and Esther Edgerton Family Foundation, the MIT Museum will mark the online opening of "Digital Doc" with a new display of Edgerton artifacts and memorabilia. At the heart of this updated presentation will be several workstations at which visitors will be able to explore and contribute to the “Digital Doc” database. There will also be projections of newly restored Edgerton films in High Definition, as well as a display of Doc's private slide collection. There are more than 9000 images that have never been seen before that document Doc's global travels, underwater archeology expeditions, experiments and more. Some of these slides are already avaialbe to the public on the MIT Museum's online collections catalogue. In the meantime stay tuned and check our web site this summer for more information about the opening of the new display of Edgerton and artifacts and the new database.