Become a Friend of the MIT Museum

A note from MIT Museum Director, John Durant

The MIT Museum has had an important year with a new gallery opening, increased attendance, many events, and the production of the second annual Cambridge Science Festival.

In late September 2007, over 3,000 visitors attended the opening weekend of the expanded MIT Museum to enjoy a rich mix of exhibitions, events and activities in the new Mark Epstein Innovation Gallery. The exhibits on transportation, cancer and ocean exploration have remained popular since that time, and much of the programming in the MIT 360 gathering space in the gallery has complemented the exhibits. Visitors have enjoyed talks with MIT researchers, professors and nobel laureates, and school groups have been engaged by a number of demonstrations and hands-on projects involving robotics and engineering.

In April of '08, the second annual Cambridge Science Festival took place - once again to great acclaim: over 200 events were held in different venues across the City of Cambridge during the end of April. Mother Nature cooperated and gave us a beautiful warm sunny day for the Science Carnival held inside and outside Cambridge City Hall. The crowds were excited throughout the following week to attend plays, lectures, workshops and the Curiosity Awards which commended school children for their written essays and drawings in which they explained just what it is they are curious about. It was a delight to see so many people excited about science!

The Museum aims to build on this foundation with an expanded array of interactive exhibits, and thought provoking talks and discussions in the Mark Epstein Innovation Gallery. To sustain the Museum's commitment to making MIT's research and innovation accessible to all, the Public Engagement with Research at MIT (PERMIT) initiative was launched last year and a local foundation offered the MIT Museum a generous challenge grant of 50% of the total cost of the PERMIT initiative. Please help us raise the matching sum by making a gift and becoming a Friend of the MIT Museum.

Your donation will support new exhibitions, education and public outreach, and it will demonstrate your belief in the importance of science literacy in the life of the wider community. Every dollar you contribute will yield two dollars by allowing the Museum to claim this challenge grant. Please make your gift by January 2009, so we can continue to provide outstanding exhibitions and programs at the MIT Museum.