This is a great place to spend 1-2 hours on a trip to Cambridge, especially if you're a geek. Very reasonable admission prices. They had a great exhibit called "Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things" when I visited. It was also interesting to see the various realms of research being done at the school and appendant institutions like Lincoln Labs. The robotics section upstairs is a bit dated, but well worth seeing from the historical perspective. The first floor has less to see, but is more up to date. They had a bit about slide rules that was actually interesting. Good on you for that, MIT. read more

A nicely done small museum focused on the achievements of MIT people. While there is a lot of historical items of interest, I really enjoyed seeing the works of students. They had a particular exhibit on the meeting of art and technology by students that blends two areas that are rarely seen together. If you have a small amount of time and you are in between appointments, it is a good place to visit. Probably not worth a special trip. read more

Everything in the robotic section is 20years old at least. Facilities are old and bathrooms filthy. Sadly I expected so much more from a MIT museum. Maybe I got confused with the MIT Media Lab... read more

This place gets a five solely on the basis of kinetic sculptures that feel like Edward Gorey's bicycle. First floor is neat, and turbo informative, but sort of awkwardly arranged with too many not-totally-functioning interactive things. MIT Hall O' Nostalgia starts out quaint and nice to look at, then turns into an annoying survey of contrived tech-school zaniness ... it was sort of like being stabbed in the stomach after a really nice meal or something... but I guess that's all a part of the bigger picture. Anyways, 'yes' to this, I give it a perfect score. ps-bring yr student ID, or a friend who has one. read more

We've been there while a new gallery was being set up, so maybe the overall experience is much better when that's finished. However, since the museum charges the full price, it is just fair to expect a full experience. The kinetic sculptures were nice, ok, but that part is only fairly small. The other parts of the galleries were "just ok". Overall not really recommendable, since the kinetic sculptures don't make up for the small size / lack of inspiring exhibitions in the other galleries. Something that bears "MIT" in its name should in my opinion be much better to live up to the name. read more

This museum has three major sections of interest for the basic $10 fee: robotics, holograms and mechanical art by Arthur Ganson. Being a computer scientist with AI emphasis I loved the robotics segment. My favorite was the Ganson exhibit. I'm giving this four stars only because I expected more of the hologram exhibit, which was the big thing that the museum website had described. However overall I recommend this museum to anyone - from art to humanities to science. It took me about 2 hours to go through the museum pretty thoroughly. read more

This place is small, but packed with information. I loved how they actually had exhibits of current research, and that the more permanent exhibits were unique and interesting (I spend at least an hour in just the robotics area). read more

One of the best unconventional museum options in Boston. The Kinetic Art exhibition is excellent. $10 for adults, $5 for seniors/kids.

We came here on a Sunday morning almost on a whim, as we were staying at Le Meridien around the corner and entrance was free for their guests. As we discovered, it would have been free anyway, because admission was free before noon that day. We were very pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it far more than we expected to. There were all sorts of cool kinetic sculptures. Loved the blending of art and science there. The holograms and the explanations of how they're created were way cool (my husband spent way too much time nose-to-snout with the Weimaraner). Like robots? You're in luck. Lots of early 'bots to be ogled here. In short, it was a smashing way to spend a couple of hours. Highly recommended. read more

What a wonderful museum especially for kids. What a great combination of creative arts in the world of science and math. Would highly recommend it. We ran out of time in there. So much fun! read more

Cool I guess. The kinetic sculptures were entertaining but I was expecting a more geekish presentations of technology. The robotics was kind of cool but was 100% focused on the hardware. Just felt a little underwhelmed by a museum with the MIT label attached to it. read more

I really, really like this place! For someone that's not into tech/engineering, they do a really good job of making the exhibits look interesting and cool. I like that it's also interactive (i.e. activating the machines via pedal). Probably the coolest thing is the hologram section. It's not the biggest museum...which is actually a good thing. You can wander through for about an hour or two and feel like you learned something. You won't get overwhelmed by a multitude of exhibits, either. Love it! read more

My guy and I spent almost 3 hours touring the exhibits and enjoyed everything. The interactive activities, mainly geared towards children, were very cool to play with as adults. Overall a great way to spend a few hours if you're in the area. read more

A nice place if you want to introduce your kid to mechanical engineering and the history of it. A lot of the individual set-ups are interactive, which is nice. I personally couldn't get into it. I feel as though that if I were young again or significantly older (65+) I could have enjoyed it a lot. read more

$10/adult. Small- you can go through most of it in an hour. A lot of it did seem more like simple stuff and art and dated. It is nice, but definitely overpriced. We saw robot models, hologram art, simple small fragile machines (some interesting and some strange with little blurbs of where the inspiration came from), photography art, old cameras, and current/recent student projects. It's nice that some of the stuff were interactive. But overall, I don't really find it worth it as a recommended place to visit if you're traveling there. Also, being that it's MIT it didn't meet expectations. read more

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Had a few hours to waste in Boston and this was the first museum I have visited in four years. Admission, if not MIT student, is $8.50. There is a coat room around the corner if you walk on the first floor a bit. You just hang your coat on the coat hanger, but there's not good place to leave any bags. The first floor houses current cutting edge research at MIT and has some interactive demos to play with. There is also a gift shop with interesting objects. A set of metal stairs takes you to the second floor with the main stuff in the museum. Near the top of the metal stairs there are sensors that detect your feet and it generates sounds of increasing frequency. The most interesting things to see: - gestural architecture - these are mechanical devices that are driven solely by one motor that is connected via a series of gears and axles, which in turn generate crazy interesting machines; a must see - display of the progression of the polaroid - holographic displays - robot display (forgot the specifics) - an MIT 150 display that didn't make an impression on me read more

Generous with the discounts. (2-for-1 with a Charlie Card.) Some super nerdy stuff. (Historical slide rules!) Polaroid camera display, including giant, sexy self-portrait of Lady Gaga taken there. Fascinating exhibition on AI robots. Really cool hologram collection. Highlight was the whimsical machines created by artist Arthur Ganson. Great way to fill a couple hrs. read more

Awesome musuem. $5 for students anywhere with ID. The dynamic sculptures were my personal favorite. A small fraction of the exhibits were out of working condition. Makes you wonder why you hadn't done that in college instead of design fake space missions to low earth orbit. read more

Fun little museum in Cambridge. Neat exhibits some of which cover MIT history and remind me that I have wasted my life. Would visit again.

Traveling with a little one and I was thinking about visiting some of the children's science museums and then remembered I can't stand children. Neither can my little one actually. This seemed like a safer and smaller (read not overstimulating) choice. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The exhibits are exciting especially for anyone who is scientifically or technologically inclined. The holograms were a little strange for the little one but I thought they were pretty cool. And we seriously racked up in the gift shop with all sorts of small games and puzzles and random geeky stuff. This was totally worth it for me and the little one loved it and there were no lines or screaming children. Oh and the little one is pretty young so I would count this as a place to take younger children especially if they like science. Not for like the 5 and under crowd probably. read more

My family and I LOVE this museum. Small, but so much fun. We re-visit every few yrs and its always a good time.

No high tech stuffs in there. All the models were old and the place was really small. I was disappointed that i purposely stop by this place. read more

Yes, it's cheap - but it really feels like Disney's Tomorrowland. Everything is OLD. Yes, it's a museum so we need history but what about new inventions (past 1970's?). No hands on exhibits for kids or adults for that matter. Scavengerhunt papers were found almost hidden at the EXIT. Just a very poorly laid out, BORING museum. read more

The Museum is open daily 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. General admission, $8.50 for adults; Youth under 18, students, seniors: $4. It took us about 1 hour to check out the Museum and see all the exhibits. It's very interesting to read about the inventions and how MIT played an important role in technology and innovation. The robots were very interesting to learn about and also the mechanical displays. Worth checking out if you're in the area. read more

I could feel the expiration date on my vouchers nearing. When I thought of the tickets, I practically had the Jaws music playing in my head. So I grabbed a friend and invited her to the museum. This is where the interest in the museum ends. It's like the museum was created without much thought to how its visitors would experience the displays. For example, the holograms were pretty cool to look at and there was a plaque to explain how the holograms were created. Right next to the plaque was a very small touch screen, which allowed the viewer to interact with the information. It was far more interactive thus more dynamic. Unfortunately, the rest of the museum was not interactive in any way. Looking at robot arms at the MIT Museum was less exciting than the chair in the IKEA show room that gets pummeled to suggest its durability. The most enjoyable part was by far drawing robots in the kids section. They don't seem to regularly sharpen the pencils so even drawing proved to be a struggle. Basically, I probably won't go back.... while some of the other museums and exhibitions are more expensive, I would consider them. Sometimes, you get what you paid for. read more

I'm not gonna lie, I was SUPER excited to vist the MIT museum and I came away SUPER dissapointed. Why? Because although some stuff is really cool, other exhibits fall short. I found myself a bit bored. I went through the entire museum too. Oh well. You can't win 'em all. read more

Pretty darned cool & inspiring. Things I truly enjoyed were the robots, holograms, student toy projects, and the videos (ranging from retro robot competitions to recent brain research). The place is somewhat smaller but appropriately priced and a good place to spend an hour, two, or three of your life. read more

Worth a look during a rainy Boston day. I have often walked past this museum but today I finally went inside. While the robotic displays are great, the museum is too small to warrant the $10 entry fee. They currently have an exhibit on the brain but it was not something that would have drawn me to visit. While this was a fun distraction during a rainy weekend day, I wouldn't go out of my way to check this out if visiting Boston. read more

The MIT 150 year exhibit is great, as is the integration of art & science in the galleries (a self portrait by Lady Gaga with a camera from its Polaroid collection), v. cool holograms and the mechanical art pieces. Permanent galleries downstairs less engaging, but without question this small & modestly priced museum is worth a visit. read more

So I have been here around maybe half a dozen times in the past decade or so. Including when I came here for a Yelp event just about almost ten years ago...The place is very cozy and has a couple of very unique exhibits. On this particular night they had a couple of speakers that talked about the process involved in designing computer games. Location is very convenient and parking is going to be an issue if you ever try to come during peak business hours. But being only around half a mile from the Central Square T stop... read more

Great and accessible to the non-scientific laity. I love bringing friends here because everybody has a different favorite exhibit. The MIT150 exhibit is phenomenal and really showcases the reach of good ideas and the power of innovation. read more

This eclectic museum is a marvelous introduction to a variety of the technologies investigated at MIT. Love the Robots exhibits.

For the super techy person this is a great little museum to check out. If you read everything the whole thing might take you two or three hours to go through. There are some interactive parts too. If you come on Sundays before noon admission is free. (not my kind of a place but my friends loved it.) read more

Pros: Fascinating exhibits. Start on the top level & make your way down. Cons: N/A read more

Really great museum. I came here during my weekend trip to Boston and we spent probably two hours here. Admission was also free that weekend, which was really nice. The exhibits really show you a different side of technology. I expected the museum to be much bigger, but would still recommend to come here and check it out if in the area. read more

Good museum for kids or for those with little scientific background. I was hoping to see more history about the university and how it became the top engineering institution in the world. Out of all the Nobel Prize winners that came out of MIT, none of them or their work were mentioned at this museum. read more

I visited this place on a Bank of America "museums on us" free day with my BofA card. I wouldn't visit otherwise. While the place has some fun exhibits - the mechanical pieces and hologram portraits come to mind - there is nothing extraordinary. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could. read more

Museum is good for about an hour. I would recommend trying to get in free or discounted. I was disappointed that there were hardly any new inventions there. read more

The MIT museum boasts some cool exhibits in exchange for a suggested donation. Check their site for current exhibits and hours before visiting. read more

Took the family here, kids are 6 and 9. We had less than an hour and were able to see everything but was a but rushed, recommend you take 90mins or so. Lots of cool machines, robotics, kids loved holographs, and moving objects exhibit room. It is a little expensive for a small museum but I think worth it and I assume money supports MIT. Oh and they are very adanent about getting you out of the museum right at closing. So make sure you have enough time. read more