OMG, robots, art made from robots, robots making art, and geeks playing with robots, other geeky things. A museum, from MIT. It's like walking into a Big Bang theory wet dream. One free ticket if you used public transit to get here, and let's face it, in Boston you got no excuse not to use public transit. read more

This museum makes for a really great two hours spent and a wonderful alternative to a lot of the bigger, super touristy museums in Boston. A good chunk of it is just MIT boasting about how amazing they are, but there are some really fascinating exhibits, even if engineering isn't really your thing. I think the Kinetic Art exhibit was my favorite - so many of the pieces are completely mesmerizing. The holograms are cool, though bordering on kitsch. Though it is definitely family-friendly, the age of most of the visitors tends to skew a little older than say, the Science Museum or Harvard's Natural History museum, so you probably won't feel immature for geeking out or engaging with the interactive exhibits. They also offer a variety of discounts, including 2-for-1 tickets with a Charlie Card. Parking's a bit tricky, though the two-hour metered parking (if you can manage to find a spot) makes for a perfect window to explore everything the museum has to offer. read more

As an MIT alum and museum lover, I am perhaps biased, but I always thought this museum was so cool. A lot of the exhibits are kinetic--you push a button and gears start moving, for example. A great way to spend an hour in Cambridge. Bonus: near the bathrooms on the second floor (below the museum) is a great model train display. read more

Wow this place is awesome. Went here with my parents and was pretty worried by the limited exhibits downstairs... then went upstairs and saw the absolutely amazing kinetic sculptures, beautiful photography, and holograms. We spent a couple of hours here, but we easily could have gone longer. You're doing yourself a disservice if you live in Cambridge and skip this one. Also, free admission on Sundays before noon. read more

Pretty neat little museum by MIT. I had more fun on their 2nd floor. They have a robot gallery upstairs and I find that listening to their videos helps you appreciate the history and significance of the robots that they have on display. They also have a small hologram exhibit but I wished they had a section where they explained the science behind creating a hologram. The museum features some projects from MIT students, made as interactive as possible, which was fun but I wouldn't pay full price ($10). Student tickets are $5 and the first weekend is free for Bank of America card holders. read more

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Came here on a blind date once. I won't say much about the guy, but this museum is awesome! Variety of types of science, hands on demonstrations for the more tactile learners, and stuff that blew my mind--as a 22 year old! Would definitely recommend to a friend. Would definitely do another blind date if it meant I could come here again. read more

I'm writing this review dating back to a vacation i took in 2013. I under stand both points when it come to this museum. For tech nerds, the blast from the past is cool but, for non science people (me) there's not much to blow your socks off. read more

There's nothing quite like geeking out in the MIT museum. The exhibits are a mix of technology which evolved into everyday things and a collection of technology that are only found in textbooks. There's a room full of holograms and holographic art. There's a terminal that is an exhibit for voice recognition, you speak into a phone, and text of your words are printed on the terminal. There are collections of early computers made up of boards of vacuum tubes. There is an exhibit of the facial emoting robot that I seen as a child on Scientific America. This would be a great place to bring kids if I had any to ignite the imagination of the world of science. read more

This was a lot of fun and very thought-provoking: really interesting background info., informative short films and displays and a great variety of display types. There were some interactive displays in the lobby too. My 13-year-old son and I especially enjoyed the robotics and holography exhibits. It makes you want to build robots! A couple of exhibits were out of order: one of the chat programs and the remote-control submersible exhibit. There is a table for writing your own ideas. There was no sanitary napkin disposal receptacle in the women's bathroom stall (?!) so I submitted an idea for recycling them in a wall unit that uses power from the flush of the toilet to help decompose the items. lol. Fun outing. Totally worth it. read more

I expected more from MIT Museum. I was hoping to go over the history of MIT, its inventions, and culture. However, a little disappointed. This Friday, MIT 150 open ceremony will be on in the museum. I have no clue what will be on display. But as always, I have high hopes. BTW, the souvenir shop is interesting read more

Free museum days for first weekend for BOA members and free entrance last Sunday of the month! I have 2 main criterias for doing things in Boston-- 1. poor grad student=attends anything free 2. science student=enjoys geeking out about science stuff. Basically MIT museum met BOTH of these needs! Pros: Full of information on a range of topics to suit the likes of the masses! I went into it thinking there'd be a lot of engineering and hard science things like robotics (which was pretty AMAZINGLY COOL!) but they also had some really nice 3D art and a photography gallery too! Just goes to show that there's always more to science than meets the eye ;) If you're an avid museum person and enjoy reading all the plaques and info then it'll take you 3-4 hours...if you're a touch everything and scan the words and leave person...you'll be done within 2-3 hours. The gift shop, though small, has tons of awesome gadgets and things relating to science or "nerd jokes" that make good gifts for that inner MIT student within us all. I liked it a lot!! Cons: The place is pretty small, and has poor air ventilation upstairs IMO because on a Boston summer day, it got quite stuffy (dare I say a bit sweaty too?! ick.) in the upstairs exploration room, which incidentally is where all the cool stuff is so you'll be spending the majority of your time there! (that's why it lost a star for me). read more

Some of the robot art they have is absurdist nightmare fuel. The other stuff is cool, too. read more

Are you a geek? Do just you like pretty holograms or robots? MIT Museum is for you! Unlike the Museum of Science this place is actually way up to date, incredibly interesting for adults and cheap. Great alternative place to take visiting relatives or to impress a date. read more

I had an absolutely amazing time. I was looking for something to do for the afternoon and I decided to explore Harvard and MIT. MIT Museum did not disappoint. I had so much fun with its quirkiness and technology. I easily spent 1.5-2 hours there just exploring. There's a lot of moving things that are not behind glasses, which just makes the experience that much more satisfying. We're not treated like kids, but we can definitely have fun like them! read more

Skip this museum and tour Harvard instead, very disappointed. Not worth the money or time.

Very disappointed. Musuem had only 4 or so exhibits, and we walked thru it in less than hour. 2 floors with a small gift shop. Musuem is not worth charging $10 per adult and $5 for child. read more

We were very excited to visit the MIT museum considering they talked about on hand experiences and AI and many other things when you check it online. My son only said yes to visiting this one place Was very disappointing!!! There is a large section dedicated to yatching here, one to architectural design, one to moving art from metal and a very small section to robotics which are behind glass enclosures, the one on seal sensors wasn't working and a very small shelf about old photographic equipment. To sum it up disappointed in the name of MIT museum!! To top that it is poorly organized you buy the tickets but only get a receipt no ticket ,bracelet,badge or stamp .most of museum is upstairs and the robotic part downstairs and the lady at the desk started screaming at us when we were entering the main level after finishing upstairs about our ticket in the middle of a large crowd which was quite embarrassing!!!! read more

This museum delights you in the creative processes of design thinking. Each piece is curated in a way that you gets you to appreciate the various elements of engineering science and math. One of my favorite exhibits is the machine who soul purpose is to oil itself. This is a great place for kids and adults alike. If you are in MTA member admission is free. read more

MIT Museum - Kids were able to do a building design project using newspapers and tape. The goal was to build the highest load bearing tower. - Art Museums Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Robots? I'm in! $3 for students is a hell of a deal at this museum. It's really great to explore, and it's a lot different than some of the other museums in town. A little tricky to find unless you've got a fancy-schmancy app for that, but worth it! Now if only there was ultimate robot fights to the death... read more

This place is amazing! Weird exhibits, robotics, applied sciences on display! We went here when there were a few different exhibits happening. There was a more traditional photography exhibit, but what was really interesting was the Art of the Brain (not what it was actually called, but what I am currently calling it), and this weird robotics thing that seemed tied to perpetual motion or kinetic sculptures. I was never good at math, and only ok at science, but this place had me enthralled. The only thing was keeping myself in check and not touching the displays. read more

Spent around an hour here at most, the holographic exhibit was closed for renovation. Probably should've come on a free day, since I didn't think it was really worth the money. Some of the exhibits are interesting, but there's not much that is mind blowing or super captivating. I did enjoy the student inventions though; it's amazing what MIT students are capable of. And a lot of displays are recent from 2014, so it's nice that it is a relatively updated museum. read more

A fun and interesting 60-90 minutes looking at engineering related exhibits. Definitely worth it if you enjoy a deep dive into a few topics that might not get the attention they deserve in another setting. The exhibits on ship building and teaching architecture were well done. The student exhibits were clever. read more

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Was here for the Yelp party and enjoying the Bushmills Whiskey. Must come back on a Sunday between 10am and Noon to really see the exhibits and to get in for free to really see the museum! Too bad the admission for us unworthy adults is $7.50 otherwise, but if your a student it's $3. read more

Entrance is free after 4:30pm (because the museum closes at 5). You need more than an hour to properly visit the museum, though. The holograms are the coolest exhibit, followed by the kinetic sculptures and various robots. There's a DNA room, interesting for learning about genetics. The souvenir shop sells a cool toy, the neocube (theneocube.com), unfortunately shamelessly rebranded as "Buckyballs", and more expensive.DealExtreme too. read more

Sorry..... I was so excited about the name recognition it has --- MIT. I was so pumped up that I gathered all my family including kids to go to this Museum. We spoke so many things about science and technology on the way. When reached there and asked about for a brochure, got answer, they have none. I asked about any presentations or/and hands on activities; there were none. They had one 3D printing section, a tiny room and we were told print machine was broken. May be Museum has some historical things which might have gone above my head but... all of my family members were disappointed, adults and children alike. May be if you are some tech nerd or historian, you might like this place, but, this Museum is not for commoners like me. Don't get pumped up with the name affiliation MIT. read more

Stars: 2.5-3 Whenever I visit a museum, I always think about a possibility of taking children to my next visit. A few minutes after entering the first exhibition area of this museum, I decided that this is not a kid-friendly museum. The placement of objects at the Polaroid exhibition is a disappointment--located on high shelves (I'm vertically challenged, so I was only able to see 1/3 of the whole exhibit), long explanations written in small fonts. The rest of the museum was pretty much the same: explanations were densely written, small fonts, minimum pictures which tell little about the objects/projects. However, I enjoyed the videos explaining about different projects and robots made by MIT. They were very informative; for a non-science person like me, I actually understood the videos and made me curious enough to look up for more information on the internet. The hologram exhibit was very cool, very different from those I saw in the past. One last thing I learned at the museum was about the slide rule, a tool that supposedly helped people calculate in the past. There's a simple explanation to show you how to use the slide rule. But it is not helpful at all since you can't use the slide rule when you try to calculate other equation. I honestly got frustrated and wish that there had been a better information on the use of slide rule. No one was around besides the people at the register to ask questions. Hhhmmm... I wish that the people who set up the museum put more thought on the layout and the kinds of experiences that visitors can have... read more

Unique exhibits--likely you've never seen anything like the gesture art/mechanisms. But be warned: the place is way too small. You're all fired up after the first wave of cool stuff on the second floor and then...that's it. Some kid-friendly activities and a gift shop on the first floor and THAT'S IT! I knew I should've been suspicious when there were no maps of the museum to be handed out. read more

Great little museum. Tons to experiment and study. Nicely done. Looks like they are expanding, so will come back soon to check it out.

Loved Arthur Ganson's work and spent most of my time there in that room alone. The Edgerton exhibit was humbling- the work he did just makes you feel that you aren't contributing enough to any field. sigh. This museum has free hours on Sunday but double check before you go. Our only sadness is that we didn't get to see what I call the "pranks exhibit" because we delayed coming here for years and now is partially on display in the lobby of another MIT building nearby. read more

The MIT Museum is dork-tabulous! Free on Sundays before noon, inexpensive all other hours, and two floors of scientific fun, this is a fantastic place to spend a few hours on a rainy day (actually, any day). The first floor houses rotating exhibits. When I visited there some things from MIT's Media Lab on social networking that were sort of interesting but started to make me worry about the cost of admission. It wasn't THAT interesting. Then, I started wondering further to find exhibits on ocean exploration. Very cool! The ocean is deep and stuff can actually survive going that deep into the ocean. There is also stuff on Grumman, which my family is very connected to, so I liked that. The second floor is the money floor though. Robots galore! Holograms (these are amazing...we're not talking wimpy stickers or anything)! Interactive sculptures. MIT History (which is fun to check out even if you are not affiliated). Seeing how much MIT, its staff and students have contributed is absolutely fascinating and there is a lot to take away from this completely non-boring museum. Come, explore, play a little! Dork or not, you'll love it! (For anyone who plans events, you CAN host meetings and events here in rooms on the second floor.) read more

I came here with a friend on a Sunday. It's free til 12 or 1pm. I forgot. Anyway, almost everything in the museum was interesting. The holograms, the things MIT staff have done...glad my friend recommended me to come here. You can take pictures but no video recordings or flash. This place is definitely worth visiting. The MIT store was cool also. read more

You'd never expect that a fantastic, fun museum is in this fairly run down building. There are holograms (where in one you can look through a holographic microscope and see a petri dish), moving mechanical sculptures (where one looks like an artichoke leaf pulling a cart, another machine perpetually oils itself), interactive exhibits, and other exhibits great for kids and educational too. Lots of fun for adults too. read more

Be aware, there is an upstairs to this museum and its way better than the downstairs! It's a small museum but it had some interesting exhibits (about 4 in the entire museum). The displays were bright and interesting but I wish they would tell you a bit more information. It was a cool museum but I guess I expected way more from such a renowned school. read more

Gives me the creeps (and I was an electrical engineer). The holography is very cool though.

The MIT museum is a great place to visit if you want to be inspired by innovations in technology and entrepreneurship. What makes it perfect? The photo of Lady Gaga by the exit from a recent visit. read more

I guess I am a big old geek, and I certainly love the Arthur Ganson kinetic sculptures a whole hell of a lot. There are holograms, fish, robots, all sorts of neat things...I found it to be a pretty quick museum to get through overall, though I've been there a a handful of times now. The staff is super friendly and sweet. Once I went there about an hour before closing time, so they gave me a free voucher so i could get in the next day as well. Considering how low their admission is, that seemed ridiculously sweet. read more

Nice exhibits..interesting works. A lot of it was very fascinating, and I admit to not being a big museum person.

There is a sense humor to the science here, that I appreciate. Last time I was there, they had a World of Warcraft hut which was hilarious. When the brains behind the science can poke a little fun at themselves, it's nice to be in on the joke. It's free Sundays 10 a.m. to noon. This place is great for kids and adults alike. The only con is that this museum is on the smaller side, if you want to spend the whole day somewhere you'll be disappointed. read more

I was impressed! I'm not a science/math person, but my visiting brother is, so off we went. We went on a Sunday - there is free admission on Sundays if you arrive before noon, but there is also a great student discount otherwise. It's totally worth the few dollars you spend to get in. You can see everything pretty in-depth in two hours and can see enough in one hour, so it's a great stop for a day spent in Cambridge. The robotics exhibit, kinetic art and holograms were my highlights for the day. Staff was friendly and exhibits, though technical, were easily understood by someone rather untechnically-minded. There's also an exhibit on MIT's history, which I found to be interesting. Check it out if you're in the area - or have a science-minded friend visiting! read more

Way more than just a history of the school, the MIT Museum hosts several interesting and, yes, nerdy (think a self-sustaining WoW gaming hut) exhibits. My favorite: a Google-like interface that maps your Internet presence. It's cheap, especially if you're a student, and right around the corner from the Miracle of Science; why not make an afternoon of it? read more