Workshops

Engage in MIT’s hands-on, minds-on learning ethos rooted in problem solving and creative thinking. Students will explore science and engineering challenges under the guidance of a museum educator. Available for groups of ten or more with three-week advanced registration. Sessions are 90 minutes in length. Choose from one of the topics listed below.

Workshops are available for:

Student Groups (Grades 5-12, ages 10-18) organized by school or after-school program

Available Tuesdays (start times 10am, 12pm), Wednesdays (start times 10am, 12pm, 3:15pm) and Fridays (start time 10am)
$12.50 per student with $250 minimum
One adult chaperone for every ten students is required and admitted free. Additional adults pay the Group Adult admission rate ($14).

Tour Groups (Ages 10-18)

Available Tuesdays (start times 10am, 12pm), Wednesdays (start times 10am, 12pm, 3:15pm) and Fridays (start time 10am)
$15.00 per youth with $400 minimum
One adult chaperone for every ten youth is required and admitted free. Additional adults pay the Group Adult admission rate ($14).

Reserve your group workshop visit.

WORKSHOP OPTIONS

Automata

Explore and experiment with mechanical motion to create your own whimsical kinetic sculpture. This workshop will integrate engineering, art, and play as participants collaborate to bring their mechanisms to life. Designed for students in grades 5-8.

Standards: 7.MS-ETS1-4, 7.MS-ETS1-7(MA), 7.MS-ETS3-4(MA), NGSS MS-ETS1-4, NGSS Practice 6

Ro-paw-tics

Get creative with circuitry by creating your own pet robot. Use maker tools, mechanical engineering, and your own imagination as you work together to build, test, and iterate on your own programmable critter. Designed for students in grades 5-8.

Standards: 7.MS-ETS1-4, 7.MS-ETS1-7(MA), 7.MS-ETS3-4(MA), NGSS MS-ETS1-4, NGSS Practice 6

Catching Physics in the Act

The splashing of water, seemingly a quick and simple event, is studied in many labs around MIT. Inspired by the works of Berenice Abbott and Harold “Doc” Edgerton, participants will use high-speed photography and video to slow phenomena down, and discover patterns and mathematical relationships that we can use to solve real world problems. Designed for students in grades 9-12.

Standards: HS-ETS1-6(MA), NGSS HS-ETS1-2, NGSS Practices 3, 4,
and 6

Image: Berenice Abbott, A Bouncing Ball in Diminishing Arcs, 1958.

Exoplanet Mystery

NASAs newest space telescopes TESS and James Webb, are discovering new exoplanets daily. Workshop participants will step into the role of an astronomer and using physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics, decode signals to unravel these planets’ mysteries. Designed for students in grades 9-12.

Standards: HS-LS1-6, NGSS HS-PS4-5, NGSS Practices 2, 7, and 8