RadioBDC Logo
Gold On The Ceiling | The Black Keys Listen Live
 
 
Text size – +

The Friday Five: Great Innovation-Oriented Museums in New England

Posted by Scott Kirsner August 14, 2009 07:16 AM
  • E-mail

    • E-mail this article

    Invalid E-mail address
    Invalid E-mail address

    Sending your article

    Your article has been sent.

E-mail this article

Invalid email address
Invalid email address

Sending your article

Your article has been sent.

exploringspace.jpgEvery Friday, I serve up a list of five things worth knowing about.

This week, it's great museums with a focus on technology, science, and innovation around New England. After all, it's mid-August, the kids are out of school for a few more weeks, you may have out-of-town guests, you may be traveling. Why not soak up some air-conditioned learnin'?

- Museum of Science, Boston, MA. Juggling, 3-D digital cinema, laser shows, a Paul MacCready human-powered aircraft, a hands-on computer lab, and a Van de Graaff lightening generator. You could easily spend a weekend here...

- MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA. Home to amazing permanent exhibits about mobile robots and holograms. Also displays the enchanting mechanical artwork of Arthur Ganson.

- Lowell National Historical Park, Lowell, MA. Lowell's sprawling textile mills represent one of the epicenters of the Industrial Revolution in America.

- Connecticut Science Center, Hartford, CT. New England's newest science museum, with exhibits on healthy eating, clean energy, space, and sound. Plus, live shows about climate change and aerodynamics.

- The Owls Head Transportation Museum, Owls Head, ME. Cars, bikes, planes, boats, carriages: just about every mode of transport is accounted for here. It's a special treat to be at Owls Head for one of their big events, like an antique auto auction or an airshow. (Two runners-up in the transportation category: Heritage Museum's galleries of guns and antique autos, on Cape Cod, and the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.)

What other museums are on your must-visit list?

tags museums
  • E-mail

    • E-mail this article

    Invalid E-mail address
    Invalid E-mail address

    Sending your article

    Your article has been sent.

comments

  1. The Boott Cotton Mills Museum at Lowell National Historical Park is fee-free this weekend as part of a National Park Service-wide fee free event. For more information see http://www.nps.gov/lowe/parknews/boott-cotton-mills-museum-fee-free.htm

    Thank you for the mention of the Park's resources!

    Posted by Sue Andrews August 14, 09 04:20 PM

  1. Don't forget our host for Mass Innovation Nights -- The Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation on Moody Street in Waltham. Some new exhibits coming --- keep an eye on http://www.crmi.org

    Posted by Bobbie Carlton August 15, 09 08:45 AM

  1. I would add The Boston Fed's Economic Adventure to your list Scott, and put MIT and Museum of Science as tied for first. There are a good number of smaller displays, e.g. MGH's Ether Dome, Harvard Med's top floor, Dana-Farber, etc. which are really worth seeing. Greater Boston is like a big dispersed innovation museum.

    Posted by Bob Krim August 17, 09 03:18 PM

On Facebook

Subscribe via e-mail

Get Innovation Economy updates via e-mail. Enter your address and click 'Subscribe':

More from Scott

about the blogger

About Scott Kirsner Scott Kirsner was part of the team that launched Boston.com in 1995, and has been writing a column for the Globe since 2000. His work has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Newsweek, and Variety. Scott is also the author of the books "Fans, Friends & Followers" and "Inventing the Movies," was the editor of "The Convergence Guide: Life Sciences in New England," and was a contributor to "The Good City: Writers Explore 21st Century Boston." Scott also helps organize several local events on entrepreneurship, including the Nantucket Conference and Future Forward. Here's some background on how Scott decides what to cover, and how to pitch him a story idea.

Events

May 22: MIT Sloan CIO Symposium
Chief information officers from Guess, Haemonetics, Intel and other companies talk discuss "architecting the enterprise of the future."

June 3: MITX Innovation Awards
Economist & blogger Jodi Beggs hosts at the Westin Copley.

June 25: TEDxBoston
The oldest and biggest of the locally-organized TED events is back, at the Seaport World Trade Center. Tickets are free, but tough to get. Also streams on the web and airs on WBUR.

archives

links we like