Explore and experiment with mechanical motion as you create your own moving art. Along the way, discover how simple mechanisms like cams, linkages, and levers work to generate different types of movement.

There are so many fun ways to trick your eyes and brain! Create your own optical illusion and explore how we take in and process visual information.

Hear local musicians’ original electronic music designed for quadraphonic surround sound.

The MIT Spatial Sound Lab is a community studio for making immersive sound productions, including music, sound art, sonifications, accessible technology, sensory ethnography and more.

This mixtape presentation in 4.1 sound aims to highlight possibilities of listening from the margins, hearing a multiplicity of voices in new ways, and generating soundscapes to explore in relation to changing environments.

*** Attendees should provide their own lunch. ***

In recent years there has been a surge in tools that facilitate creative works using AI (such as DALL-E and Chat-GPT) and with that has come both creative uses for those tools and ethical questions around artist ownership and copyright. The NSF Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) will host a workshop to share how these tools work and what ethical concerns arise in relation to them. Attendees will then be invited to submit AI-generated poetry and prose to be read and displayed at a reception. Anyone who submits will be entered to win a gift card. Refreshments will be provided.

This event is co-sponsored by the MIT Media Lab and is made possible with funds from the MIT School of Science Quality of Life program.

*** Organizer will provide lunch. ***

Explore and experiment with mechanical motion as you create your own moving art. Along the way, discover how simple mechanisms like cams, linkages, and levers work to generate different types of movement.

Join us for the unveiling of Multiplicities: An Artistic Exploration of Racial Disparities in Cancer Outcomes, a new art exhibit supported by the MIT Koch Institute and the health equity organization Nucarta. 

Research has shown that Black, Brown and minority communities hold the highest cancer burden of all racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. The exhibit consists of thought-provoking artworks that speak to the current state of cancer inequities and starts the conversation about how to eradicate health disparities in our communities. 

The exhibit’s opening night, timed to celebrate the Cambridge Science Festival’s Health Equity Day, will include talks from the artists and a chance to mingle with the artists and local scientists, engineers, health equity advocates, and health professionals.  

This interactive presentation showcases projects that combine traditional materials with modern tech like robotics, 3D printing, and Arduino inventions. See firsthand how technology enhances the creative process, inspiring innovation and pushing boundaries.

Whether you are an artist, engineer, educator, or simply someone who is curious about the intersection of these fields, this presentation is sure to inspire and captivate. Come join us as we explore the exciting possibilities of art and engineering in the modern age!

*** Organizer will provide lunch. ***

In fiction, writers and readers often focus on the hero’s journey. But protagonists don’t always start as heroes. They’re reluctantly shaped and molded by the obstacles they face along the way. What’s a good story without an equally strong antagonist? Join MIT MLK visiting scholar Christine Taylor-Butler for a discussion on the role of villains in children’s storytelling and the multiple forms used in advancing the plot and raising the stakes. The motivations or lack thereof might surprise you.

*** Attendees should provide their own lunch. ***

Come to the List Center for your lunch break and join exhibiting artist Nancy Valladares as we consider the components of analog photography through looking at her work on view in List Projects 27: fields harrington and Nancy Valladares. PHOTO/SYNTHETIC is an ongoing series and investigation which unpacks the environmental and economic impacts of the use of silver in analog photography. During the hour, we will view the works in the galleries and move to discussion with Valladares over lunch combining an opportunity to learn and socialize.

Bring your lunch and beverages will be provided.

*** Attendees should provide their own lunch. ***

Explore and experiment with mechanical motion as you create your own moving art. Along the way, discover how simple mechanisms like cams, linkages, and levers work to generate different types of movement.

The MIT Koch Institute Gallery celebrates our scientific research by using art to tell the story behind the science. The gallery permanently displays the annual Image Award winners’ extraordinary visuals that are produced through life sciences and biomedical research at MIT. The Koch Institute scientist/artists will be available to tell you more about their ground-breaking science and their passion for visual art.

The gallery is also hosting Multiplicities: An Artistic Exploration of Racial Disparities in Cancer Outcomes which will be showing through Dec. 8, 2023. This exhibit opens the discussion to other factors, like racial disparities, that can affect cancer treatment and patient well-being. The exhibit brings a holistic view to treating not only the diagnosis but the person and the community behind them.

Join the Lemelson-MIT Program and other community groups at the Foundry (101 Rogers Street) as we celebrate the creative energy and inventive spirit that comes alive at the intersection of East Cambridge and Kendall Square. This Art at Night event offers an opportunity to see the Foundry—a new community center for STEM and the ARTS. You will also meet people leading innovative programs that engage the community and foster creativity.

Light refreshments will be served.

Art exhibition featuring fields harrington and Nancy Valladares. Both artists center research and related inquiries in their works to take a critical eye to overlooked technological and industrial histories. Each has also employed citizen science to shed light on the enduring toxicity of various colonial projects and the extractive processes that underpin racial and fossil capitalism.

Join us for a Poetry Reading as part of our Who Do You Think You Are? exhibit programming! We will be joined by four poets: Judson K. Evans, Linda Carney-Goodrich, Deborah Leipziger, and Anne Elezabeth Pluto.

This event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is encouraged.

🐋 We’re delighted to show the documentary film Patrick and the Whale – an inspiring and engaging tale of Patrick Dykstra and a sperm whale “Dolores.”

This outdoor event is free and open to all.

For years, Patrick Dykstra has dedicated his life to traveling the globe, following and diving with whales. Over the years, Patrick has learned how whales see and hear, how they perceive other creatures in the water, and how they behave at close quarters. He has a finely tuned sense and knows how to act when within touching distance of a whale. The film follows his personal journey and explores the psychology of a man who has sacrificed everything in his single-minded quest to connect with and understand one of the biggest creatures in the ocean.

Be sure to check out the upcoming film series at the MIT Museum, presented in collaboration with the Woods Hole Film Festival.

Come join us for a one-of-a-kind experience as we celebrate Afrofuturism live! Immerse yourself in the world of Afrofuturism, a cultural movement that combines elements of African diaspora, science fiction, technology, and imagination.

At our event, we will explore Afrofuturism through various art forms, including captivating visual art, exhilarating dance performances, soul-stirring music, and cutting-edge fashion. Get ready to be transported to a future where creativity knows no bounds.

PLEASE NOTE

Tickets for this event are not free-of-charge. However, subscribers to the CSF mailing list (in the footer of this page) will receive a discount code for a limited number of free standing-room tickets. Make sure you’re signed up to the mailing list to take advantage of this first-come-first-served opportunity.

Explore and experiment with mechanical motion as you create your own moving art. Along the way, discover how simple mechanisms like cams, linkages, and levers work to generate different types of movement.

In this interactive art project, participants create light paintings, viewable in real time, using a variety of light sources such as fiber optics and smart LEDs. At the end, a flash is triggered, illuminating participants in their painting.

Computer scientist and artist Jane Adams describes how to leverage artificial intelligence tools to design fabric prints, including data sourcing and infinite tiling.

Facetopo will host an interactive pop-up with creators and models to demonstrate our AI makeup app that helps you do makeup a better way. Come learn about beauty tools and clean beauty disruptors:

Join Call To Action® at The Foundry on September 30 for an electrifying event as the founders proudly present Boston Smart Fashion Week; Call To Action, “Science is Sexy”. This extraordinary showcase will feature Boston’s emerging company, Call To Action®, and some of the work that they are doing to move the needle for smart + sustainable solutions in fashion.

During the session, you will immerse yourself in ethereal imagery that reimagines traditional swimwear. Hear from the founders Jill Palese and Dan Rakauskas of the Boston based clothing brand as they present their own “calls to action” towards a greener and more sustainable future in the world of fashion. The interactive session allows an opportunity to meet the founders and ask questions about the work.

Mark your calendars, because this event promises to be a dazzling celebration of fashion, consciousness, and the irresistible allure of “Science is Sexy”!

Photography credit: Alyssa M Fortin Photography

Using Hyperscore, you’ll compose an original piece of music in minutes. Once you get the hang of it, there’s no end to what you can create. Discover the singular power of music to communicate your story.

Join the Peabody Essex Museum in exploring the superpowers of bats! Discover how designers and innovators are drawing inspiration from these amazing creatures, leading to new inventions and ways of understanding our world. Learn more about the museum’s current exhibition, Bats!, and create an art project that will put biomimicry into practice.

Choose a piece of paper, a pen, give the pendulums a push, and try to guess how the drawing will develop! Blend different kinds of motion to explore the drawing space or simply watch how other drawings develop. Or crank the gears on the epicycloid machine to watch frequencies determine symmetry!

At our booth, you’ll have the chance to create art using engineering principles, including experimenting with an art-making robot that will help bring your creations to life!

With the rising popularity of generative AI tools such as Chat-GPT and DALL-E, it can be increasingly difficult to tell the difference between AI-generated content and human-generated content. Join the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) to learn about how generative AI works and see if you can spot the difference. Ask the same question to a virtual physicist and a real live physicist and see what answers you get! Then test your skills by comparing galaxy images from the James Webb Space Telescope with Dall-E generated galaxy images—can you tell which ones are real?

Create a design for your ideal learning environment. Think about scale, amenities, atmosphere, sounds, signs, materials, and more! Bring yourself and your creativity and we’ll lead you through a quick design process.

Visit our booth to explore different ways of translating life sciences into pictures. Learn why drawing is important and try your hand! Suitable for all ages.

We will showcase different 3D printed projects such as a perpetual motion machine, sculptures, robot arms, etc.

Prepare to transcend the boundaries of time and gravity, embarking on a journey of lyrical tribute to the women who propelled STEM to new dimensions. “Verses of Visionaries: Women in STEM” is your invitation to learn about and pen the legacy of brilliance and celebrate incredible women in STEM. An immersive experience hosted by highschool students passionate about fostering diversity, inclusivity and bridging the STEM gender gap.

Immerse yourself in space – and a take a picture to capture your discoveries!

Data visualization is a powerful tool for making sense of complex information, but it often relies solely on our visual sense to communicate insights. In this event, multidisciplinary designer Tiange Wang shares a different approach to creating and sharing data stories by incorporating additional sensory elements like taste, smell, texture and physical interaction into the mix. Engage in a hands-on design workshop where you can start to sketch out your own set of data wagashi to make and share.

Explore and experiment with mechanical motion as you create your own moving art. Along the way, discover how simple mechanisms like cams, linkages, and levers work to generate different types of movement.