Museum of Science (Boston)

"Museum of Science" redirects here. For other science museums, seeScience Museum (disambiguation).

Museum of Science, Boston

Viewed from Cambridge
Established	1830
Location	Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°22′03″N71°04′16″W
Type	Science museum Indoor zoo
Accreditation	AAM,ASTC,AZA
Visitors	1.53 million (2016)
Director	Tim Ritchie
Public transit access	Green Line Science Park station
Nearest parking	Dedicatedparking garage(fee)
Website	mos.org

TheMuseum of Science(MoS) is a nature andscience museumand indoor zoological establishment located in Science Park, a plot of land inBostonandCambridge,Massachusetts,spanning theCharles River.Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live and interactive presentations throughout the building each day, along with scheduled film showings at theCharles HaydenPlanetariumand theMugar Omni Theater(New England’s only domedIMAXtheater). The Museum is a member of theAssociation of Science and Technology Centers(ASTC) (and President Tim Ritchie serves as Chair of the ASTC Board of Directors) and theAmerican Alliance of Museums(AAM). Additionally, the Museum of Science is an accredited member of theAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums(AZA), being home to over 100 animals, many of which the museum gained after they were surrendered, confiscated, rescued or rehabilitated.

History

Lechmere Viaductin the 1910s. The museum was later constructed behind the Metropolitan Police Station on the left

OriginalCharles Riverlockadjacent to the museum and positioned just west of theCharles River Dam Bridge

Mugar Omni Theater

New England Habitatsexhibit

Origin and early years

The museum began as theBoston Society of Natural Historyin 1830, founded by a collection of men who wished to share scientific interests. Their first meeting was held on February 9, 1830 with seven original members in attendance:Walter Channing,Benjamin D. Greene,George Hayward,John Ware,Edward Brooks,Amos Binney,andGeorge B. Emerson.It was more commonly called theBoston Museum of Natural Historyin the 19th century, and this name occurs frequently in the literature. In 1862, after the society had gone through several temporary facilities, a building was constructed in theBack Bayarea of the city and dubbed theNew England Museum of Natural History.The museum was located next to the originalRogers Buildingof theMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), and both neoclassical structures were designed byWilliam G. Preston.The original MIT building was demolished in 1939, but the Natural History Museum building survives today, as a home furnishings showcase.

A great deal of scientific work was done by the society, especially around geology, and the results of this work can be found in theProceedings of the Boston Society of Natural Historywhich are now freely available online. A library and children's rooms were added to the museum around 1900. It was renamed theMuseum of Sciencein 1939, under the directorship ofHenry Bradford Washburn, Jr.,a renowned American mountaineer.

The Boston Museum of Natural History of 1830/1864–1945 should not be confused with the private Warren Museum of Natural History (1858–1906, formerly on Chestnut Street in Boston). The contents of the latter collection, including the first intactmastodon,were relocated to theAmerican Museum of Natural Historyof New York City in 1906.

Museum Then and Now,an exhibit of artifacts from the early years of the society, is located near the second floor Blue Wing entrance to the Theater of Electricity in today's museum.

Post WWII

After World War II, the old Museum of Science building was sold, and the museum was relocated, again under the nameBoston Museum of Science.Under the leadership of Bradford Washburn, the society negotiated with theMetropolitan District Commissionfor a 99-year lease of the land on theCharles River Dam Bridge,now known as Science Park. The museum pays $1 a year to the state for use of the land. Construction and development began in 1948, and the museum opened in 1951, arguably the first all-encompassing science museum in the country.

In these first few years, the museum developed a traveling planetarium, a version of which is still brought to many elementary schools in theGreater Bostonarea every year. They also obtained during these early years "Spooky", agreat horned owlwho became a symbol or mascot of the museum; he lived to age 38, the longest any great horned owl is known to have lived. Today, a number of othertaxidermedspecimens remain on display, teaching children about the animals ofNew Englandand of the world.

TheScience Park/West EndMBTAinfill stationwas opened in August 1955, allowing easier access to the museum by public transportation. TheCharles Hayden Planetariumwas opened in 1958.

Many more expansions continued into the 1970s and 1980s. In 1999,The Computer Museumin Boston closed and became part of the Museum of Science, integrating some of its educational displays, although most of the historical artifacts were moved to theComputer History MuseuminMountain View,California.

A major renovation and expansion took place during 2005 and 2006. In 2010, the Charles Hayden Planetarium was closed for renovation, and has since reopened.

The main entrance to the museum straddles the border between the cities of Boston and Cambridge, and the boundary is indicated by a marker embedded in the floor inside the museum. In 2013, the Museum of Science was the venue for the first joint session of the Boston and Cambridge city councils, to discuss policy measures to improve retention of talented recent university graduates in the area.

Future

Archimedean Excogitationin 2014

Starting in 2013, the Museum of Science has been undergoing a major renovation to upgrade the physical structure and develop new educational content. This $250 million campaign will upgrade nearly half of the Exhibit Halls from 2012, and open three new major exhibits: theHall of Human Life,the Yawkey Gallery on the Charles River, andWhat Is Technology?TheHall of Human Lifeopened in November 2013 in the newly expanded Level 2 of the Green Wing, and has a focus on human biology.The audio kinetic sculptureArchimedean Excogitationhas been moved to the atrium to make way for a new exhibit in the lower lobby called The Yawkey Gallery on the Charles River. This exhibit opened in 2016, creating a new entry to the museum with better views of the Charles River and Boston-Cambridge skyline.

On October 18, 2016 formermayor of New York CityMichael Bloombergrevealed that his foundation,Bloomberg Philanthropies,is donating $50 million to the museum, the largest gift in the institution's 186-year history.

The museum also openedWicked Smart: Invented in the Hub,an exhibition of new technologies, especially those created in or around the Boston area. This new exhibit also contains a few interactive activities, including a novel type ofwheelchairwhich visitors can sit in and maneuver. A large-scale interactive digital video projection devised at theMIT Media Labusing sensors from an XboxKinect,is very popular with visitors, who can control complex visual displays by means of body gestures and motions.

Exhibit halls

Decavitatorhuman-powered hydrofoil boat was formerly displayed above the main entrance lobby of the museum

Demonstration of the world's largest open-airVan de Graaff generator

The many exhibits in the Blue Wing

Blue Wing

• Garden Walk and Insect Zoo:a walk-throughgreenhousecontaining invertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians with an area dedicated to botanical education
• Seeing is Deceiving:a collection ofoptical illusions,including many motorized illusions
• Making Models:exhibit on the use of physical and abstract models to understand the real world
• Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond:a roomful of classic mathematical exhibits by designersCharles and Ray Eames
• Natural Mysteries:an investigative exhibit onclassificationof mysterious objects and natural history specimens
• Theater of Electricity:features the world's largest air-insulatedVan de Graaff generator,designed by ProfessorRobert J. Van de Graaffand donated byMITin 1956. Demonstrations ofTesla coils,and other electrical apparatus
• Math Moves!: Experiencing Ratio and Proportion:an immersive exploration of math and proportion including the former exhibit,Clark Collection of Mechanical Movements:over 100 working models of mechanical motions andlinkages
• Innovative Engineers:exhibits and brief biographies of Boston engineers, including minorities and women
• Investigate!:a house-sized collection of rooms to explore usingscientific thinking
• Energize!:exhibits ofrenewable energytechnologies
• Nanotechnology
• Mapping the World Around Us
• Take a Closer Look
• Dinosaurs: Modeling the Mesozoic:a collection of fossils and life-size models of dinosaurs and extinct animals, including a full-size Tyrannosaurus rex model
• Colossal Fossil: Triceratops Cliff:a 65-million-year-old fossil, discovered in the Dakota Badlands in 2004
• Machines & Transportation
• Living on the Edge
• To the Moon
• Behind the Scenes
• Wicked Smart: Invented in the Hub

Green Wing

• New England Habitats
• A Bird's World
• Colby Room:a classic explorer'strophy roomfilled with stuffed animal heads frombig-game hunting,preserved as a historical exhibit and also used for meetings
• Hall of Human Life:an exhibit of interactive activities focusing on human biology

Red Wing

• Mugar Omni Theater:largestOmnimaxmovie theater in New England
• Charles Hayden Planetarium
• Cosmic Light:small space exhibit located within the above-mentioned planetarium featuring real images of space and small bronze models of the Solar System's Sun and planets similar to the ones once displayed outside scattered throughout Boston
• Discovery Center:offers the opportunity to talk with scientists and participate in experiments
• Foucault pendulum:shows the effect of the rotation of the Earth
• Museum Store
• Polage:a wall-sizedpolarized lightcollage of shapes by artistAustine Wood Comarow
• Soundstair:a stairway fitted by artistChristopher Janneywithphotoelectric cellswhich trigger musical sounds
• Archimedean Excogitation:a largerolling ball sculpturebyGeorge Rhoads
• Thrillride 360:Simulator ride

Miscellaneous

• Yawkey Gallery on the Charles River:an open area filled with information about theCharles Riverand river science in general
• The Rock Garden
• The exterior stone panels on the facade were executed by Belmont sculptorTheodore Barbarossa.

The Museum of Science spans the length of theCharles River Dam,including a dedicatedparking garageat far left. TheLeonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridgeis visible in the background

Live presentations and programs

The museum offers many free live presentations to visitors, including hands-on demonstrations and live animal show-and-tell sessions.

The MoS has extensive educational programs from pre-school up through adult programming, including lecture series, concerts, films, workshops, and public policy discussions.

Special "overnight" programs invite students in grades 1–7, as well asScoutgroups, to spend a night at the museum.

Engineering Design Workshop

Engineering Design Workshop is an exhibit on the first level in the Blue Wing that sees about 200–800 visitors a day.It includes various different design challenges and other more one-on-one "cart activities" for visitors. The design center includes about a dozen activities for visitors to attempt while learning about theengineering processrun twice a day from 10am-12pm and from 2pm–4pm during the school year, and also 4:30pm–6:30pm during the summer.The cart activities include robotics and circuitry and are more meant for teaching visitors about new technology. All activities also include a magnet for visitors who attempted the activities.

Notable past exhibits

• In the 1950s, a smallWilson cloud chamberwas featured in the main entrance hall. Visitors could come within inches of radioactive material to watch the vapor trails of the particles they emitted.
• The firstFresnel lensusing electricity in the US (removed from theNavesinklighthouse), was on display from the early 1950s until 1979.
• From 1969 to 1985, the museum loaned a steam locomotive—Boston and Maine 3713—fromSteamtown, U.S.A.,and it was exhibited outside the museum’s building.The museum ended their lease on the locomotive to allow room for expansion.
• In 1988, the museum was host to an exhibit focusing on the life and times ofRamses II.The exhibit displayed more than 70 artifacts, on loan from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Arguably, the centerpiece of the exhibit was a 40-foot-tall model of an Egyptian temple which housed a 3,000-year-old, 57-ton granite statue of Ramses. The exhibit ran from May 7, 1988 through August 30, 1988.
• From August to October 2004, the museum was host to the US premiere ofThe Lord of the Ringsthe Motion Picture Trilogy the Exhibition,developed by theTe Papamuseum inNew Zealand,and containing many of the costumes and props from the films.
• The Museum of Science built and designed its own film-based exhibit, entitledStar Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination.It was on display there from October 2005 to April 2006, and traveled to other venues.
• Gunther von Hagens'Body Worlds2: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodieswas at the Museum of Science from July 29, 2006 to January 7, 2007.
• From October 25, 2009 to February 21, 2010,Harry Potter: The Exhibitionwas at the museum.
• The Science Behind Pixaris a 13,000 square feet (1,200 m²) exhibition currentlyon tour around the US. It was created by the Museum of Science, Boston, in collaboration withPixar Animation Studios.This exhibit featured some of the activities, videos, and images that describe the math, computer science, and science that go into making computer-animated films.

Computing exhibits

A disk containing the source code for theMorris wormwas located in the museum'sComputing Revolutionexhibit.

Although the history artifacts ofThe Computer Museum(TCM) were moved from Boston toSilicon Valleyto become the core of the currentComputer History Museum,some former TCM educational exhibits and objects were transferred to the Boston Museum of Science where two new computing and technology exhibits were created.The Computing Revolution,an exhibit no longer on display at the Museum of Science, related the history of computing through a variety of hands-on interactive exhibits.Cahners ComputerPlace,previously located in the Blue Wing, Level 1, housed displays ranging from educationalvideo gamesto an interactiveAIBOERS-7robot.The first integrated quantum computing system, developed by MOS Director of Strategic ProjectsCarol Lynn Albertin collaboration with IBM, is on display as part of MOS's computing exhibits.

Other attractions

• In 1997, the museum developed a permanent to-scale communitySolar System modelthat physically spanned as far as theRiversideMBTAstation (inNewton, Massachusetts).This model was noticeably featured in the first episode of the PBS Kids showFETCH! with Ruff Ruffman,where several children participate in a scavenger hunt to find all of the bronze model planets (including the former ninth planet Pluto, as the show premiered before Pluto was downgraded), scattered all throughout Boston. The bronze models of theSun,Mercury,andVenuswere located on the museum grounds.However, in 2015 several of the scale models were removed from their original locations, and their current status is unknown as of 2022.As of 2023, only the model of Mars still remains, inside Cambridgeside Galleria Mall. The nearest known surviving scale model is a walkable 200-metre (660 ft) installation on the third floor of theInfinite CorridoratMIT.
• Construction began on a rooftop Wind Turbine Lab in 2009.The lab tests nine wind turbines from five different manufacturers on the roof of the museum. An exhibit in the Blue Wing,Catching the Wind,includes a live data stream on how much electricity each turbine is producing.

See also

• Boston Society of Natural History,predecessor to the museum
• IntelComputer ClubhouseNetwork, global after-school technology program headquartered at the museum

External links

• Official website
• Current Exhibits & Reviews
• A science podcast from the Current Science & Technology Center
• Navesink lighthouse information from the National Park Service
• "Human Connections"Video on the making of this large interactive polarized light mural, located in the atrium of the Mugar Imax Wing of the MOS (Artist: Austine Wood Comarow)
• MOS is a member of NISE Net, and participates inNanoDays